Selling or Moving Your Mobile Home

Have you ever considered selling, or even moving a mobile home?  The following are some important facts you need to know.

What rights do I have to sell my mobile home in the park?

Despite the “mobile” connotation, once installed in a park most mobile homes are not moved but are resold in the place of the park. Mobile homes can be expensive to move, but sometimes that alternative is a consideration if the rent in the new location is significantly lower than the current location or you are moving your home to a lot you own.  The use of a private parcel for relocation of a mobile home from a park is subject to local laws.

The resale of a mobile home in the park involves management’s approval.  The Civil Code regulates home sales as follows:

  • The park management can require notice that you are selling your home in the park but they cannot require you to sell it to them unless you have signed a legal document that states differently.
  • The park management cannot charge you or your agent a fee as a condition of the sale of your mobile home in the park unless you give them written authorization to perform a service in the sale.
  • The park management cannot require the selling owner or owner’s heir to use the management or a dealer or broker approved by the management as an agent in the sale, and the management cannot show or list the home for sale without first obtaining your written authorization.
  • The park management cannot require you to remove your mobile home from the park upon sale to another party, unless the home:
    1. Does not meet minimum health, safety and construction codes standards; or
    2. Is in significantly run-down condition and disrepair, as reasonably determined by the management; or
    3. Is not a mobile home or manufactured home (i.e. smaller than 8 x 40 feet in size).
  • The homeowner has the right to put up a ‘for sale’ sign in the window or side of the home, or the yard facing the street on A or H type frame if it does not extend into the street. The sign face cannot exceed 24 x 36 inches in size and may include the name, address and phone numbers of the owner or agent. Information tubes for leaflets about the home for sale may be attached to the sign or the home.
  • The park management has the right to approve the buyer of your home if it remains in the park. The management must inform you and the buyer in writing within 15 business days whether they accept or reject your buyer for residency. The management may only reject the buyer for two reasons:
    1. Buyer’s inability to pay the rent and charges of the park – usually based on an income-to-rent ratio and the buyer’s credit history; or
    2. Buyer’s inability to comply with the park’s rules and regulations – usually based on past rental history or conduct in other mobile home parks or apartments.
  • Mobile home owners and their sales agents must provide their buyers with a mobile home resale or transfer disclosure statement (TDs) on used mobile homes that lists the home’s features, defects, and code violations, if any. The park management must also provide buyers of homes in the park with a park disclosure check-off form indicating any problems with specified park facilities before they sign a rental agreement to move into the park.
  • Every mobile home sold or resold on or after January 1, 2009 must have a smoke alarm installed in every sleeping room.

Resource: What Every Mobile Home Owner Should Know, published by the Senate Select Committee on Manufactured Home Communities.

 

Worries of Eviction as a Mobile Home Owner

As a mobile home owner, are you familiar with the rules and regulations that you need to comply? The following are some important facts you need to know, taken from the pamphlet What Every Mobile Home Owner Should Know, published by the Senate Select Committee on Manufactured Home Communities.

Eviction – As a homeowner, can I be evicted from the park?

Yes. The park management may evict you if:

  • You have received notice by a government agency that you are violating a local ordinance or state law and have not complied with the law within a reasonable period of time.
  • Your conduct in the park constitutes a substantial annoyance to other residents or homeowners.
  • You don’t pay the rent, utilities or reasonable charges within five days of the due date. IF you are late in paying the rent, you will be notified that you have three days to pay or vacate the tenancy. Full payment within three days puts you back in good standing, unless you are late in paying the rent, utilities, or reasonable charges three times within a 12-month period.
  • You are convicted of specified crimes, such as prostitution or drug offenses, committed in the park.
  • You don’t comply with ‘reasonable’ park rules and regulations (management must attach them to your rental agreement when you move into the park). The management must give you a written notice that a rule has been violated, after which you have seven days to adhere to the rule before the management can issue you a termination notice. If you have violated a rule three or more times within a 12-month period, the management may issue you a termination notice without waiting seven days for you to correct the rule violation.
  • Your mobilehome park is condemned or is closed for conversion to another use.

Unlike most apartment tenancies, however, the park management must give homeowners a 60-day notice of termination and can evict you only for these specified (just cause) reasons. Upon a termination notice, the park not only may terminate your tenancy but also require you to remove your home from the park by the end of the 60-day period. During this 60-day period, you also have the right to try to resell your home in place in the park.

