Posted by gman on February 19, 2006 at 11:03:19:
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Mobile home vs manufactured home - Posted by Mary Parrish
Posted by Mary Parrish on February 17, 2006 at 11:17:32:
I am a lender holding a particular mobile home for collateral. It was brought to my attention that once a “mobile home” has the axles and tongue removed they are no longer considered “mobile” and therefore do not require titles any longer. And of course “manufactured homes” never have an axle or tongue. I cannot find any resource or confirmation of this claim anywhere. Can you shed any light on this subject? Is there a searchable database for mobile home laws especially in the state of Florida? Thanks. Mary P
Re: Mobile home vs manufactured home - Posted by gman
Posted by gman on February 19, 2006 at 02:44:24:
Not quite that simple. Cut and pasted from one of the county tax collector sites:
In order to retire your Florida title, you need to do the following:
File with the Clerk of Circuit Court - before a Certificate of Title for a mobile home can be retired the following documents must be recorded with the Clerk of Circuit Court in the county where the home is located:
The certificate of title(s) for the mobile home.
If applicable, the original lien satisfaction, or statement from lienholder that such security interest will be released upon retirement of the certificate of title.
Legal description of the real property (this may be in the form of a simple statement, a copy of the Real Estate Tax Bill, or the warranty deed conveying the property.
If applicable, a copy of the lease agreement (for a period of 30 years or more).
Sworn statement by the owner shown on the real property deed or lease, that s/he is the owner of the mobile home which is permanently affixed to the real property
Re: Mobile home vs manufactured home - Posted by Tony Colella
Posted by Tony Colella on February 17, 2006 at 12:53:38:
Mary, it is confusing and unfortunately so many things depend upon local and state laws.
Mobile homes or manufactured homes is a play on words in most regards. I suspect that “manufactured homes” was a result of some HUD like upgrades to the mobile homes themselves and then a marketing ploy to try and make them sound less like “trailers” and more like affordable housing alternatives.
Removing the tongue and axle is typically done at the request of the particular lender and not an actual law. Each lender has their own design on what they want done in order to make them feel more comfortable with the mobile home as collateral for the loan.
The requirements differ from singlewides to doublewides even. Many lenders want the doublewide to have “permanent block foundation” installed instead of skirting yet they do not require the same on the much more mobile single wides.
So unfortunately the answer to your question is… it depends (and mostly upon the individual lender and underwriter).
Sorry I couldn’t be more help.
Tony
Re: Mobile home vs manufactured home - Posted by Tony Colella
Posted by Tony Colella on February 19, 2006 at 09:08:10:
Actually all that is quite simple.
The procedure here in NC is much the same. Retiring a title is a paperwork procedure that is done by the closing agent when you buy the property. This is usually only done when the lender requires the title to be retired.
Not really a big deal.
For what its worth here is why we think retiring the title is now required by many lenders (and usually only with a doublewide but we have seen it with singlewides).
In many of the foreclosed land/home properties we buy the foreclosing lender has properly foreclosed on the land but being unfamiliar with mobile home properties, they did not Repossess the mobile home. This takes extra time and money. They since realized that by requiring the title to be retired, they can foreclose on the land and be done with it.
We also find that more and more, lenders are using large, national foreclosure agents to do the legal work. Many of these companies fail to repossess the titles that were never retired.
So again, the decision to retire the title begins with the lender. From there it is a simple matter of paperwork filed by the closing agent.
Tony
Re: Mobile home vs manufactured home - Posted by gman
Posted by gman on February 19, 2006 at 10:50:54:
I didn’t say it was a difficult process, did I? I pointed out that there was more required than taking the wheels off. Geez.
Re: Mobile home vs manufactured home - Posted by Tony Colella
Posted by Tony Colella on February 19, 2006 at 10:55:02:
On the contrary, your post was absolutely correct. I was not trying to be harsh by any means. I understand that it is difficult to read “tone” into posts and emails. No offense intended by any stretch.
I was simply pointing out that the paperwork process is a simple matter handled at the closing.
Tony