Moving a home
By : J. David Chapman/August 8, 2024
As I am writing this column, I am watching a home being moved. I have sold several homes in my real estate career that have been moved. I have even contemplated moving several myself but have never had the courage.
Our daughter moved to Midland, TX, almost a year ago. Homes are very difficult to find, for purchase or rent, in the Midland/Odessa area due to demand caused by the level of oil and gas activity in the Permian Basin. It is the highest-producing oil field in the United States. She decided to purchase a small 800 SF house that had been built from a Dirksen portable building. It was located behind a very nice home and had been previously used as an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) for an elderly couple behind their son’s home. The homeowner agreed to sell the ADU and give our daughter one year to find an adequate lot to place the home. So, our daughter and her dog moved to Texas and have lived in this tiny home for over 10 months trying to find an appropriate place to move it. It would not be as simple as one might think.
She did not want to place the house in a typical trailer or RV park, and most residential neighborhoods restrict portable/premanufactured homes. So, she opted for an acreage just outside the city limits of Midland. Turns out she was able to purchase a 10-acre piece of raw land full of mesquite trees with two dry ponds.
Her first task was to get an address for the 10-acre hobby ranch and have electric service run. Next, because of the amount of oil activity in the area, she did a phase one environmental inspection and found no soil contamination. The land had an old water well and she did a water test and, not surprisingly, found the water would need significant work and filtering for use in a household. She contracted and installed a septic tank and lateral lines and added a new pressure tank and electronics to the existing water well and pump. She has purchased a storage container, car port, and had a pad for the home built.
Today is the day to move the 16’ x 50’ home to the new hobby ranch and begin her new adventure. Please pray that the 14-mile journey for the small home goes well.
Dr. J. David Chapman is a Professor of Finance & Real Estate at The University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).