Selling a Texas lot with an old mobile home on it

If you own a Texas lot with an old mobile home on it, I can buy the land with that home sitting on it. I also buy a lot that already has water, septic or sewer, and electric, with or without a home. The home's record changes the paperwork. A home that is still personal property has its own Statement of Ownership. A home with a perfected real-property election is treated as part of the land.

This is general information from public Texas sources, not legal advice for your lot or your home.

This page is the lot with an old home on it

I buy a movable mobile or manufactured home in a park or on private land as a home-only sale. I do not buy the land in that sale. Park homes are on the park page.

I also buy land from 0 to 5 acres anywhere in Texas, and I am open to any land in that size. This page is the lot that already has an old mobile home sitting on it. A lot that already has water, septic, and power is on the utilities page. Bare land, with no home, is on the sell land page. On the form, this situation is "Lot with a home on it."

Personal property: the home has its own record

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Statement of Ownership FAQ says a manufactured home is personal property unless the owner elects otherwise. The statement is issued by the Manufactured Housing Division. Section 1201.2055 of the Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1201 says the statement on file is evidence of ownership of a personal-property home, and a lien on that home is filed with the department.

If the old home is still personal property, a deed to the lot does not transfer the home. The home needs its own statement. Section 1201.206 says ownership of that home does not pass until a completed application is filed with the department. Tell me if the statement is in your name, in someone else's name, lost, or tied to a lien. The title page is the longer version of that.

Real property: the election, and what happens to the record

An owner may elect real property only when the home is attached to land the owner owns, or to land under a qualifying long-term lease. That is section 1201.2055. The department issues a statement that shows the election on its face. The election is not perfected until two more things happen, and both are required: a copy of the statement is filed in the real property records of the county where the home sits, and the owner notifies the department and the chief appraiser of the appraisal district. Section 1201.222 says the home is treated as real property only if the election was made and the copy was filed in those county records.

People remember an older rule, and it is easy to mix up with this one. The TDHCA FAQ explains that before the Statement of Ownership existed, a certificate of title was cancelled when a home became real property, and the department stopped tracking it. Effective September 1, 2003, old titles became Statements of Ownership. The current record is not cancelled that way.

Section 1201.216 says that when the owner notifies the department of a real-property election, the department indicates the election on the statement. It also indicates that, except for the construction, installation, and warranty rules saved by section 1201.2055(h), the home is no longer a manufactured home for regulation under Chapter 1201 or for recording liens, including tax liens. The TDHCA tax lien FAQ states the division's position in the same words: once the home is real property, the division is not recording those liens.

After the election is perfected, section 1201.2055(g) says the home is real property for all purposes, and another statement is not required unless the home is moved, the election is changed, or the use changes. The statement remains the record of the election. It is not thrown out. The FAQ says an owner who wants to change a perfected election back to personal property applies for a new Statement of Ownership. Section 1201.216 says the department restores a manufactured-home designation only after an inspection and a determination that the structure is habitable. I do not need you to undo an election before I look at the lot. I need to know which one you have.

Property taxes

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts says Texas has no state property tax, and that the Comptroller does not collect it or set the rate. The property tax system basics page says the appraisal district, through the chief appraiser, appraises property as of January 1. The bill comes from the local tax office. The page on paying property taxes says a tax lien attaches on January 1.

How the old home is listed depends on the election. In Property Tax Today, January 2018, the Comptroller said a manufactured home and the land should be listed together on the tax roll when the owner has elected real property and filed the statement in the county real property records. Otherwise the land and the home should be separate accounts. If you are not sure which account the home is on, ask the appraisal district in that county. Unpaid taxes are a lien. I will not guess the amount from the form. If the home is still personal property, a tax lien against the home is also filed with TDHCA, which is covered on the lien page and on the TDHCA tax lien information page.

An old home that is abandoned, or just not livable

Most of the time the old home is yours, and it is worn out. You do not have to demolish it, mow a path to a dumpster, or make it livable before I walk the lot. Say "not livable" on the form if that is the truth. The as-is page is the longer version of what to describe. The TDHCA FAQ says a home that is not habitable should not be sold unless that is fully disclosed.

"Abandoned" in the statute is a different case, and it is narrower than a home that has sat empty. Section 1201.217 says the owner of the land may declare a manufactured home abandoned only when the home is owned by someone else, it has been continuously unoccupied for at least four months, and indebtedness secured by the home or a related lease is delinquent. The statute does not apply if the person declaring the abandonment, or a person related to or affiliated with that person, has ever owned an interest in the home. If you own the home, this is not an abandonment filing. It is your home on your lot, and we deal with the statement or the real-property election you already have.

The division's forms for the statutory process are listed on the TDHCA forms page and in the application instructions. I am not walking anyone through that filing. If the home on your lot is not yours, say that on the form and I will tell you whether I can still make an offer on the land.

There are no fees to you for selling to me, and I pay the closing costs. When the paperwork is clear, a sale can close in as little as 24 hours. A lot with an unfinished real-property election, a tax question, or a home in someone else's name can take longer. That is not a promise of a closing time.

See whether the home is personal property or real property

The Statement of Ownership and the county real property records show whether a real-property election was made and perfected.

Search the home in the TDHCA Manufactured Home Ownership Records using the label, seal, serial number, or owner name.
See whether the Statement of Ownership shows that the owner elected to treat the home as real property.
A real-property election is not perfected until a copy of the statement is filed in the county real property records and both the department and the chief appraiser of the appraisal district are notified.
If that election is not perfected, the home is still personal property. A deed to the lot does not take the place of the Statement of Ownership.

Questions people ask

Do you buy the land, or only the home?

Both, in different sales. If the home can be moved and you are selling the home only, I buy the home and not the land. I also buy a lot with an old mobile home on it, a lot that already has water, septic, and power, and land with no home from 0 to 5 acres. I am open to any land in that size, anywhere in Texas.

How does personal property versus real property change a lot sale?

If the home is still personal property, it has its own Statement of Ownership, and a deed to the land does not by itself transfer the home. If the owner elected real property and that election was perfected, the home is real property and is treated as part of the land. Perfection takes a filed copy in the county real property records plus notice to TDHCA and the chief appraiser.

Is the record cancelled when the home becomes real property?

Not the way older titles were. Before September 1, 2003, a title could be cancelled when a home became real property and the department stopped tracking it. Today the record is a Statement of Ownership. The department marks the real-property election on that statement. After the election is perfected, another statement is not required unless the home is moved, the election is changed, or the use changes.

Who handles the property taxes?

The county appraisal district appraises the property. The local tax office collects. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts does not collect the local property tax and does not set the rate. If the home was elected as real property and the statement was filed in the county real property records, the Comptroller says the home and the land should be on the tax roll together. Otherwise they should be separate accounts.

What if the old home is abandoned or not livable?

If the home is yours and it is not livable, say so. You do not have to tear it down before I look. Texas law uses abandoned for a different case: a home owned by someone else, left unoccupied on your land for at least four months, with a delinquency. That process does not apply if you, or a person related to you, have owned an interest in the home.