In the termination notice, the management must specify why you are being evicted and include such facts as the date, place and circumstances concerning the reasons for the termination. If you stay in the park beyond the time allowed in the notice, the park management must file an action in court to evict you, known as an ‘unlawful detainer.’ In order to preserve your right to defend yourself in an unlawful detainer action, you must follow certain procedural requirements, including the filing of specified documents within a short time frame, usually five days. Most defendants in unlawful detainer actions are best advised to obtain legal representation so they can properly comply with these requirements. If you lose, the court may order your eviction carried out by a peace officer in a matter of weeks and you will probably lose your home if you cannot sell it or move it from the park. If you are actually evicted, the park management will file a warehouseman’s lien on the home, or through an abandonment proceeding, conduct an auction, and eventually gain title to it.

Resource: What Every Mobile Home Owner Should Know, published by the Senate Select Committee on Manufactured Home Communities

How to Make 2017 the Best Year Ever

As we welcome the new year, many of us wish to make it the best year ever. But how can we have a great year without putting some effort into it? There is one thing that we all can do — that many of us haven’t done in a long while — that will improve the quality of your life and the life of others around you.

It’s volunteering.

Let’s be honest. Volunteering sounds like a lot of work, especially for those who have full-time job.  But for those who are retired, it turns into a tremendous blessing. With any lifestyle you may have, consider the following benefits and values of volunteering:

  • The feeling of accomplishment: Giving up your time to do something for others can make you feel wonderful. Knowing that you chose to help others instead of sleeping in on the weekends will make you feel accomplished and productive. Helping kids with their homework at the local libraries or in your mobile home park club house instead of spending time watching television shows will make you feel like you make a difference.
  • Meet new people, make new connections: In any place that you volunteer, you will definitely meet new people. Depending on the type of the organization, you can even make new friends and new connections. Volunteering in your mobile home community will help expend your friendships. Talk with your park manager about starting a home work club and tutoring for children in your park, or ask about residents who are unable to get out much. Stopping by for a visit would mean a lot to them.
  • Learn something new: A great thing about volunteering with non-profit community organizations is that you can choose an organization that interests you, or you can choose one that is completely different and challenge yourself to something new. And through volunteering you can acquire new skills, new ideas, new hobby, or even a new perspective.
  • Get a new perspective: As long as you keep an open mind while volunteering, you will definitely gain some new perspectives. You will be humbled by your experiences of helping others. Perhaps you will realize how much you have rather than how much you don’t have.
  • Help save a life: There are many places that you can volunteer to help save a life other than hospitals. You can volunteer at a youth center or local Boys and Girls clubs to inspire young minds to stay above the influence and to stay in school. You can also volunteer at your local animal shelter to help improve the quality of life of the animals until they are adopted.

These are only some of the values and benefits of volunteering. But you can make your 2017 the best year ever if you can spare some time to volunteer. Many organizations are very flexible and will coordinate with your schedule so that you can make a difference. You can search for volunteer opportunities by reading your local newspaper or visiting your city website.  If you are a senior, contact your local Office on Aging.

If you live in Orange, Riverside, or San Bernardino Counties, you can use the links below to your county’s Office on Aging website.

Orange County: http://officeonaging.ocgov.com/opportunities/volunteer

Riverside County: http://www.rcaging.org/programs_services#vol

San Bernardino County: https://hss.sbcounty.gov/daas/ 

New Year New Tax Rate

Are you up-to-date with the new California tax rate? Sales tax rates have been decreased by 0.25%. Use the link below to find the new sales tax rate by city.

http://www.boe.ca.gov/app/rates.aspx

Keep in mind that if you are returning an item that you purchased before January 1st, the store must provide you the refund of the old tax rate. However, if you purchased something before January 1st but you receive it after the New Year, you are still charged the rate used at the time of purchase.

An article published by the Golden State News states the following:

“A retailer who continues to charge and collect the higher statewide sales and use tax after January 1, 2017, must either refund the excess tax collected to their customer or pay the excess tax to the Board of Equalization (BOE). If the excess tax collected has been paid to the BOE, the retailer may request a refund on behalf of their customer by completing form BOE-101, Claim for Refund or Credit.”

Remember that sales tax rates differ by cities and counties, so make sure you look up your area using the California State Board of Equalization website!

Resources:

http://www.boe.ca.gov/app/rates.aspx

https://goldenstatenews.com/2017/01/03/a-tax-in-california-has-actually-been-lowered/