Whose responsible?

[brattsgirl]

A year ago I bought a 1993 Colony DW which I really happen to like. The previous owners were trash and and I can't find any evidence of any kind of maintenance that they did in the 8 years they lived here. Anyway, I bought this house because of a back disability and needed to be on one level and will not live in an apartment as I am in constant pain and need peace and quiet. I digress. The short end of the house faces the street and at the back there is a very steep hill that starts at the end of the house, but there is another 10 feet of deck that sticks out. As you face the house the left side is mostly level until you get towards the back of the house and that is where the shed is and right behind the shed is the top of the hill, and on the right side it's the same way. So I almost never go heyond that point as that hill is a real killer on the back. I can't even stand there let alone walk around there.

Recently my next door neighbor told me there was a problem with the skirting on the side facing his house and I should check it out. Well, I did right away. Starting about 10 feet from the end of the house there is a trench that goes to the end of the house and is anywhere from 6 - 12" deep. I have no clue how this happened. Last time I was back that way was the beginning of the spring and that was only to hook up the hose to use on the deck, and there may have been a smaller trench at that time (I really can't remember) but the only thing I could think of was maybe the gutters needed to be cleaned again (they were done in the fall). I have to hire a professional to do them as I can't. So I don't think it's the gutters.

Upon closer look I realized the long aluminum pins that hold the skirting into the track had come out and of course the track dropped into the trench. The only thing holding the track, pins and skirting was DIRT, plain ordinary everyday dirt. Nothing solid like wood or concrete or whatever. So of course this would happen. It's like that all the way around as far as I can see. If my lot were sitting on a level lot I don't think this would have happened or at least not this bad. But my house isn't all sitting on a level lot as the back end sits atop a very steep hill. As a result of this apparently the other side also has an erosion problem albeit minor right now (it's covered by part of the deck) and teh back is off kilter as well, you can see how the left side is lower than the right with your eyes.

I had a couple of contractors give me estimates one quoted about $600 for parts mostly skirting and $50/hr., another wouldn't touch it as he said it was more than he could handle and one more that really seemed to know what he was talking about want's $3,500. The first guy came off as a buffoon, the second guy was looking to make a lot of money as he really wanted to put the whole house on a concrete slab, but the 3rd guy showed me a lot, answered all my questions and really seemed to know what he was talking about. Problem is I'm living on fixed income now, Social Security disability and don't have $3,500. I called the parks office and as luck would have it the park owner is in town this week and he came down to look at it himself (apparently this is unheard of) and told me to sit tight and do nothing right now and he'd have his crew take a look (they are the ones that install all the homes in the park) and he would get back to me.

I'm afraid he's going to come back and say it's my responsibilty to get it fixed and I don't have the money to do so. I think they should have it fixed as what idiot would have installed the house and skirting that way at the top of a hill??

I'm sorry this is so long but I can't tell you how upsetting this is, everytime I turn around it's something else with this place and all because of lack of maintenance.

Any advice or guidance would be appreciated. Thanks. Jennifer

[David Oxhandler]

