An old mobile home leaves a property either whole, towed on its own chassis, or in pieces after being taken apart on site, and in North Carolina the county tax collector has to issue a permit before one is moved from where it sits. Before either happens, the utilities have to be disconnected, the appliances dealt with properly, and a plan made for the septic tank, the anchors and the pad left behind.
Tow it whole or take it apart
If the home is sound, someone may want it, and moving it whole is the cleanest result for your lot. Many old units are past that. Floors go soft, roofs leak, and frames rust. The industry terminology helps here: homes built before the federal HUD construction code took effect on June 15, 1976 are usually called mobile homes, and those built after it are manufactured homes. A pre-1976 single-wide is rarely worth moving to another site. In that case it gets stripped and taken apart where it stands, and the pieces leave by trailer, truck or container.
The permit comes from the tax office
North Carolina law makes it unlawful for anyone other than a dealer or manufacturer to remove a mobile home from where it sits without first getting a tax permit from the county tax collector, and that permit has to be displayed on the home while it is moving. The point is to protect the county against unpaid property tax, so expect the taxes to come up. In South Carolina, Greenville County says a moving permit from its mobile home registration office is required before any mobile home is relocated. Other counties have their own office for this. Call yours before booking anyone.
Disconnect everything first
Before any work starts, the electric provider has to disconnect the power at the pole or the meter, not just the breaker inside. The water line gets shut off and capped. The septic line from the home gets capped so nothing washes into the tank or the open pipe. If there is a propane tank, call the propane supplier about removing it or its lines. If no home is going back, ask what to do with the septic tank: in North Carolina that is the county environmental health office, and in South Carolina it is the Department of Environmental Services.
Appliances, contents and refrigerant
Empty the home of anything you want and anything with disposal rules: paint, chemicals, batteries, tires, propane cylinders and electronics. Refrigerators, freezers and window air conditioners need care. EPA rules make whoever is last in line, typically the scrap yard or the landfill, responsible for seeing the refrigerant recovered before the appliance is scrapped, so these go to a site that handles them rather than into a mixed demolition load. A central air unit outside the home is the same question. Ask your county solid waste office how it takes appliances.
Asbestos questions in an older home
Older homes of every kind can contain asbestos in flooring, ceiling material, pipe wrap or other products, and nobody can tell by looking. The federal asbestos air rule generally excludes residential buildings with four or fewer dwelling units, but EPA notes that houses removed as part of a commercial or public project are covered, and state programs can add their own requirements. Before a home is broken up, ask the NC DHHS Health Hazards Control Unit or the SCDES Bureau of Air Quality what applies to yours, and have suspect material checked by a trained asbestos professional.
It cannot be burned in place
Some people still think an old trailer can be burned where it sits. North Carolina's air quality division lists buildings, including mobile homes, among the things it is illegal to burn, along with plastic, wire, treated wood and shingles. South Carolina limits outdoor fires to vegetative material. A burned trailer also leaves a steel frame, wiring, glass and melted plastic that still has to be loaded out, now in worse shape and on scorched ground. Taking it apart is the legal way and, in the end, the quicker one.
The lot after the home is gone
When the home leaves, you are left with block piers, tie-down anchors screwed into the ground, skirting scraps, an old gravel drive and often a ring of trees and shrubs that grew up close. Anchors should be pulled, not cut off at ground level, if anything will be dug there later. If a new home is coming, the site usually needs clearing, grading and a new pad, and sometimes a new septic system; clearing a lot for a mobile or modular home walks through that. Stumps from those close trees can be ground out at the same time.
Common Questions
Do I need a permit to move an old mobile home off my land in North Carolina?
Yes. North Carolina law requires a tax permit from the county tax collector before a mobile home is removed from the place it sits, unless the move is handled by a dealer, a manufacturer or a carrier the statute exempts. The permit is displayed on the home during the move. Call the tax office first.
What happens to the septic tank when an old mobile home is removed?
It stays in the ground until someone decides what to do with it. If a new home will use it, have it checked before the new home is set. If no home is going back, ask the county environmental health office in North Carolina, or SCDES in South Carolina, how an unused tank should be handled.
Can an old single-wide be scrapped for metal?
Part of it can. The frame, axles, roofing and some siding are metal, and scrap sites take those once they are separated from wood, insulation and plastic. The rest is mixed demolition debris. Appliances with refrigerant have to go somewhere that recovers it first, so keep them out of the scrap pile.
What to Do Next
Planning to clear an old mobile home off a lot and put something better there? Talk the job through with Jordan on (828) 574-4474: the roll-off for the debris, the grading, the pad and demolition and structure removal, all quoted before work starts.
See our demolition service or call (828) 574-4474.