I have owed the trailer for only three years and it is in perfect condition, paid for, and due to a recent divorce, I got the trailer and want to keep it and live more cheaply. My question is, Where can I move the trailer to? I want to buy a property and put the trailer on it as my home. Of course, I understand that I will need to landscape and make it look nice, but what communities allow a trailer to be put there?
A. The short answer is: none. With only 450 words to go, I can tell you that your trailer is not constructed to the same code requirements as a residential dwelling and is not accepted as a full-time, safe residence, which is probably why the cost of a trailer home is so much less than a house. Even pre-fabricated homes have to be constructed with specific materials and structure to meet the standards set by the International Building Code as adopted and modified for New York State.
It would be a perfect answer to the affordable-housing issue if simple pre-fabricated, mobile units such as yours were built to the code requirements of your state, but you would still need to meet foundation, sanitary, water, fuel, and electric supply regulations. I am sure that the taxes would be less, but many communities also require a design review by their Architectural Review Board, and a trailer would be hard-pressed to match the goals of these boards. Neighbors of the property would be up in arms if they awoke to find their new neighbor was a trailer-dweller, not only because of the stigma -- and I am sure you have the best of intentions -- but also because their property values are already plummeting from the down market, recent foreclosures, and lack of upkeep by some.
So for you to park your trailer on Long Island, you would need to get several of them, stack them up, build code-required walls and structure, a roof, and foundation around them, then move in and try to act as if nothing out of the ordinary went on. Or, buy one of those down-market homes that are code-approved and help the local economy limp back. Sorry to discourage you, but the rules just are not in your favor. Good luck!
