You can move mansions.
Some homeowners are taking their houses with them when they relocate. More than 8,000 structures are moved each year, Tammie DeVooght Blaney, executive director of the International Association of Structural Movers, told The Wall Street Journal. Most of the structures are moved due to environmental hazards and historic preservation, and some are high-end single-family homes—at 4,000 square feet or more.
Most homes can be moved, but how far they can be moved will depend on street width and electrical power lines. Seattle is an area where these property relocations are common.
Nickel Bros is one company performing structural moves by barge. The company identifies homes that are slated to be demolished and presents alternatives to the homeowners, such as finding a buyer willing to foot the cost of the home’s removal, transportation, and delivery, the Journal reports. The homeowner does not pay for any of the home removal costs. However, there are additional expenses involved on site. Nickel Bros says that owners usually save about 80% of the cost of demolition. The company is involved in the sale and relocation of about 300 structures annually in the Pacific Northwest and Canada.
Recently, the company moved a 7,000-square-foot mansion because the homeowners’ had sentimental attachment to the house and didn’t want to demolish it. “The more logistical issues involved in the move, the greater the costs, the more you need to prove the value of the house,” John Clegg, president of the Texas Association of Structural Movers, told the Journal. “Ninety-five percent of people who reach out to us don’t [end up moving their houses]. It’s just too expensive.”
But some homeowners say they’ve even increased their home value by moving the structure. Dao Engle’s 10,000-square-foot home on Pocomo Head along Nantucket Harbor was moved. The home was perched on a fast-eroding bluff that was damaging its foundation. The home was moved 140 feet away from the bluff to protect it. In the new location, the owners also added about 6,500 square feet, two more bedrooms, a home theatre, and gym. “By fixing the problem and redoing the space, we have effectively doubled the value of the home versus what we bought it for,” Engle told the Journal. “Ultimately, this move has been a no-brainer for us. We’d like to be here for the next 100 years.”
Source: magazine.realtor
