Special Procedures May Apply to the Sale of a Mobile Home
© 2000 By Barbara J. Savery, Attorney-at-Law
The Castleman Law Firm
A Professional Corporation
5870 Stoneridge Mall
Road, Ste. 207
Pleasanton, CA
94588
(925) 463-2221
A mobile home may or may not be real property. Whether it is real property or personal property will depend on whether it is permanently attached to the underlying land. The buyer and seller of a mobile home should be careful to clarify how the home is classified before they try to transfer title.
If a mobile home is real property, it is transferred by recording a deed. However, if it is classified as personal property, it must be transferred by a Bill of Sale that is filed with the California Department of Housing and Community Development ("HCD").
Generally, a mobile home seller will have documents of title on the mobile home which make it clear whether title is transferred through HCD or by a recorded deed. If such documents can't be located, further investigation is necessary.
In general, a mobile home is considered real property if it has been placed on a permanent foundation. However, buyers and sellers should not rely on an "eyeball" evaluation of the foundation. To determine how the mobile home is actually classified, an interested party should consult the building department of the county or city in which the mobile home is located, or the appropriate assessor's office. If the mobile home is classified as personal property, HCD will have jurisdiction; the office can be reached in Sacramento at (916) 323-9224 or (800) 952-8356.
Most title companies can handle an HCD transaction, and will treat it as an ancillary escrow when closing escrow on the sale of the land underlying the mobile home. Since additional charges and fees will apply because of the separate transfer of the mobile home, buyer and seller should allocate these costs between them in their purchase agreement.
© 2000 By Barbara J. Savery, Attorney-at-Law. All rights reserved