A Brick Wall
An Ohio couple runs into obstacles trying to put up a modular home.
Last year, Paul and Amy Deuble bought land in Shreve, Ohio, on which they intended to have assembled a 2,107-square-foot modular home with a similar-sized basement. Those plans stalled in November when owners of a local bed and breakfast objected to the construction, and a Common Pleas Court judge in Wayne County issued a restraining order on Dec. 12, 2006.
The obstacles the Deubles have encountered might sound familiar to modular builders and buyers elsewhere. The couple thought the contract they signed for the land they purchased allowed for modular construction, only to be informed later by their Realtor, Glick Real Estate, that the deed restricts manufactured homes. (A call to Nathan Glick of Glick Real Estate was not returned.) The distinction between manufactured and modular homes, says Amy Deuble, has been lost on Judge Robert Brown and the plaintiffs, David and Roberta Farrell, even though Ohio has defined terms for such structures and despite testimony by the house's manufacturer Commodore Homes.
So while their half-completed house sits on the lot, exposed to the elements, the Deubles and their two children are living in a rental in Wooster, Ohio. If the lower court rules against them, they are prepared to take their case to Ohio's appellate court where, they hope, the state's attorney general would present an amicus brief on their behalf. - J. Caufield
Half-Billion Dollars
A trailer park has become the largest real estate transaction in Palm Beach County history.
Notice to builders: If a prospective buyer lists his address as Briny Breezes, Fla., he's good for the money. On Jan. 10, the owners of the nearly 500 mobile homes in the oceanfront trailer park became instant millionaires when they voted to sell their town to a developer for $510 million.
The 43-acre town, which is governed by a volunteer co-op board and made up entirely of the trailer park, has 600 feet on the Atlantic Ocean and 1,100 feet on the Intracoastal Waterway. Boca Raton, Fla.–based Ocean Land Investments plans to build several hundred low-rise, multimillion-dollar condominiums, a marina, and a luxury hotel.
“It's just a fabulous area,” says Logan Pierson, vice president of land acquisition for Ocean Land Investments. “To find 43 acres of contiguous property in Florida is unheard of.”
Once the deal closes in 2009, the next step will be to obtain necessary zoning and development approvals, which local officials have suggested will be tough to come by. Ocean Land isn't worried.
“We want to sit down with [local officials] right away, let them know conceptually what we're doing and hear their concerns,” Pierson says. “Our expectation is they'll be much more positive on the project going forward.” - Pat Curry