Thinking of getting rid of your mobile home but don’t know how? Keep reading on. On this article, we’ll show you several options on how to dispose of your mobile home. Generally, you can either demolish, deconstruct, relocate, donate, or sell your mobile home. There are several factors you should consider when deciding what to do, so we’ll discuss these options one at a time.
Option #1: Donate Your Mobile Home
How to Do it:
There are several ways for you to donate your mobile home. Fire departments can offer you a tax write- off if you allow them to you use your mobile home in their fire exercises. In a lot of cases, they burn your mobile home in fire demonstration exercises. Here is a couple of ways how you can donate your mobile home.
Donating to the Local Fire Department:
- Coordinate with your local fire department and inquire if they are interested to use your mobile home for a burn exercise. Make sure that they will organize a safe exercise.
- Click the link below to watch a local fire department in a burn exercise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=353&v=FFbUhiy66sY
Donating to Charity/ Individual:
- Make sure your mobile home is at par with current building codes. Donation becomes a non- option if your mobile home doesn’t meet codes.
- Look for an interested party. Try and check out Kars 4 Kids and The Freecycle Network to start.
- Place arrangements for your mobile home’s removal in your property.
Cost
It will cost you nothing. Helping is great, people should do it more often.
Time
Donating takes less than a day. But since the manner of which how your mobile home will be used varies, the time is also hard to predict.
Option #2: Sell Your Mobile Home
How to Do it:
- Find a buyer. You can look at Craigslist or a local realtor for mobile homes to look for a buyer. There are many options on how and where to find a buyer.
- Sell it. As simple as that. The buyer will do the removal for you, in most cases.
Cost
You make money off this one. Congratulations.
Time
It will depend on how long you ‘ll be able to find a buyer and reach an agreement. Once an agreement is made, it will then depend on the method of how they will remove your mobile home. So, there’s no telling how long it will take.
Option #3: Relocate Your Mobile Home
How to Do it:
- Get a quote from several contractors. Talking to more than one contractor is recommended to give you options.
- Choose the contractor with the better offer. Remember, lower price doesn’t always mean it’s the better offer. Carefully review and compare each quote.
- Get the necessary permits (most localities will require this). This can be included in your contractor’s contract. Be sure to clarify this with them. This typically costs from $100.00 to $350.00, depending on your local municipality.
- Dismantle the stairs, deck, and porch roof, if any.
- Disconnect utilities and remove skirt. Underground supports should also be removed.
- Your mobile home is crane lifted on a flat trailer.
- Your mobile home is transported to your desired location.
- Finally, your mobile home is set up once again. The stairs, deck, and porch roof are attached once again.
Cost
The cost will depend on the distance of travel and the relocation area. Typically, it costs from $1,200.00 to $3,500.00 to relocate your mobile home.
Time
The time to get this done not only involves the actual travel time from its original location to its new location. It also involves the preparation time prior to transport and the setup time once it reaches its new location. The actual travel time itself will also take longer compared to driving a car to the same destination as trucks and trailers with heavy cargo is required by law to travel at a slower pace.
Option #4: Demolish Your Mobile Home
How to Do it:
- Get a quote from several contractors. Talking to more than one contractor is recommended to give you options.
- Choose the contractor with the better offer. Remember, lower price doesn’t always mean it’s the better offer. Carefully review and compare each quote.
- Get the necessary permits (most localities will require this). This can be included in your contractor’s contract. Be sure to clarify this with them. This typically costs from $100.00 to $350.00, depending on your local municipality.
- Mobile home is torn down by contractor.
- Any reusable material is separated. Recycle, help the environment.
- Contractor properly disposes all debris.
Cost
This will depend on the extent of work. For example, if your mobile home has a shingle roof, then that’s cause for extra labor to be needed. Extra work may also influence the cost for disposal of debris. Having said that, for the typical mobile home, the cost is $3.50 per sq. ft. based on the national average.
Time
Demolition is the fastest way for you to get rid of your mobile home provided, that you use the right equipment. It will only take a few hours to do so.
Saving Tips:
You can do some of the things yourself before you get quotes from contractors. You can empty your mobile home from reusable scraps like removing cupboards, shelves, etc. Do as much as you can. You can probably save $200.00 to $700.00 in recycled material, depending on how much work you do.
Option #5: Deconstruct Your Mobile Home
How to Do it:
- Get a quote from several contractors. Talking to more than one contractor is recommended to give you options.
- Choose the contractor with the better offer. Remember, lower price doesn’t always mean it’s the better offer. Carefully review and compare each quote.
- Get the necessary permits (most localities will require this). This can be included in your contractor’s contract. Be sure to clarify this with them. This typically costs from $100.00 to $350.00, depending on your local municipality.
- Dismantle the mobile home piece by piece.
- Any reusable material is separated. Recycle, help the environment.
- Contractor properly disposes all debris.
For better visualization, watch this video on how to deconstruct your mobile home:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcE0X3RgObw&feature=youtu.be
Cost
Deconstruction costs more than demolition by almost double the amount. Deconstructing your mobile home can cost you over $8,000.00 for extensive work.
Saving Tips:
You can find several companies that can deconstruct your mobile home for charity provided, your mobile home is in good condition. You can also consider this deconstruction as a tax write- off with this. That’s a good deal, right?
Time
Being a more tedious procedure than demolition, this will take more time to accomplish. Depending on how many salvageable parts your mobile home has, it can take from a day to a couple of days to get done.
Hire the Right Contractor.
Be sure to pick the right contractor for the job. They should be able to give you an insurance certificate addressed in your name. If they cannot provide with one, it means they are probably not insured. Ask upfront if they can provide so you’ll know from the start if they are any good.
More than that, be sure to review the quotation they will give you and ask for a detailed scope of work, so you can understand better what they will do to your mobile home. It pays to know things and it will keep you aware if you are getting your money’s worth. Further, you can search online for reviews on the contractors you may be dealing with. All thanks to technology.