Replacing a home: first steps

When I decided to replace my home I first went to the manager to find out if there were any restrictions on replacements. Several years ago the park issued a moratorium on additions to mobile homes, stating that the density of the park was high enough and additional space would only add to it. I don't know what the real reason was - perhaps that adding to an existing mobile home makes it less likely that the owners will replace the home anytime soon? Back then, I got in my addition plan just under the wire and the addition was begun but never completed. I had gotten an estimate from a builder and he went through just about the entire amount just building the floor. I had nothing else, no more money, so the floor sat there, unfinished, until I could afford to hire someone to rip it out. That wasn't a great time.

The manager was enthusiastic about my plans to replace my home. He even said "get a two-story one!" I think the two-story homes in parks are restricted to single-wide smaller homes, but I am not sure of that. I did not come across any when I was looking at homes to buy. The good news is that I could get a bigger home, as large as the setbacks would allow.

In this park the setbacks are essentially those set by the state. So I went with those to determine the maximum size I could place on my lot. Based on the setbacks and on the sizes manufacturers make I determined that I could place a 20' wide home on the lot, about 60' long.

In many other parks, larger setbacks are specified in the lease terms. If you are looking to replace your home, find the park requirements before you go looking.

First steps, then:

1. Ask the manager about any restrictions on replacements. Ask if there are any additional requirements for new installations (new landscaping, for example), and ask to see where these requirements are written. Sometimes management companies will try for more than they are legally allowed. But more on this subject later.
2. Get a plot plan of your lot (or make one after measuring) and subtract setbacks to determine the size home you can install.

The next step was more problematic: finding the money.