Title
Also called: certificate of title
The ownership document for a manufactured home held as personal property, issued much like a vehicle title.
A manufactured home titled as personal property has a certificate of title naming the owner and any lienholder, issued by the state motor-vehicle agency or an equivalent body. Ownership transfers by assigning the title, not by recording a deed.
Title problems are the most common way a manufactured-home sale falls apart. Watch for: a multi-section home with one title per section where one has been lost, an undischarged lien from a paid-off loan, a name that does not match the seller's, and a home converted to real property whose title was never properly surrendered.
Verify the title situation early, before an inspection, ideally. Clearing a lost title or a stale lien can take weeks, and the process differs in every state.
See also
- Personal property, Property that is not land or permanently attached to it. A manufactured home on a leased lot is normally personal property.
- Real property, Land and anything permanently affixed to it, including a manufactured home that has been properly converted.
- Serial number, The manufacturer's unique identifier for a manufactured home section, used on titles, loans, and insurance.