Costs of Lot Maintenance

[Linda]

I purchased a manufactured home a year ago in a park where I rent the lot. The fences on 2 sides were completely covered in ivy, which upon removal was the only thing holding these 30 year old fences up. I'm having to bear the cost of installation of new fences which has so far cost over $3,000 and I am looking at another $1,000 for the back fence, which is falling over, in a few weeks. Is it customary for the tenant to have to bear 100% of the costs of maintaining the lot we rent?? A letter to the owner requesting he pay a portion was ignored.

Also I was told before purchase that the park would pay for fences fronting the street. After spending $1200 to replace that fence they said they would not pay for it, that they gave me the wrong information before sale.

As a new, first-time mobile home park resident, I'm curious about what is customary concerning maintenance costs of the lot itself.

Thanks much for any info.

Linda

[Chrissy Jackson]

Normally, the resident is responsible for fencing on their homesite. Not knowing the entire details, this appears to be one of those situations. As to the community owner paying for part of the fence, most communities will not pay anything unless they first approve the cost and the contractor. No community owner that I know will simply pay off of an invoice presented by the resident without prior written approval. And, fencing is not usually included in the definition of maintenance cost of the lot. That would sometimes include lawn care (mowing, trimming, fertilization, seeding, etc.) although some communities do that for the residents to promote curb appeal.

[Linda]

Chrissy,

Thanks for your quick reply. I know you don't make the "rules" but I just wanted to interject that think the owners should share the burden, based on time the tenant uses the fence. If they stay there 30 years, I can see the resident paying the entire cost, but if a person, for example, spends $4,000 on fencing, adding to the value of the lot, and moves out in a year, the owner should pay for the current value of the fence, which he will make up in lot rental.

Appreciate your input.

Linda

[Mark]

Just for another viewpoint...

If maintaining this fenceline was the renters task, why wasn't it done before?
The lot, including the fence, should have been brought to the state the landlord wanted it to be maintained in before you rented it, OR, you should have been giving credit for what it would take to bring it up to community standards.

I see no way that the landlord could neglect a property, and then ask the new tennant to pay for the repairs!

[David]

As a park owner I hope that I can shed some light on this issue. The lot rents are determined by expenses and expected profit. Depending on the amount of the lot rent, it could take the park owner several years to recover the cost of a fence from the income generated by the designated lot. In the meantime the expenses continue.

If the park in question had been mine, the tenant would have been ordered to remove or repair the fence. Since the mobile home was sold, I would have had the fence taken down and disposed of at my expense. The new tenant would then have had the option of installing a new fence at their expense, or leaving the lot fenceless. This is the same option the previous tenant had. The cost of the construction, maintenance and repair of the fence remains with the tenant.

As for increasing the value of the lot, all of the lots are rented for the same amount. While it may make the lot easier to rent, it does nothing for increasing the income from the lot.