A manufactured home on your property might not have wheels on it – but at one point it did!
It may be surprising, even to people owning and living in manufactured homes, that the homes are legally treated much like a vehicle rather than a part of real estate like a traditional home.
Just like a car – even if it’s on concrete blocks, a manufactured home has a make and model type. It even has a Vehicle Identification Number!
This can make it especially confusing when trying to sell a manufactured home. Though they are sometimes called “mobile homes” – often times, a buyer’s lender will require that the home be legally “affixed” to the property on which it sits.
Fun Fact: The difference between a “mobile” and “manufactured” home is based entirely on when it was built. Mobile homes are built before June 15, 1976, while manufactured homes were built afterward. The importance of June 15, 1976 is that is when these factory-built houses were first required to abide by the Department of Housing and Urban Development construction codes.
To legally affix the home to the underlying property, you’ll need to surrender the title issued from the DMV and record the notice of surrender with the county.
Note: You may see the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) referred to instead as DVS (Driver and Vehicle Services) or the DPS (Department of Public Safety) of which the DVS is a part. DVS and DPS are the official names for the departments in Minnesota.
What do you do if you don’t have a title? This can put a roadblock on your attempts to sell the home.
We are able to help you obtain a title. If there isn’t a copy of the title available, we will help you through the extensive court process of getting a copy.
This can take several months and a lot of paperwork to complete, so it’s nice to have a lawyer on your side with the tools and know-how to get things done.
Can’t wait? No problem, we may be able to provide a document to your title company to assure them that the process is underway, and let you complete the sale of your property while we tie up the loose ends.
If you’re trying to sell a manufactured home and run into trouble in the process, or if you have questions before beginning, be sure to give us a call. We also have connections with realtors if you need a recommendation!
