Moving Our Manufactured Home

**This post is sponsored by Clayton.

**In the process of moving our home, we worked with third party contractors independent of Clayton.

After living in our home for nearly 6 years, we recently got the opportunity to fulfill one of our lifelong dreams. We were able to move our home to the small farm that we had bought several years prior to preparing our home for being moved.

The Search for Land

Image courtesy of Sarah Blankenship.

After buying our home in 2013, we began thinking about the possibility of one day moving the home to a location farther out in the country. Our original location of choice was the family farm located nearly an hour away. However, with my husband being the pastor at our local church and our family being established in the community, we chose to search for land closer to our home.

There were several requirements we had when looking for land in our small community. One of those requirements was that the land needed to be found within city limits and it needed to be zoned to permit manufactured homes. Not only is my husband the pastor, but he is also the mayor of our small town. With him being the mayor, we had to stay within city limits. With those requirements, our options were extremely limited.

In 2018, we started talking with a couple in our community who had multiple city lots at the edge of town they were willing to sell. My husband and I went to look at the property and made the decision to buy it. Then, in 2019, the opportunity came up to buy several more city lots right next to the ones we had purchased previously. We now have close to 5 acres.

The land we bought was overgrown with trees and tall grass, but the best treasure was the old barn we uncovered. We are not sure how old our barn is, but it has been on the land for many years. Our dream of moving our home to a small farm had come true.

Preparing the Land Site

Before we could move our home, we had to spend many hours clearing the land the home would be moving to. We first decided on the location where we wanted the home placed and began clearing trees and brush from that location. We also had to decide where we wanted our driveway, where the electric would hook up and where we would hook into city water and sewer.

Image courtesy of Sarah Blankenship.

How We Found a Moving Contractor

As we prepared to move the home, I began calling our local home centers to get references for third party contractors to move our home. Many of our local home centers have individual companies they use regularly for home installation and moving, and they were more than happy to pass along that information.

In choosing a professional mover, we had each one come out to look at our home, and the site that we were planning to move the home to. We asked a lot of questions as to how each individual company moved the home. Questions like, how long it took to move the home, how much of the tear down and set up they did and if they took care of pouring the concrete piers. We also made sure the company was licensed, insured and bonded.

At the end of interviewing multiple individuals, we chose a company we were comfortable with and had been used by local home centers. Our home mover did not do the concrete work we needed to have done. So, we had to hire another company to dig out the location where our home would sit, and to pour the concrete piers.

Image courtesy of Sarah Blankenship.

Permits to Move our Home

Every town will have different laws about getting a permit to move a home. In our town, we did not need to have any permits. However, we did contact our insurance company to let them know we would be moving the home, and to ask if we needed any other insurance. Again, this is something that will vary for each insurance company.

Image courtesy of Sarah Blankenship.

Moving Day

I was extremely anxious about moving day. Our home mover had gone over the potential risks of moving the home with us. Some of those risks were that we might see cracks in the ceiling, as well as damage to some of the remodeling process we had already completed. As part of our remodeling process, we had put shiplap on the walls, and part of the floors already had hardwood placed. I understood the risks, but I was still anxious that something might go wrong. On our original moving date, it poured down rain. There was no way to move the home while the ground was saturated, so the moving date changed to a new date. Once the ground had dried out, the home movers showed up and got the process started.

As the homeowners, we chose to save a little money and remove the skirting and pieces of siding on the ends of the home on our own. It is extremely important to make sure to take all necessary precautions when doing any of the preparation work on your own. When our home mover came out to look at our home, he gave us the proper instructions on how to remove the siding and skirting. We also had the water, electric and sewer hook ups disconnected by the proper officials. The home movers had to weld the towing tongues onto the end of each section of our home, put the axles, wheels and tires on and then they began the process of separating the two sections of the home.

The Move

Watching the movers separate the sections of the home was a breathtaking experience. The movers worked quickly and cautiously to get the home separated. After the home was taken apart, the movers transported one section of the home to the farm before coming back to get the second half. Within 4 hours, our home was moved and put back together at our farm. How long it takes to move a home will vary according to each individual home, the distance it has to be moved and the movers.

Once the home was leveled, I was able to go in for the first time after the move. After being so anxious there might be damage from the move, I was relieved to find none. The home had been moved and arrived with no damage. We began moving all our belongings back in just hours after having the home moved.

As the homeowners, and to save money, we chose to put the skirting back up around the home and to also put the pieces of siding that had been removed back on the home. We were also responsible for contacting all of the proper individuals with the city and utility companies to have the water, sewer and electric hooked up. Again, this will vary greatly with your local town’s rules, and permits. This will also vary according to the services provided by the home mover that is chosen.

Purchasing our home has been one of the greatest joys in our lives, and now living at the farm in our home has made our dreams come true.