SFTR Covenant Committee
Report of Research on Covenants re: “mobil homes”
April, 2003

First of all, there is no such word as “mobil.”  If we ever get to the point where we can make at least spelling and typographical corrections to our Covenants, SFTR POA should correct this spelling error.  The correct spelling is “mobile.”  Throughout this report, “mobile” will be used to describe the entity referred to in our covenants as “mobil.” When quoting the covenants, “mobil” will be used as it appears in that document.

Assuming that the authors of our original document meant “mobile homes,” the 2003 Covenant Committee shares the following research and recommendations to the Board.

History of Mobile Homes

1. According to the Manufactured Housing Institute, “’mobile homes’ is a term used for ‘manufactured homes’ produced prior to June 15, 1976, when the HUD Code went into effect.”  The correct term today is “manufactured homes.”
2. “’Manufactured homes’ are homes built entirely in the factory under a federal building code administered by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).”
3. All Manufactured/Mobile homes must be built on a permanent steel chassis.  The use of wheels and axles to transport these homes has nothing to do with the look of the completely installed structure once the wheels and axles have been removed.
4. Current authorities in the industry share similar frustrations about how the industry is perceived and reported about:  1) The industry has made significant improvements in the manufacturing and quality of all forms of manufactured housing; 2) Government definitions are outdated and confusing; and 3) Most manufacturers are unaware that lenders allow owners of manufactured homes to purge their original mobile titles and revert to a lot improvement title the same as any site-built home.
5. Despite the supposed obsolescence of the term “mobile home” in the manufacturing industry, the term “mobile home” is used continually in any variety of ways to mean trailer, as in trailer parks, single-wides, double-wides, mobile home parks, recreational vehicles, etc.

History of SFTR POA definition of Mobile Home and process for “approving” such on the ranch

1. Covenant language on this topic is 5.6 and 5.8.

   5.6   Temporary Residences.  In keeping with the scheme to protect the beauty of the area and to prevent unsightly or non-qualifying residences, Temporary Residences are permissible only under the following rules and regulations, subject to revision by the Board of directors from time to time.

   1. Mobil homes with the appearance of a house shall be permitted under the following terms and conditions in non-designated areas only:
      1. Obtain a special permit from the P.O.A.,
      2. For a term not to exceed one year,
      3. Mobil must not be visible from roadways or adjoining lots.
      4. At the end of one year owner must either remove mobil or obtain a permit from the Board of Directors in conjunction with title (5.8),

   5.8   Mobil Homes.  Are permitted only in designated areas or by special permit from the P.O.A. Board. All Mobil Homes must be set on foundations, fully skirted and placed out of view from any project or public road.
   Before issuing the Special Permit, the P.O.A. Board will take into consideration appearance of mobil to be placed, property values of adjoining owners and any negative impact the placement might have.
   Permits shall be for a maximum five (5) year time period and must be reviewed every five years by the board of Directors ….

   In summary: Mobile home, with the appearance of a house, may be permitted for one year. At the end of the year, the Board may issue a 5-year permit that must be reviewed every five years. For both provisions, the mobile home must not be visible from any other lot or common roadway, must be properly skirted, maintained, and conform to all local zoning laws.

2. Currently we have one “mobile home” on a year-to-year permit during home construction.  The mobile is very visible from common roads and from adjacent lots.  This condition has been allowed because the property owners have no other option for mobile placement on their lot configuration.
3. There are several travel trailers, temporarily in place as residences, for property owner use while their homes are being constructed.  These temporary residences are permitted on renewable six-month permits.
4. There is also more than one travel trailer on foundations that are not visible from the roads or adjacent lots, which have been in place for years without obtaining a permit for such.  These are used for vacation purposes.  In order to locate these trailers, POA agents would have to trespass on private land.  To date, the POA board attitude has been, “can’t see; don’t know.”
5. Rich Babnick, agent for Charles Baldwin, states that Baldwin meant “trailer home, not manufactured home” when he put the “mobile home” clauses in the Covenants. This common definition of “mobile home” is consistent with the uses made by the Media in reporting locations of crimes, etc.
6. Court verdicts in similar cases say, in essence, “when legal documents and definitions are missing, all you can do is act based on a reasonable interpretation.”
7. Babnick feels that previous Boards have acted on this issue consistent with Baldwin’s intent in writing the Covenants.
8. Previous Board decisions were based on the following criteria:
   1. Once installed, structure is considered a real and fixed asset to the property by the lenders and by the county assessor.
   2. Structure conforms to all county codes, including being hooked up to an approved septic system, and passes inspection by the county building inspector as a permanent home.
9. Test case:  One ranch resident recently sought bids for relocating their “manufactured home” and found out that the process and cost was identical to moving any site-built home.  In other words, once the mobile is affixed to a foundation, it is no longer mobile.
10. In the industry:  “Once a manufactured home is fixed to its site and tied down, wheels and axle removed, it is just as permanent as a modular or precut home.”
11. “If a tax certificate shows a value for improvements as well as land, and which total value corresponds to the sales price, provides evidence that the improvement and land are real property.” “The law states: if the manufactured unit is incapable of being drawn over roads, then the title of the land and the improvement are considered merged.”  Colorado law form 115.3.

