Help with Mobile Home Community land rental

[shopperscloset]

What is the name of your state? TN

My mom owns a manufactured home in a community where you have to rent the land. The land is a month-to-month lease and rent has gone up a lot since she's been there.

The owner of the park sometimes forces out the doublewides because he will buy 2 units to sell at a premium to make more money. No one challenges him because they can't afford to or don't know better (its all elderly people). the lease contracts say that you can sell your home as long as it fits the park rules and the buyer is approved, yet he forces people to move them.

My mom asked him if she'd be allowed to sell her double-wide and he told her she could, but as soon as we got a buyer, he told the buyer that the house has to be moved out of the park. When they buyer pushed back, he made the rent crazy high and we lost our buyer. Selling a home to have it moved will be a 25-30k loss on the home price.

My question is, since he told her he could sell it and then told the buyer it has to go, did he break a contract?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? TN

My mom owns a manufactured home in a community where you have to rent the land. The land is a month-to-month lease and rent has gone up a lot since she's been there.

The owner of the park sometimes forces out the doublewides because he will buy 2 units to sell at a premium to make more money. No one challenges him because they can't afford to or don't know better (its all elderly people). the lease contracts say that you can sell your home as long as it fits the park rules and the buyer is approved, yet he forces people to move them.

My mom asked him if she'd be allowed to sell her double-wide and he told her she could, but as soon as we got a buyer, he told the buyer that the house has to be moved out of the park. When they buyer pushed back, he made the rent crazy high and we lost our buyer. Selling a home to have it moved will be a 25-30k loss on the home price.

My question is, since he told her he could sell it and then told the buyer it has to go, did he break a contract?

Did your mother get anything in writing from the park owner? Oral contracts can be hard to enforce.

Is your mother able to move the doublewide to another park with more reasonable rates and lease terms and a more reasonable owner?

 

[adjusterjack]

The land is a month-to-month lease

All leases are month to month in that the rent is paid monthly.

Some leases have a specific duration with from - to dates.

Some have no specific duration.

If you have her lease in front of you, say which.

If you don't have her lease in front of you, get it and say which. Don't rely on what you think it says.

 

[quincy]

All leases are month to month ...

“Month-to-month” has a specific meaning under landlord/tenant laws.

 

[shopperscloset]

Did your mother get anything in writing from the park owner? Oral contracts can be hard to enforce.

Is your mother able to move the doublewide to another park with more reasonable rates and lease terms and a more reasonable owner?

She wants to sell the house because she's moving in with me. She can't afford to live there now that my father passed away.
We have a voicemail where he talks about helping her sell it. That's all I have for proof, but I figured that would be enough.

 

[shopperscloset]

All leases are month to month in that the rent is paid monthly.

Some leases have a specific duration with from - to dates.

Some have no specific duration.

If you have her lease in front of you, say which.

If you don't have her lease in front of you, get it and say which. Don't rely on what you think it says.

There's no duration, it just says it renews every month unless one party opt out in writing with a 30 day notice.

 

[quincy]

She wants to sell the house because she's moving in with me. She can't afford to live there now that my father passed away.
We have a voicemail where he talks about helping her sell it. That's all I have for proof, but I figured that would be enough.

Unfortunately, helping your mom sell the home and requiring the house be moved after the sale are not necessarily mutually exclusive. The property owner potentially can do both.

Is renting out the house a possibility for your mom?

Does it seem like the property owner is trying to make it difficult for your mom to sell so he can buy the house for himself at a discounted price?

 

[shopperscloset]

Unfortunately, helping your mom sell the home and requiring the house be moved after the sale are not necessarily mutually exclusive. The property owner potentially can do both.

Is renting out the house a possibility for your mom?

Does it seem like the property owner is trying to make it difficult for your mom to sell so he can buy the house for himself at a discounted price?

Well, the message specifically talks about him having a hard time getting anyone to agree to the rent so he was definitely helping her sell it to stay there and the message goes on to say that its "better for the park" if someone took it out, but didn't say it *had* to be removed.
Its not old or in bad condition btw

You are not allowed to rent them out.

I don't think he wants to buy it, he likes to buy new ones he gets at rock bottom prices and then adds a deck and sells them at a huge profit.

Thank you for reading and helping on this BTW

 

[quincy]

Well, the message specifically talks about him having a hard time getting anyone to agree to the rent so he was definitely helping her sell it to stay there and the message goes on to say that its "better for the park" if someone took it out, but didn't say it *had* to be removed.
Its not old or in bad condition btw

You are not allowed to rent them out.

I don't think he wants to buy it, he likes to buy new ones he gets at rock bottom prices and then adds a deck and sells them at a huge profit.

Thank you for reading and helping on this BTW

So ... homeowners in the park are pretty much trapped where they are, living with rent increases and having difficulty selling their homes.

You and your mom probably should speak to a real estate lawyer familiar with the laws that govern mobile home parks in Tennessee. My very brief review of the laws did not find anything that could support a legal action - but that’s not to say there isn’t a legal action to pursue. Something definitely sounds off to me with the property owner’s actions.

 

[adjusterjack]

“Month-to-month” has a specific meaning under landlord/tenant laws.

You know that and I know that but I wanted to make sure the poster knew it and now we know that too.

 

[shopperscloset]

You've nailed it. No real amenities and he makes them pay the real estate taxes even though they don't own the land. Its the nicest looking park in the area for sure, but he's uncaring and greedy.

 

[quincy]

You've nailed it. No real amenities and he makes them pay the real estate taxes even though they don't own the land. Its the nicest looking park in the area for sure, but he's uncaring and greedy.

Real estate taxes are typically paid by the homeowners in a mobile home park. Although the property owner receives the tax bill, each mobile home is assessed separately as real property and taxed based on this assessment. The property owner may collect the taxes due from the homeowners in a lump sum or the taxes can be collected as part of the rent due each month.

 

[LdiJ]

Real estate taxes are typically paid by the homeowners in a mobile home park. Although the property owner receives the tax bill, each mobile home is assessed separately as real property and taxed based on this assessment. The property owner may collect the taxes due from the homeowners in a lump sum or the taxes can be collected as part of the rent due each month.

There are two types of property taxes paid in mobile home parks. There is the property tax on the actual home, which is not billed to the park owner it is billed to the home owner. Sometimes the park owner is the home owner too (rents out the home as well as the lot). Then there is the property tax on the land, which is billed to the park owner. While that is an expense that the park owner takes into consideration when setting his rents, it is not individual to each lot.

 

[shopperscloset]

They pay both the house Real estate and the land.

 

[LdiJ]

They pay both the house Real estate and the land.

It is a bit unusual for the landlord to do it that way, but the bottom line is that the tenants are going to be covering the cost of the land property taxes one way or another. Normally all of the expenses that the landlord has get built into the cost of the rent. Otherwise, the landlord couldn't make a profit and would go out of business.