I live in a mobile home park. I am told the property is to be sold for back taxes. The landlord hasn't paid for four years. I pay my lot rent every month. If we are told that we have to move our trailers, who is responsible for moving them? We all ow ...

Submitted by Patti Stone on

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I live in a mobile home park. I am told the property is to be sold for back taxes. The landlord hasn't paid for four years. I pay my lot rent every month. If we are told that we have to move our trailers, who is responsible for moving them? We all own our trailers

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The situation you describe is

Submitted by Staff_Writer on

The situation you describe is unfortunate but not uncommon. It is also a situation I recommend finding a local attorney to assist with, as it may become complicated rather quickly. One potential upside is that if there are many residents in a similar situation, you may be able to find an attorney to represent all of the similarly situated residents, thus making the relative cost of the services cheaper per resident. You may also want to ask if the attorney would be willing to work on contingency, which basically means he/she would not charge a per hour legal fee, but instead take a percentage of a judgement (so it basically means you won't have to pay for all the legal fees unless you win). That being said, make sure you understand the contingency arrangement, as sometimes an attorney may still charge some fees / costs in a contingency arrangement.

Back to your question, one of the most important elements in considering your situation is the lease document (the terms, etc.). By reviewing the lease, you may be able to have a better understanding of what potential rights you have, even without going to an attorney.

Also, just because the property is being sold, does not necessarily mean the new landlord will require everyone to move, so there may be room to negotiate a new lease with the new landlord.

Now for the very unfortunate part. In situations like this, there is a very real possibility that the landlord doesn't have any money (hence the failure to pay taxes) and therefore even if you win a judgement against the landlord, you may not be able to collect from the landlord (aka judgement proof). Further, there is even the possibility that the landlord has, or will, declare bankruptcy. If that is the case, you should consider filing a claim with the bankruptcy court. For all the reasons I discussed above, I again recommend finding a local attorney who should be able to give a bunch better assessment of your situation once he/she has all the facts (including the lease).

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The situation you describe is

Submitted by Staff_Writer on

The situation you describe is unfortunate but not uncommon. It is also a situation I recommend finding a local attorney to assist with, as it may become complicated rather quickly. One potential upside is that if there are many residents in a similar situation, you may be able to find an attorney to represent all of the similarly situated residents, thus making the relative cost of the services cheaper per resident. You may also want to ask if the attorney would be willing to work on contingency, which basically means he/she would not charge a per hour legal fee, but instead take a percentage of a judgement (so it basically means you won't have to pay for all the legal fees unless you win). That being said, make sure you understand the contingency arrangement, as sometimes an attorney may still charge some fees / costs in a contingency arrangement.

Back to your question, one of the most important elements in considering your situation is the lease document (the terms, etc.). By reviewing the lease, you may be able to have a better understanding of what potential rights you have, even without going to an attorney.

Also, just because the property is being sold, does not necessarily mean the new landlord will require everyone to move, so there may be room to negotiate a new lease with the new landlord.

Now for the very unfortunate part. In situations like this, there is a very real possibility that the landlord doesn't have any money (hence the failure to pay taxes) and therefore even if you win a judgement against the landlord, you may not be able to collect from the landlord (aka judgement proof). Further, there is even the possibility that the landlord has, or will, declare bankruptcy. If that is the case, you should consider filing a claim with the bankruptcy court. For all the reasons I discussed above, I again recommend finding a local attorney who should be able to give a bunch better assessment of your situation once he/she has all the facts (including the lease).