Ownership Records

[rickkoppie]

I recently purchased a used 2007 mobile home and paid cash to individual seller. After getting the home to my property I discovered that apparently the home had been flooded by recent hurricane. I specifically ask seller had it been subjected to recent flood waters and was told it had not been. I am now unable to contact seller so I am wanting to find who the original owner was. I have the manufacturer name,which is in Tx.,but i purchased in La. and believe original owner is also in La. I also have s/n# on home as well. How do i go about getting home ownership records in this instance?

[David Oxhandler]

You can check with the DMV or which ever state office handles mobile home registrations in your state. The serial number should be enough for them to trace back the registered owners. The question is will they do that for you? That type of information is treated differently by each state. It may be considered public record or privileged depending on your states rules and regulations.

Even if you do find the former owner there may not be any legal recourse against him. Did you enter into a sales contract? Did that contract guarantee you against any defects? For the most part used homes are sold where is and as is.... so it is up to the buyer to make the necessary inspections prior to completing the purchase... Kind of like buying a used car.

Inspecting a use manufactured home has become relatively easy these days. In most states licensed home inspectors have added manufactured housing to their business. I have been buying, renovating and reselling manufactured homes for about 20 years. I have looked at thousands of used homes and have quiet a bit of experience and luck in recognizing problems. Unless the home is so inexpensive that I just don’t care about the condition I always hire a licensed professional home inspector. They comb systematically thru the homes electric, plumbing, structure, foundation, roof etc for even the slightest of defects.

While I have seen more manufactured homes than most of the inspectors, two heads are still better than one... Four eyes better than two and a written professional report better than an informal walk thru. Inspection companies have different pricing in various parts of the country. Generally their fees are considerably less then the cost of missing a major defect.

Floor repair and replacement is not an impossable job. Take a look at Floor Repair Info Kit from Aberdeen RepairThis kit includes a 25 minute video about repairing/replacing the floor ina MH,along with a booklet on floor repair.

This is not a high-dollar video with actors that wear makeup and every word smoothly rehearsed, these videos are. However a good-quality that features a real contractor clearly showing you how to do the job

[rmurray]

Texas has the best online info source in the nation for ownership information. You can find information here;

http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/mh/