| Legal Facts About Trailer Homes

The popularity of trailer homes has caused many complications in our legal system. Originally, trailers homes were always taxed as vehicles rather than real estate since they could be moved, which resulted in very low property tax rates for their inhabitants. However, since property taxes are more than vehicle taxes, there is move towards classifying mobile and trailer homes as property.

One thing to consider when purchasing a trailer home is the rapid depreciation often of these homes. Unlike normal homes, these properties lose value over time not gain. Early homes, even those that were well-maintained, tended to depreciate in value over time, much like motor vehicles, rather than appreciate in value, as with site-built homes. Your trailer home is cheap but a depreciating asset.

A combination of factors has caused most jurisdictions to place zoning regulations on the areas in which factory built homes are placed, and limitations on the number and density of homes permitted on any given site. Many areas have strongly limited or forbidden all single-wide models, which tend to depreciate in value more rapidly than modern double-wide models. Lots of trailer homes can cause the value of the town to go down and might attract a bad crowd.

Moreover, there is also the constant discussion about legal fixture and the legal status of a trailer is, or could be, affected by its incorporation to the land. This sometimes involves whether or not the wheels have been removed or not.

In regions not considered “high-wind” zones, over-the-top tie-downs have not historically been used for single-wide manufactured homes. Piers or pilings comprised concrete and/or wooden blocks, placed on-grade at intervals beneath the trailer frame, have historically been accepted as the norm in most parts of Canada.

Tie-downs consisting of spun steel cable, wrapped around the trailer frame and fastened to driven or screw anchors are typical in most locales, although not necessarily consistent among all manufactured homes.
The mounting and tie-down methods typically employed may, or may not comply with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Under some circumstances (leased land, for example) a lender or insurer may want some assurance that a mobile home is still transportable. In this case, the wheels of the home must always be on the home in case it needs to be moved.

The actual process of moving a mobile home as a vehicle is a point of interest which a home inspector cannot address or confirm, and involves considerations which only the selected mover could evaluate. It is however reasonable to believe that if axles could not be installed for any reason, or if the unit is found to be not roadworthy as a vehicle in its original configuration, it could possibly be moved by other means, much the same as any small house.

There are many legal issues tied to mobile homes, most of which have to deal with their status tied to the land, what rights the homeowner has versus which rights the landowner has (if the two are different), zoning rules of the county the home is placed in, and the value of the home. Before you buy a trailer or mobile home, make sure you consult a lawyer and read the rules of the area in order to ensure minimal future legal complications if a problem were to arise. In many parts of the country, mobile homes are encouraged and the law is clear. However, in other parts, the law is used to reduce trailer homes and if you get into trouble, you might have many legal problems.

Before you purchase a trailer home, look up the legal issues that might arise and the town’s laws on these times of home. You can also consult a laywer or real estate broker who might be able to help you.