Buyers and real estate professionals new to the issue often ask if the escrow process is different for mobile or manufactured homes than for standard residential/single family homes. The simple answer is yes – and no.

First, let’s get the terms clearly defined:

Mobile homes are structures constructed before June 15, 1976. They are transportable in one or more sections, are eight feet or more in width or 40 feet or more in length, and measure 320 square feet or more when erected. They are built on a permanent chassis and are designed to be used as a single-family dwelling with or without a foundation.

Manufactured homes are structures constructed after June 15, 1976. They, too, are transportable in one or more sections, are eight feet or more in width or 40 feet or more in length, and measure 320 square feet or more when erected. They are built to comply to the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Act of 1974, often referred to as the ‘HUD Code,’ and like their mobile home cousins, they are built on a permanent chassis and may be used as a single-family dwelling.

But here’s the important difference:

Once a manufactured home has been permanently affixed to an approved foundation and has met all necessary criteria in accordance with Health and Safety Code, it is reclassified as real property, subject to the same valuation as a conventional home. A Certificate of Occupancy is issued by a state or local building department and filed with the County Recorder and serves as   public notice that the home is affixed to the land. As real estate, it may be purchased and sold, and the escrow process is the same, as for any standard home.

Until such time as a manufactured home is affixed to the land, they are known as personal property. Ownership is designated in much the same way as title to an automobile is by the Department of Motor Vehicles. The sale or purchase of this type of personal property is usually handled by an escrow officer with a niche specialization in mobile and manufactured homes.

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