This week in our buying a mobile home series we are talking about buying a mobile home in South Dakota. If you missed last week’s installment, we explored what you need to know when buying a mobile home in Idaho.
The Stats of Mobile Homes in South Dakota
When thinking of South Dakota, the first things that come to mind include that it is home to Mount Rushmore and that the weather is rough! But South Dakota is also a great place to live if you are looking to own a mobile home. With an average of fewer than 11 people per square mile, there’s plenty of room to grow!
Here are some more interesting facts about South Dakota:
The average price of a pre-owned home: $48579
Average model year of a pre-owned home: 2008
The average pre-owned home size in square feet: 1326
Average sites in a manufactured home community: 79
Average year a community was developed: 1989
Number of age-restricted communities: 0
Number of all-age communities: 177
Related: Basements over mobile homes.
The Steps to Buying a Mobile Home in South Dakota
Do Your Research
It’s important to know the answers to the big questions before buying a mobile home. How are you going to finance the purchase? Where are you going to live? What size home do you want? These questions are just a few of the many that you will want answers to before you begin your search. The South Dakota Manufactured Housing Association is a great place to start doing your research. With a listing of members, you can find information about communities, financing, dealers and more all in one place. You can learn more here:
South Dakota MHA
PO Box 7077
Pierre, SD 57501
(605) 223-2065
www.sdmha.net
Making Your New Home Legal
Once you have purchased your new, or new to you, mobile home you will need to make it legal. If you are buying from a dealer, South Dakota law states the dealer must deliver to the county treasurer the manufacturer’s statement of origin, the manufacturer’s certificate of origin or the title for the home, together with the required fees and completed forms necessary to accomplish the initial registration within 45 days of the sale.
If you are buying a used mobile home from someone you will need to head to the Department of Motor Vehicles and register and title your home yourself. You can find more information at the South Dakota Department of Revenue website.
What if there is an Issue?
One of the biggest perks of purchasing a new manufactured home is that each new home automatically includes a 1-year warranty from the dealer/manufacturer.
If you aren’t able to reach a resolution with the dealer or manufacturer for any issues you are having with your new manufactured home, it may be time to file a HUD manufactured home dispute complaint. South Dakota is one of about half the states across the country that takes care of its own complaints from owners.
Unlike many states, South Dakota doesn’t have a state division devoted solely to mobile homes. Instead, you can find information regarding filing a complaint by contacting the state fire marshall’s office. I’m not sure if this is because there aren’t as many homes of this type in the state or if they just don’t have the resources to have its own department. However, you can contact them here or download the form and reach out to the fire marshall for more information.
South Dakota Department of Public Safety
Office of the State Fire Marshal
118 West Capitol Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501-2000
PH: 605-773-3562
FAX: 605-773-6631
A Peek at Mobile Home Living in South Dakota
Although South Dakota is not as populated as some other states, there are still plenty of mobile homes to be found. Thanks to stringent building standards manufactured homes are more than ready for the extreme weather! Here are just a few we found on Zillow during a recent search.
It wasn’t quite as easy to find information regarding buying a mobile home in South Dakota as it has been for some of the other states in our series. However, the process is pretty much the same throughout the country and if you have questions or concerns you can always reach out to the state and they can point you in the right direction.
Thank you for reading Mobile Home Living.
