Selling M/H and not sure what to do.

[CDMoore]

I currently have a mobile home that the previous owner financed for me (relative). We put our home on the market about three weeks ago. We are now starting to have offers come in. I live in Texas and the current owner has the title of the m/h. However the title is not in her name and there is no way to contact the previous owner to have him sign the title over. Besides the title issue I am not sure what paperwork needs to be completed to sell the home. I still owe a little money on the home which will be paid once the home is sold. Someone help!! I have searched and searched the internet and can't seem to find what to do!

BTW it is only the M/H for sale and not the land it is currently located on.

[rmurray]

You are lucky to be in TX..Your state has the BEST web resources in the country..

The title IS a MAJOR issue...The paperwork is probably already in violation of your state laws..Acually there are no more titles in TX for manufactured homes..This is directly From the consumer brochure your state has...

"IMPORTANT!
Effective September 1, 2003, the traditional manufactured housing title has been replaced with a Statement of Ownership and Location (SOL). It identifies WHO owns the home, WHAT the home is being declared as (personal property or real property), WHERE the home is physically located, and of course, the home information like the serial number, make, model, size, etc."

Does your relative have the SOL...You might want to spend some time reading through and or downloading all the required forms in TX..You can find all the info you need here..

http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/mh/ownership-location.htm

You can search all info on this home in the search section..Old liens, back taxes, previous owners will all show up...
If you need legal advice about the ownership docs you should consult with a local attorney

[David Oxhandler]

I have had similar title problems in the past. We are located in Florida so the system of title work is probably some what different than in Texas.

In the past our title company that was handling the transfer of the land did the research and found the former owner whose name was on the title. When they have not been able to find the named former owner they have done the paper work for the state DMV that permitted us to get a reassignment to another name.

Call the main office e of the DMV (or what ever agency handles MH titles in your state) and find out if there is a paperwork process that you can follow. It is not always easy to get the info you need from state agencies...

If that fails you might want to visit one of the home dealers (or even a large car dealership if your state registers MH thru the DMV). Ask to talk to their title clerk. A title clerk that has the experience should be able to tell you the paper path top follow. The local Caddy dealer here has a title clerk that knows the state paperwork system and has helped us get titles untangled, that we were told at the local DMV were imposable.

You might also contact your states manufactured housing association and see if you can get some guidance there.

Texas Manufactured Housing Association
816 Congress Ave., Suite 940
Austin, Texas 78701
Ph 512-459-1221
FX 512-459-1511
Web Site: http://www.texasmha.com

If all else fails you may need to contact a lawyer to get you through the state agencies.

Good Luck... let us know how you progress

[CDMoore]

I looked for the Serial # and nothing comes up? What does that mean? Just that it has never been registered? How do I get the SOL form to be issued to me since it has never be done through TDHCA?

When selling the home what do I want to have the buyer sign. Just a general bill of sale and a contract stating warranty and other stipulations.

I am going to contact a lawyer over the next few days and see if they can help. Thanks for already pointing me in the right direction.

[David Oxhandler]

Contact TDHCA and ask them the best way to get what you need.