Current description of Mobile/Manufactured Home with photos

(Information from the Manufactured Housing Institute.)

It’s easy to see how Manufactured Homes have changed from their humble beginnings as temporary post-World War II shelter. Beyond appearance, however, other significant changes – driven by market forces, technology and regulation – have combined to complete the evolution of yesteryear’s mobile home into the home of tomorrow.

The committee has arrived at the following conclusions

1. Clearly what we’re dealing with here is not the definition of mobile home, because that definition has changed drastically since the Covenants were written, but rather with the external appearance of homes on the ranch, in order to “protect the beauty of the area and to prevent unsightly … residences.” Does the POA want to create an Architectural Committee to spell out what can and cannot be built or installed on the ranch?
2. “Mobile home” definition should be: a structure that functions as a house, that came onto the ranch on wheels, continues to have wheels, and can be rolled off the ranch on those wheels. (This includes a structure that may have had the wheels removed, but continues to have the mechanism for re-attaching wheels and moving the structure.) A structure that is licensed as a vehicle and has not been added to the property tax assessment as a land improvement.
3. Perhaps there is some way to define what is allowable as a permanent residence by using photos and descriptions. For example, the completely installed structure must look like a site-built house and not like a mobile trailer. Whether or not the structure has a permanent foundation is not the criteria, but rather the look of the structure. We can’t even specify size, as many structures built on site on the ranch barely meet the county’s minimum square footage for a building permit.

Committee’s recommendations to the Board

1. That the Covenant Committee’s research on “mobile homes,” as referenced in our governance documents, be accepted and recorded with official Board documents.
2. That the Board record the following reasonable interpretation of the intent of Articles V.6 and V.8.
   1. “Mobile home” is a structure that functions as a house, that came onto the ranch on wheels, continues to have wheels, and can be rolled off the ranch on those wheels. (This includes a structure that may have had the wheels removed, but continues to have the mechanism for re-attaching wheels and moving the structure.) A structure that is licensed as a vehicle and has not been added to the property tax assessment as a land improvement.
   2. To prevent the permanent installation of the type of “mobile homes” that are commonly found in low-income “mobile home parks,” the Board will deny permanent residence status to any manufactured home that fits the low-end description of a singlewide/doublewide trailer that became popular in the 60s and 70s and made “mobile home parks” popular, e.g.:

      

      • looks more like a trailer than it does a house
      • has a flat roof or a shallow roof pitch
      • roof stops at edge of walls without an overhang
      • has exterior metal panels
      • has the long, narrow, one-lane shape of such factory-built, transported domiciles,
      • has a built-in axle
3. Any permanent residences that have been allowed on the ranch but do not fit this interpretation of allowed homes will be grandfathered in.
4. This information about allowable and disallowed permanent residences on the ranch should be clearly communicated to all local real estate agencies.

Information for this report was gathered from U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, Colorado Building Codes, UBC, Manufactured Housing Institute, Automated Builder Magazine, Modular Home Industry website, Baldwin Resources, Las Animas County Building Inspection office, various lending institutions, past POA Presidents and Board minutes, “Manufactured vs Mobile Homes,” article in St. Petersburg Times, Nov. 9, 2002, various manufactured housing manufacturers and dealers.