Do Mobile Homes Have Addresses? (Getting Mails Sorted)
You are thinking about moving into a mobile home or manufactured house as a permanent residence.
You weigh up the pros and cons, it is super-affordable, energy-efficient, and you can have a superior standard of living relatively debt-free.
But wait a minute, what about an address?
Most communications are online, but you still get mail, take-away food, online shopping deliveries, and visitors.
You need to get mail, so does your mobile home have an address?
Mobile Homes: Postal Address Standard Format
The address is a collection of information presented in a standard layout that lets your mail deliverer identify and reach your physical location.
In the United States, a standard address format is:
- Name of the individual receiving the mail.
- House/apartment number or some other specific locator like a house name.
- Street/ road name.
- Town/city name recognized by the postal service.
- Abbreviation for your State plus your zip code.
There are some local state differences as to how you precisely identify your property for mail delivery.
The mobile home address format follows the same rules of addressing mail for a postal delivery as any house, apartment, or tent in a field (provided it has a mailbox).
The postal code varies slightly in different countries, but the principle of a code to denote a geographical location remains.
More than one property shares the same postal code as the rest of the address locates the exact property.
Mobile Homes on Trailer Parks
If your mobile home is on a designated communal site, it has a Lot number.
If it has an individual address, then it can get directly delivered mails.
Many mobile home parks use a central office for receiving and distributing mail as that may be more convenient for the local delivery service and the residents.
Plus, the US postal service may choose to install a multiple unit gang box at the entrance to make their delivery system less demanding for the service post deliverer.
They can stop and load up each box rather than walk or drive around the whole site.
An alternative name is a cluster box unit, and they are popular installations for:
- Home Ownership Associations
- Business and industrial parks
- Military base housing
- Universities and colleges
- Apartments and condos,
As well as trailer and mobile home parks.
Mobile Homes on an Isolated Plot of Land
Installing a mobile home as a permanent residence on land classes as a new development – like a site-built house.
You need to install a USPS (Unites States Postal Service) approved mailbox and contact your nearest post office to register your address and mailbox on their system.
You will register the address in an approved format so delivery drivers can locate your mailbox.
Changing Mobile Home Location
If you choose to move your mobile home from one mobile home park to another (or getting rid of an old mobile home and moving on), the process is the same as moving from one traditional house to another.
The site you leave becomes someone else’s address when they site a mobile home on that foundation. The site you move onto already has an address for you to take over.
You send out the change of address forms to all interested parties and, as a precaution, pay for mail forwarding from your old address.
If you relocate your mobile home onto a private plot of land, you go through erecting an approved mailbox and registering your property with your local post office.
Whenever you move address, it is sensible to pay for mail forwarding. Even if your move is temporary, you can pay for fifteen days to an entire year, so it is worth considering.
The benefit to you depends on the value, frequency, and importance of your typical mail delivery.
What About Mail When Living on the Move?
A mobile home as a permanent residence has a static address, and it is straightforward to get your mail.
How do you get mail living in a mobile home on the road?
Getting your mails when living in an RV vs. a mobile home is more challenging.
If you like to spend your retirement or significant amounts of time traveling, getting your mail needs some thought and planning.
The first stage is to reduce the amount of mail you receive. Switch your magazine subscriptions to digital and establish what (if anything) you need to have through the mail.
- Friend or relative – you can use the address of a friend or relative who is willing to collect and forward your mail to you. You can arrange for delivery ahead of your arrival at your next temporary home.
- Pay for a mail forwarding service to a series of temporary locations – viable if you have a permanent residence in addition to your mobile home.
- Pay for a post office box that is in a place you can visit regularly.
- Arrange for a trusted person to receive, open, and scan your mail for you. Your adult children, perhaps, or you can pay a legal professional to act as your mail agent.
- Pay for a traveling mailbox – someone scans your post, and you pick it up online with a secure password.
The method that works best for you will depend on your living arrangements and your options for support from family and friends.
Do You Need a Postal Address for a Mobile Home?
All governments and state authorities keep track of properties in their area.
If you live in a mobile home in a permanent location, you have an address that describes the geographical location of your home.
Your address is necessary for:
- Legal purposes – property taxes, registering to vote, access to health care.
- Personal purposes – receiving mail and home deliveries.
There are various occasions where you need to give an address for your home rather than an email contact – buying a raffle ticket, registering a warranty, getting your driver’s license, or applying for work.
It is not illegal to be an individual without a permanent address in the US.
Still, you need some form of postal address for buying a car, opening a bank account, filing your taxes, apply for benefits, vote, and access health care.
Whether your mobile home is your permanent residence or your access to the traveling lifestyle, you need to deal with your mail.
That means you need an address for either your mobile home or yourself.
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