It was a dark and stormy night …
OK, we get it. That sounds a bit cliche. And while our aim is to share some scary mobile home stories that will send chills down your spine, we don’t mean literal chills. These stories are horrific in the sense that they’re a park manager or mobile home owner’s worst nightmare.
We’re not going into the grotesque but these tales are still harrowing for any homeowner or park manager.
So cozy up with the campfire. Grab yourself some marshmallows to roast and let’s see what scary stories are in store.
The disappearance of Sonia McColl’s mobile home
Over in England, Sonia McColl found herself homeless and devastated when her 11 ton (10 tonnes in metric measurements) mobile home was stolen. You can’t make up this story. This home’s worth was about $33,000 U.S. dollars.
To steal an item of such magnitude — an entire mobile home — is quite the feat. The home was 40 feet long. According to police, the thieves “knew what they were doing.”
The mobile home itself was in a haulage yard in Willand Road, Cullompton. Repairs were being made as McColl made preparations to move into the area.
At 70 years old, the disappearance of her home left McColl “totally devastated” and “numb. To add to the pain, there was no insurance on the mobile home. It was insured at its previous location, but not at the haulage yard.
McColl is now staying with friends, trying to figure out the next step.
McColl purchased the home second-hand so she could move into a new park after her husband’s passing. “I had bought new curtains and had so been looking forward to putting them up and buying a Christmas tree,” said McColl. Thankfully, her other possessions were in storage elsewhere.
The Cornwall Police said, “This is a very high value and emotive crime as victim is now homeless and clearly distraught.”
Clearly, this is a horror story for the books. No one expects to wake up to their home disappearing.
Bower facing $25,000 lawsuit after selling her own home
In Muskegon, Michigan, Barbara Bower is facing a $25,000 lawsuit after selling her own home. That’s right. After selling HER home.
According to the Fox News report, attorney Matthew Miller stated the following: “What’s been happening in the state of Michigan, your honor, over the last several years is that people are coming into manufactured home communities and are offering to purchase homes – from tenants who are unsophisticated – for relatively low amounts of money.”
Bower, after moving into an assisted living facility, said the trailer had been left alone for almost three years. She needed to sell it. So she asked her niece, Cathy Bonters, who had power of attorney, to sell the mobile home.
First, someone was interested in purchasing for $15,000. But the mobile home park’s management said they wanted to buy the home for $11,000 to keep the mobile home in the park. For three months, the deal was not carried out.
A different offer
After finally getting through to the park management, they changed the original offer. Park management now offered $3,500 for the mobile home — a significant reduction in price. “No, we had a deal for 11,” Bonters said.
Displeased with the low offer, Bonters agreed to an offer from Timberline Mobile Home Sales. The offer of $9,000 seemed a fair market price and Bonters agreed to it.
But the mobile home park wasn’t happy. They cried foul stating that she violated the “right of first refusal”. This meant an opportunity for the park to counter-offer was still in store. But Bonters claims her aunt never agreed to the policy, which the park instated sometime after she had moved into the park.
Unfortunately, there is now a restraining order on the mobile home, preventing the new owner from removing it from the park.
To the parties involved, this is a frustrating situation to be in. Will the new mobile homeowner be able to move his mobile home? How will the judge determine the case?
Spooky situations call for wise measures
The take away from these spooky stories is that preparedness is a good factor to keep in mind. Of course, there’s only so much preparedness one can have in hand.
On another note, how about some not-so-scary mobile home stories? Not every mobile home story is a bad story, thankfully. In fact, you’ll find a lot to warm your heart and cheer you up!