Can Mobile Offices be Relocated After Delivery and Installation?

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A mobile office is just that, so it can certainly be relocated at any time – if you’re willing to pay the price.

 

“There would be a relocation fee,” said Erica Labiak, consultant for Best Value Mobile Storage of Springfield, Mo. “But as long as the container – office and storage space – is empty, we can move it to a new location.”

 

“The customer must call and is responsible for relocation charges, which usually include dismantling, travel time, and setting up the unit again,” said Kristina Weinrich, account manager for ModSpace in Berwyn, Penn.

 

Relocating a mobile office is a more complicated, costly process than its simple, portable prefab design may suggest. Relocation involves essentially the same process as setup from scratch – site visitation and preparation, utility coordination, foundation blocking and leveling, unit transportation and installation, securing it to the foundation, anchoring or tying it down if necessary, utility hookups – with the addition of relocation fees, including original foundation dismantling, as well as securing a building permit for the unit’s new location.

 

The overall cost of relocating a mobile office or home, of course, varies according to such factors as the unit’s size and weight, its type of foundation, the distance of the move, the regional market you’re in, utility cancellation fees at the previous site, moving permit and new site preparation costs, and the costs of replacing accessories such as decks, steps, ramps and skirting. The moving cost itself could be as little as $1,000 to $5,000 or as much as $15,000 and up at rates of $5 to $10 per mile, according to Manufactured Selling Solutions of Grand Blanc, Mich.

 

But the cost can be reduced by emptying out your mobile office of all furniture, electronic equipment, freestanding lamps, file cabinets, shelf units, books and papers, kitchen counter appliances, tableware, etc. This is a good idea anyway, as it will help protect both the office and its contents against damage and breakage that would add further dollars to the move. Lock, secure and cover all windows and doors prior to the move so they won’t fly open or get smashed on the road, and ask your mobile office dealer what is recommended for window/door covering and securing it in place. Reuse of existing foundation blocks, piles, skirts, etc. is another money saver, subject to the new site’s soil conditions and levelness, as well as the building regulations in a different state.

 

In the final analysis, relocating a mobile office can cost as much as buying and installing it anew. So before you decide to relocate, consider how it could make your prefab unit less “affordable” than you hoped it would be.