BIC TIP #1270: Sell It or Tow It? Manufactured vs. Modular Homes

ByStephen Long
Watch Stephen Long explain the difference between manufactured and modular homes and why title status matters.

Sell it or tow it? That is the question. In this BIC TIP, Stephen Long explains the critical difference between a modular home and a manufactured home, and why a manufactured home is not real property until its title has been relinquished.

Modular and Manufactured Are Not the Same

A modular home is built to state building codes, just like a stick-built home. It is assembled on site and treated like any other house.

A manufactured home is built to national HUD standards. It sits on a chassis, can be moved and towed away, and is considered personal property unless it has been permanently tied to the land and its title relinquished. Calling everything a “mobile home” hides a distinction that changes the entire transaction.

Find the VIN and Verify the Status

If you get called to buy or sell a manufactured home, start by going to the property and finding the VIN. Then verify with the DMV and with the county whether that home’s title has been relinquished, meaning it can no longer go on the road and is now part of the real property.

Do not take the seller’s word for it, and do not assume that because the home has been sitting there for decades it has been converted. Many owners never completed that process.

Two Transactions, Not One

In many cases, you will be called to sell a manufactured home that is still treated as personal property sitting on dirt that is real property. When that happens, you have to treat it as two different transactions: one for the land and one for the home.

Mixing them up can create title, financing, and closing headaches that nobody wants to discover at the closing table. Get the closing attorney involved early, and check with your broker-in-charge on how your firm handles these.

The Practical Takeaway

Know which kind of home you are dealing with before you write a listing agreement or an offer. Find the VIN, verify title status with the DMV and the county, and structure the deal accordingly.

Remember Stephen’s rule: the mobile home is not real property until it is.

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