danieldaoura
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Washington
Property is located in Washington State, Redmond, 98053 (Unincorporated King County).
I have been running through some problems with the county and would really appreciate good advice.
I purchased a 5.06 acre property in Redmond in the Ames Lake area. There are two dwellings on the property, one that has concrete foundation and the other is a mobile home that has been structurally attached to the land through the means of two decks; one on each side. The mobile home is independent of the other dwelling and has its own septic, electricity, water, everything... even has a different mailing address and mail box. The mobile home has been on this property for at least 20 years and has gone through at least three ownerships including myself. In the beginning, the records show that there have been hardship permits applied for in years 1989 through 1992. The permits have been expired since 1993 and the county has abandoned requests for renewals since then. Later the property sold, and stayed in the new owner's names until I purchased it from them recently in April. When I went through title insurance, they hired a lawyer to check on the mobile home and they verified all was legal and even submitted inspections of the septic tank attached to the mobile home to King County. I received the mobile home title later and everything seemed in order.
I had to evict the people that were "renting" the mobile home, although they never paid me a penny for four months (or since I purchased it) ... and there were rumors that they were drug trafficking, so I had to go through court, and you know the drill... took me over a month through court until the sheriff actually kicked them off... they had damaged the mobile home extensively! I had to repair the mobile home throughout, including paint inside and out, new flooring, repairing the roof, walls, doors, deck panels, etc... but no construction. Right after I completed all the work, I received this letter from the county that the hardship mobile home permit needs to be renewed... even though they haven't asked for them for at least 15 years! I asked the neighbors and they explained to me that the owners prior to the sellers stopped renewing the permit and that the county asked the neighbors around if it was OK to keep the mobile home on the property. All the neighbors were OK at the time with keeping the mobile home present, and thus the county allowed the mobile home to stay on the property since 1993. Now they want me either remove the mobile home, or to make the mobile home an accessory to the primary dwelling which will require feasibility studies, inspections, and lots of fees which is a financial burden on me right now ... I told them I am willing to work things out with the county, but that I am not able to financially contribute, due to my current financial status, and since I feel that the Mobile home is "grandfathered in" and that otherwise the county should have kept up with the permitting...
Legally, since this has been ignored by the county for over 15 years, am I obliged to do anything about updating the mobile permit or converting it into an accessory? I do not want to remove the mobile home, and do not want to get attached to the county by having to "start" renewing the permit since 15 years ago... can't I just keep it as is without having to renew anything since they have abandoned it for so many year?
Property is located in Washington State, Redmond, 98053 (Unincorporated King County).
I have been running through some problems with the county and would really appreciate good advice.
I purchased a 5.06 acre property in Redmond in the Ames Lake area. There are two dwellings on the property, one that has concrete foundation and the other is a mobile home that has been structurally attached to the land through the means of two decks; one on each side. The mobile home is independent of the other dwelling and has its own septic, electricity, water, everything... even has a different mailing address and mail box. The mobile home has been on this property for at least 20 years and has gone through at least three ownerships including myself. In the beginning, the records show that there have been hardship permits applied for in years 1989 through 1992. The permits have been expired since 1993 and the county has abandoned requests for renewals since then. Later the property sold, and stayed in the new owner's names until I purchased it from them recently in April. When I went through title insurance, they hired a lawyer to check on the mobile home and they verified all was legal and even submitted inspections of the septic tank attached to the mobile home to King County. I received the mobile home title later and everything seemed in order.
I had to evict the people that were "renting" the mobile home, although they never paid me a penny for four months (or since I purchased it) ... and there were rumors that they were drug trafficking, so I had to go through court, and you know the drill... took me over a month through court until the sheriff actually kicked them off... they had damaged the mobile home extensively! I had to repair the mobile home throughout, including paint inside and out, new flooring, repairing the roof, walls, doors, deck panels, etc... but no construction. Right after I completed all the work, I received this letter from the county that the hardship mobile home permit needs to be renewed... even though they haven't asked for them for at least 15 years! I asked the neighbors and they explained to me that the owners prior to the sellers stopped renewing the permit and that the county asked the neighbors around if it was OK to keep the mobile home on the property. All the neighbors were OK at the time with keeping the mobile home present, and thus the county allowed the mobile home to stay on the property since 1993. Now they want me either remove the mobile home, or to make the mobile home an accessory to the primary dwelling which will require feasibility studies, inspections, and lots of fees which is a financial burden on me right now ... I told them I am willing to work things out with the county, but that I am not able to financially contribute, due to my current financial status, and since I feel that the Mobile home is "grandfathered in" and that otherwise the county should have kept up with the permitting...
Legally, since this has been ignored by the county for over 15 years, am I obliged to do anything about updating the mobile permit or converting it into an accessory? I do not want to remove the mobile home, and do not want to get attached to the county by having to "start" renewing the permit since 15 years ago... can't I just keep it as is without having to renew anything since they have abandoned it for so many year?
