Selling a Texas mobile home without the title

A missing piece of paper is not the end of a sale, and it is not something I can fix by looking at the home. In Texas the record is a Statement of Ownership from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, Manufactured Housing Division. If that paper is lost, the name is wrong, or the owner has died, you use the division's forms. What a statement is, and how to read one, is on the title page. This page is only about getting the record corrected.

This is general information from public Texas sources, not legal advice for your home or a relative's estate.

Start with the record, not the story

Search the TDHCA Manufactured Home Ownership Records with the HUD label, Texas seal, serial number, or a name. You may already be on file. The TDHCA Statement of Ownership FAQ says old certificates of title are no longer produced, and that a statement can be sent again if one was issued. The same FAQ says you can print a copy from that search in some cases. If the search comes up empty, you still apply. You do not invent a record.

Lost paper, or the wrong name

The application is Form 1023. Use the TDHCA fillable Application for Statement of Ownership, or the TDHCA hard-copy Application for Statement of Ownership if you need to print it and write on it. Read TDHCA Form 1037, the Statement of Ownership application instructions, before you mail anything. The TDHCA instructions page for applying for a Statement of Ownership points at that same packet.

If the seller is gone and the name on the record is not yours, the FAQ says the division wants evidence: a bill of sale, purchase agreement, contract, receipt, or deed records. They review it. If it is not enough, they say what else they need. I do not issue statements, and I do not decide that your evidence is enough.

Every form in that packet is listed on the TDHCA forms and affidavits page. A lien release is a different form. If money is owed, use the lien page instead of treating the debt as a lost title.

The owner died

Heirs use TDHCA Form C, the Statement of Inheritance, along with the application. Form C is an affidavit. The people who sign say the registered owner died, that there is no will or that a will was never filed for probate, and that no estate administration is needed. Signatures are notarized. If more heirs have to sign, the form says to attach another copy.

That is a narrow paper. If a court is already probating a will, or the heirs do not agree who owns the home, Form C is the wrong shortcut. Call the division and ask what they need for that file. Do not guess.

When you need the division itself

You need the Manufactured Housing Division contact page when the search finds nothing, when they mail a request for more information, when the heirs are not on the same page, or when an estate is already in court. Going to the office does not speed an application. The FAQ says that plainly. Text me the situation anyway. I can look at the home while you sort the paper out. I will not tell you the statement is finished.

Fix a missing or wrong-name Statement of Ownership

Search the TDHCA record first, then use the division's application. Heirs use Form C when it fits. Call the division when the file is stuck.

Search the TDHCA Manufactured Home Ownership Records with the label, seal, serial number, or the owner's name. See whether a statement is already on file.
If a statement was issued and you only need another copy, the TDHCA FAQ says you can ask the division to send one, and in some cases print it from that search.
If the paper is lost, or the name on the record is not yours, file Form 1023, the Application for Statement of Ownership, with the evidence the division asks for. Start with Form 1037, the application instructions.
If the owner on the record has died and there is no open estate administration, the heirs complete Form C, the Statement of Inheritance, have it notarized, and send it with the application.
If the division asks for more information, you cannot find the record, or a court is already handling the estate, contact the Manufactured Housing Division before you guess.

Questions people ask

What if I lost the title or the Statement of Ownership?

Texas does not print the old certificate of title anymore. The TDHCA FAQ says you apply for a Statement of Ownership. If the division already issued one, you can ask them to send another copy, and the FAQ says some records can be printed from the ownership search. A lost piece of paper is not the same as having no record at all.

What if the record is in someone else's name?

You still apply, and you send evidence of how you got the home. The TDHCA FAQ gives examples: a bill of sale, a contract, a receipt, or deed records. The division reviews it. If that evidence is not enough, they tell you what else they need. I cannot put the statement in your name.

What if the owner died?

The heirs use TDHCA Form C, the Statement of Inheritance, with the Application for Statement of Ownership. Form C is a notarized affidavit. It is for the case where there is no will, or a will was never filed for probate, and the heirs say no estate administration is needed. If a court is already handling the estate, call the Manufactured Housing Division before you use that form.

When do I need TDHCA, not just a form?

When you cannot find the home in the ownership search, when the division writes back that the application is incomplete, when the heirs do not agree, or when a probate is already open. The contact page for the Manufactured Housing Division is the right call. This page is not legal advice.

Can you still look if the paperwork is a mess?

Yes. Tell me it is lost, in someone else's name, or that the owner died. I can still look at the home. I will not pretend the statement is done. What an SOL is, and how to read one you already have, is on the title page.