Q: Purchased mobile home, property management negligence of application approval is now getting troublesome.
I purchased a mobile home from my daughter at the end of May and put in my application for park approval mid June. After my application was in, the property manager contacted me one time and then became very difficult to communicate with, the phone number was out of service, visits to her property were ignored. I ended up getting in contact with the company that recently purchased the park, and explained my situation to them which resulted in the property manager contacting me the next day. We are now finishing up the application process, but are now told that the unpaid lot rent must be paid by either me or my daughter before anything goes further, and that my trailer may be taken if it isn't resolved.
So my question is, am I or my daughter responsible for the lot rent that was unpaid while nobody lived on the residence due to the property managers negligence in the approval process? What legal rights do I have, if any, in my favor? Can they take my trailer?
A:
Short answer to your specific question: yes you owe, and yes they can take the trailer if they follow the proper process.
Longer answer:
Was the home on the property the rent is being charged? WHY didn't you move in and/or pay the rent into escrow? Did you contact an attorney and is any of this in WRITING (e.g. did you send the park manager a letter saying you have been trying to complete the process when it became obvious they weren't responsive?)
There are MANY issues here, but the first of which is that if you 'occupy' the place physically doesn't make any difference if the HOUSE is on a lot owned by someone else. Get some local legal advice from a landlord-tenant lawyer and understand what your rights and responsibilities are before this spins further out of control. There ARE things you can do to protect yourself but trying to manage this on your own is likely to fail given the facts you've presented and what you've done so far.
Get local legal help ASAP!
-- This answer is offered for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney/client relationship.
I am licensed to practice in Michigan only. Please seek competent local legal help if you feel you need legal advice
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