Buying a mobile home without a title in Sarasota is not recommended, as it can lead to complications in proving ownership and transferring the property legally. The title serves as legal documentation of ownership, and without it, buyers may face challenges in obtaining financing, insurance, or reselling the home in the future. If the title is lost or unavailable, it’s crucial to work with the seller to resolve the issue through the appropriate channels, such as obtaining a duplicate title from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV). Ensuring proper documentation is essential to a smooth and legally sound mobile home purchase process in Sarasota.
Do you know what a mobile home’s title is and how it relates to the property you are looking to buy in Sarasota, Florida?
If so, please read on as we explain the basics of a mobile home title and its role when buying a mobile home in the greater Sarasota, Florida, area.
Mobile Home
Buying or selling a mobile home in the greater Sarasota, Florida, area and not sure what documentation you need?
Don’t worry, we are here to help!
When looking at buying or selling a mobile home within the greater Sarasota, Florida area, one first needs to know, for certain, where the mobile home is located and what type of park the home is within.
As silly as this may sound, it makes all the difference in how sales transactions are handled.
In the state of Florida, if a mobile home is within a mobile home park and the park is selling the home with the land included, then this will equate to a real estate transaction, the same way a single-family home will be sold.
Here, a deed for the land will be issued to sell the home.
However, if the mobile home is being sold and the Seller is paying lot rent and does not own the land on which the home resides, then this transaction will be viewed as and taxed as personal property.
Here, a title will be issued for the sale of the home.
Mobile home titles are blue sheets of paper that look the same as a vehicle title does.
One key difference is that mobile home titles have a title for each side of the home.
For example, if the home being sold is a double-wide mobile home, then there will be a title for side a and a title for side b.
With this understanding, it is of utmost importance that anytime a mobile home sale is being transacted, the Buyer and Seller have all titles necessary for home ownership.
Mobile homes located in the state of Florida that are within a mobile home park where the owner of the mobile pays lot rent are viewed as and taxed as personal property and not real property.
This is the same way a vehicle is taxed here in the state of Florida.
The title of the mobile home details exactly who owns the mobile home, what, if any, leans are on the property, and the VIN number, Florida ID number, and additional information about the property itself.
In Florida, the title of the mobile home is the ownership document, which essentially states who owns the home.
If a title does not exist or if the Buyer or Seller of the mobile home in Florida can not locate the title, that is not a big problem, as the Department of Motor Vehicles can create what is referred to as a duplicate title.
Mobile home park
A duplicate title requires some additional paperwork and a small fee, but it can be printed off so that the mobile home owner has the proper documentation.
If a duplicate title is not applied for or a title is not obtained during the purchase or sale of the mobile home then, again, a duplicate can be printed off by the DMV. In order for this to happen the new owner of the mobile home will need to provide their photo identification along with a purchase agreement or bill of sale for the mobile home in question. Here, the DMV will be able to get the information needed for the duplicate title without issues.
We see issues when the Buyer of the mobile home buys the property but does not or refuses to obtain any information identifying the mobile home that was purchased, such as the VIN number or property ID. The state of Florida needs these identifiers to identify the property so that a duplicate title can be created.
The Department of Motor Vehicles has a process where the current home owner can move forward and apply for a duplicate title. This can be done so long as the owner of the home has had the previous title to the property and can present proper identification reflecting their ownership of the home. Here, the Department of Motor Vehicles will simply require the owner to pay a small fee and issue a duplicate title for the mobile home. In the upper right-hand corner of the title, it will state that the title is a duplicate and not an original which will not change the legality of the document.
When looking at selling your Sarasota, Florida, mobile home, it is important to always have your paperwork set up and ready to go before the closing date. If, during this collection of documents, you are unable to locate the title do not worry, following the simple process of acquiring a duplicate title for your mobile home can be done easily so that there is no problem transferring the ownership of the mobile home from you as the Seller to the new Buyer.
This is Mark Kaiser and we help mobile home Buyers and Sellers get to a better place in life.
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