Usually, when a homeowner sells their manufactured home, the new buyer will move into the home where it currently sits. However, in some cases, if the manufactured home is currently on privately owned land, the owner may choose to sell the home separately without the land.
Why might you sell a mobile home to be moved, what should you be prepared for during the process and what kind of legal steps will you need to take? We’ll examine the ins and outs of selling a mobile home to be moved in this guide.
Why Sell a Manufactured Home and Keep the Land?
There are several reasons why a homeowner might want to keep their land while selling their manufactured home, such as:
- You want to upgrade to a newer model of manufactured home.
- You want to use the property for a different purpose.
- You’re moving and want some extra cash on hand, but would like to keep your land.
- You plan to sell the land separately from the manufactured home.
No matter what your purpose for keeping the land, you’ll want to follow the best practices for selling it to ensure a successful sale of your manufactured home.
Can I Sell My Mobile Home to Be Moved?
Some manufactured homes are easier to sell without land than others. The more of the following characteristics your home has, the easier it will be to sell without land:
- Less than 10 years old
- Has been well-maintained and needs no major repairs
- Has three or more bedrooms
- Has been moved no more than once
- Has no liens against it
If your home doesn’t have at least a few of these characteristics, it’s still possible to sell it, but finding a buyer may be more challenging. Many buyers will be more open to purchasing a mobile home to be moved if the seller is willing to pay some or all of the moving costs.
The Legal Side of Selling a Mobile Home to Be Moved
If your manufactured home is currently on the same title as your land and taxed as real property, you’ll need to have the home retitled as personal property before selling. Contact your county tax office for the specific steps required, including paperwork you’ll need to fill out and any fees you may be required to pay. The tax office will then issue a new title for the manufactured home that reclassifies it as personal property.
Once you find a buyer, you’ll need to have the manufactured home title transferred to the buyer. You’ll usually have to provide documents such as a completed, signed and notarized title transfer form; a bill of sale; and a tax clearance from your county assessor certifying that you don’t currently owe any taxes on your manufactured home. If your title is lost or missing, you’ll need to obtain a duplicate title from your state DMV office first.
In most states, you’ll also need a permit to have a manufactured home moved. The company that moves your home will typically handle this process for the home seller, although the seller is still responsible for any permit or processing fees. Finally, remember that if you’re moving a manufactured home from one county or state to another, permits may be required in both the county or state of origin and the destination county or state.
Moving a Mobile Home
Moving a mobile home requires a specialized professional service, so start by finding professional mobile home movers near you. Your moving company should be licensed, bonded and insured, and they should specialize in moving manufactured homes.
Professional manufactured home movers typically charge between $2,000 and $5,000 to move a home under 100 miles, and they perform services such as:
- Finding a suitable route with wide roads and high clearances
- Working with county authorities
- Disassembling and securing the home to ensure that it doesn’t suffer damage
- Moving the mobile home safely from one location to another
For more information that will help calculate what it might cost to move your manufactured home, see our guide to the cost to move a mobile home.
Ready to Sell?
There’s one final thing you can do to make it easier to sell a mobile home to be moved: list it on MHVillage! To learn more about the ins and outs of the selling process, check out our Mobile Home Seller’s Guide.
Also: Read our guide to mobile home delivery to understand how new homes are transported after the purchase.
