moveing a home - Posted by big bee

Posted by Jim Simons on January 07, 1999 at 11:07:03:

I don’t know if this applies but in Lonnies course on Mobile Homes, he suggests if you have to move it, make sure the Mover carries cargo insurance, in case your house gets damamged. - just a thought!

moveing a home - Posted by big bee

Posted by big bee on January 06, 1999 at 23:41:37:

Has anybody had any experience with moveing a house? How much does it cost? Are there any restrictions? etc.

Re: moveing a home - Posted by Sue (NC)

Posted by Sue (NC) on January 07, 1999 at 08:43:21:

Never done it myself, but a friend has, and I checked into it here in NC. Might be different where you are.

The house can usually be acquired for pennies on the dollar, or even for free. If you buy them from municipalities or other government agencies, they may give you the house, but expect a performance bond to be posted to insure that you will actually get rid of the house (5-20K). You get (most of) your money back after the house is moved.

You will probably need to take down some power lines along the route- the house mover that you hire can quote you the charge for this. With smaller homes you might be able to get away with ‘lifting’ most the wires over the peak of the house, but larger homes might pose a problem. The utility company might also want a bond to insure against any losses.

You will want whoever moves the house to be bonded as well. It’s a requirement here for house movers, but I would want some proof. Particularly because the house movers here all want to have CASH for their services in advance.

Small homes (600-800 sf) can be moved for 8-10K. Larger ones (1200-1600) might be closer to 50K.
I lived in a 3300sf historic home that was moved only 9 blocks- 87K to move it in 1983. Probably well over 100K now for that type of move.

Check with your building inspectors in advance- particularly if you’re moving an older home. Mine told me that they COULD require updates to the structure to bring it up to current code (yipes!). That means no 60 amp service, no asbestos siding, all the qualities that homes to be moved seem to have. It seems that this is up to the inspector whether to require updates or to allow it to be treated as ‘grandfathered’.

Beware of the rainy season, particularly if you need to take off the roof and move it separately. Rains also can keep the house mover from pulling the house off of the road- moves of long distances over several days need good weather plans.

My advice: get a good house mover- they seem to know the ropes around here, and are willing to help out investors with little experience in this area. They do expect cash, and I haven’t yet found anyone willing to finance until the house is actually at its destination.