It sounds like you have vinyl skirting that is installed between a ground track (on the earth) and an overlapping receiver at the top.  This type of skirting must be installed with those big nails pounded into the ground without anything else holding them.  Especially in the extreme north.  The lower track must be able to rise and drop with the frost heaving the ground. The skirting is tucked under the upper receiver and should have enough space to permit the skirting to move up and down with the change of temperature.  If the lower track is set firm in concrete the skirting will buckle or fall out instead of expanding and contracting seasonally.   The trenches sounds like they have been cut from water running off the roof.  If you do have gutters you need get them cleaned out at least a few times a year.  It would not be surprising that they were congested and overflowing in the fall when the leaves are falling off the trees and landing everyplace you least would like them to go.   This might be corrected with a good root system from grass.  You might talk to the park management about laying some sod around the home in the spring.  If the slope is too much for the grass to handle the problem, you might ask if they would be willing to dig a trench that slopes down the hill and concrete it over so that the water is directed away from the home with out any future erosion.  The problem with this is where the water is being directed to.  Where ever it is diverted to could become a pond or create worse ditches, erosion and runoff problems for the neighbors.   I had this type problem at my home and installed a French drain system  You can see  the item about building a French drain from a prior discussion thread </A>  It was relatively inexpensive and solved the problem of water running around my home forever.   To get a fuller understanding about the site work that should go into any manufactured home installation you can DOWNLOAD Manufactured Housing Installation and Repair - E-Edition by George Porter   As to who is responsible for the cost of the fix...  that really depends on what your land lease agreement says or fails to say about grounds keeping and exterior maintenance around the home.   Talk to your park owner.  He has already shown a reasonable interest in getting the problem fixed.    It is in his best business interest to have everything in his park looking good to continue to attract respectable tenants.     If the responsibility falls back to you don't neglect this problem.  If you just let it go there is every chance that eventually the water will run under your home leaving the foundation susceptible to being undermined.  The sooner the erosion process is stopped the less expensive the fix will

[brattsgirl]

David, thanks for the quick response. That's exactly the kind of skirting I have and what you said made perfect sense about the skirting being able to move up and down. I live in Maryland, right out side of Baltimore so I guess that's sort of North. LOL

As for the trenches I'm pretty sure it's not the gutters they have been cleaned a few times already and leaves are just now starting to fall and we checked them right away and all is well up there. So it is strange that it gets so deep there and then it does drop right off onto the steep hill. There are only trees at the bottom of the hill and the distance down the hill is sufficient to absorb even the worst rains so far. There are no puddles.

How about I fill it with rock like the other side with sod or soil and grass seed on top? and direct the water from the gutter down the hill with a flexible gutter to a splash guard (which is what I have now - the previous owner had the downspout that went straight down and not even a splash guard). Okay so we get this side fixed I suppose I could do the same thing or something similiar to the other side since it's starting to show the early signs of erosion.

As much as I love this house and the neighborhood I'm supposed to be getting rest and relaxation for my back, and with one thing after another, the drugs just aren't enough. Geeze, will this ever end?

Thanks so much for your helpful advice. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Jennifer

I was looking into that concrete skirting that I really like but the park nixed it already. I have already researched the french drain & drain pipe methods and either of those would work too, but since I can't do the work I'd have to pay someone to do it. And money is an issue.

As for the resposibility I'm pretty sure it's mine at least as far as the skirting goes, but I'm not so sure about the erosion part. I hope he takes care of that and I'd be willing to pay for the skirting. This is a really nice park and I'd like to keep it that way too. There are a lot of parks around this area and this is one of the nicest.

[brattsgirl]

Sorry it took so long to update you on my most recent dilemma but this freezing wet weather is really wrecking havoc on my back. Well I must have done something right. The owner came back that afternoon and said he'd have his guys take care of it and that they would start the next morning and should only take a day. Then I asked him how much? and he said "zero, nothing, nadda". I could have cried right there and then. Maybe he wasn't being generous and since I'm only renting the lot and it's technically his property maybe that's why he took care of it. Anyway the guys showed up the next morning with a backhoe. I didn't go look until they were done as I really just wanted to stay out of the way. They ended up putting in four drains, one of which starts all the way at the front of the house which makes it about 70' long. All the drains were covered with dirt and exit out the side of the hill. It's perfect. It looks good and has been holding up real well. So now I'm thinking about a really nice looking ornamental grass I saw to plant back there. Thanks for your help. Jen

[David Oxhandler]

Landlords come in all flavors from the good the bad and the ugly. Sounds like you got a good one and a smart businessman. It is to the park owners advantage to maintain his property. Neglect and dilapidation lead to dissatisfied tenants, tenant flight and not only a loss of monthly income but a loss of investment value. I am always amazed when I see parks that the owners have stopped caring for their physical property.

Thanks for the update. Enjoy dressing up your home site