I Need A Mobile Home For Dummies Lesson

[Jen]

My friend and myself are going in together on 3.5 acres of land that already has a mobile home on it that is located on the first acre. There are no deed restrictions so we are planning on renting the mobile home to someone who has already expressed interest and who will buy it after 1 year and then we will each take 1 acre for our new mobile home and we would like to sell the last 1/2 acre.

We had a bad experience with the retailer in our area (Panama City, FL) and so we ended up going to Dothan, AL. Our salesperson is nice, honest, but not too informational and so the price she ended up quoting is just for the home. She said we could price out our own well and septic. I think we got a good deal on the Cavalier Residential built Power House with thermal panes, 2/6 exterior with 2/4 interior walls, extra insulation, 2x8 floor joists and tape and texture throughout sheetrock for $64,900.00. Anyone beg to differ?

I spoke with the lender yesterday and next week he will go into the process of getting final approval for us and because the land owner wants to close soon, he will do a contstruction loan to pay off the land and then the home can be set up after the clearing is done and then I guess we do septic, well powerpole etc.

Here is my dilemma. I have read and read on the land/home subject and now I am unsure of where to go from here. The lender said he will have our final approval no later than Friday.

What do I do now? I need someone knowledgeable to walk me through this step by step and to use language someone like myself can understand as this is my first home purchase without someone holding my hand. Does anyone know what well, septic and clearing of 1 acre/no driveway (lightly wooded) will cost? I estimated 10K, but don't know if it would be more.

I have gained such valuable information on this sight. Thank you all.

[rmurray]

I think the first stop should be the building and zoning office in your county...Land density and use is highly regulated in Florida and you might not be able to subdivide this property in this mannor..Actually I sorta doubt that you will be able to take a 3.5 acre property and subdivide it into 4 pieces...

If you are going into Bay County..they have a great web site...

http://www.co.bay.fl.us/bcds/

Land use section is at

http://www.co.bay.fl.us/bcds/planning/index.html

Seems like you will need a local land developer....Just this sort of thing gets in the way...example fro the FAQ section of the above web site..

When do I Need a Land Clearing Permit?

Answer

Anytime you use heavy machinery to clear a parcel of land for construction or for any other purpose other than timber farming activities on lands designated for such. If the parcel of land is over 3 acres in size the land clearing permit must be issued in association with a development order.

They even have tree removal permits as well...example..

When do I Need a Tree Removal Permit?
Answer

Anytime you remove a protected tree. What is a protected tree? Any hardwood over 8 inches in diameter or any pine over 18 inches in diameter. (diameter is calculated by measuring circumference at breast height and then dividing this number by ? which is 3.141)

A development permit could be $1200


DESCRIPTION FEE
Comprehensive Plan Amendment Review
Large-Scale (over 10 acres) Amendment $2,250
Small-Scale (under 10 acres) Amendment $1,200


Development Order Review $600
Development Agreement $600
Subdivision Review $665

Tree removal permits are $20 EACH

Make the trip to planning and zoning office asap