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Mobile Home FSBO Risks

Whether you’re buying or selling a manufactured home in Colorado you need to know the mobile home FSBO risks. In case you’re not aware, “FSBO” stands for For Sale By Owner. Without knowledge of the mobile home industry, you may put yourself at risk if you do not have a professional assisting you. It’s important to know the risks you run by selling or buying a manufactured home without an agent.

Mobile Home FSBO Risks

Whenever you buy a manufactured home in Colorado, you’re ultimately going to have to go to the local county Motor Vehicle Service office.  In Colorado, whenever you buy a mobile home, you should receive a title from the seller, which is basically the piece of paper that hands off the homeownership to you.

But beware, by no means does this make you the new manufactured homeowner.  Even though you may be holding onto the title physically with your hand, it’s always possible for the seller to reclaim the title.  Imagine paying a seller for their mobile home and then learning that they are trying to repossess the property?  Theoretically, it’s possible, especially if you buy your car and have no contracts.  Believe it or not, a lot of people do this, especially when a mobile home sale is between family or friends.

Alternatively, as a mobile home seller, you’ll want to have some agreements in place to ensure that the new owner switches your name off the title and taxes.  Let’s say two years down the road and your buyer disappears from the home.  As the last party on the title, you may be liable for any unpaid lot rent or taxes that could occur.  Another risk that you run would be around any possible lawsuits involving the property.  If you don’t have any paperwork or if the buyer hasn’t switched the title to their name, then you’ve put yourself at legal risk.

To cover yourself, you’ll want to create a paper trail around your mobile home purchase.  What does this mean? Well, you’ll need some agreements that can tie the deal together.  Though Colorado MVS does not require a notary, it can never hurt to get one.  We typically get our agreements notarized at financial institutions like WellsFargo.  In addition to the purchase agreement, you’ll need a bill of sale.  This document confirms that the manufactured home sale was indeed made.   Additional security measures would be to take a photo i.d. of your buyer or seller.  For more information on the documents that you need, visit the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles website.

If you’re the type of person that doesn’t want to hold onto their paperwork, then utilize some free software available on your phone to save your records.  Before I ever had a scanner, I used my smartphone for almost everything.

Most cell phones in today’s day are smartphones unless you’re using a pre-paid phone.  Anyhow, if you’re using an iPhone, Android, or a Microsoft phone, then you’re in luck.  As an Android user, I utilize the “play store” to the max.  Once you’re within your app store, you have countless options.  Search for free scanners.  I use Genius Scan.  From there all you need to do is take pictures of your mobile home sale agreements and then you can simply use a storage folder like Drive, iCloud or Dropbox.

So now that you have all your mobile home sale agreements and paperwork, you’ll have to go to the Motor Vehicle Services.  Each county is different.  Unfortunately, none of the county locations are the same.  With that being said, you’ll typically start with the Treasurer’s office to switch the name on the property taxes, then over to the DMV to switch the title, and then to the recording office.  Expect to pay for the taxes and the new title; most counties will have you pay for the recording as well.

It’s always good to have your buyer or seller meet you at the Motor Vehicle office, for safety and sanity measures. Always remember that safety and security is of the topmost mobile home fsbo risks. Having a professional handle communication helps make the whole experience simpler.

Now if this seems like too much for you to do, then no worries.  Selling a manufactured home can be a tiring and lengthy process. On top of buying or creating the paperwork, you’ll need to market your mobile home on places like Craigslist take phone calls from strangers all day long.  You’ll either need to call home sellers or receive calls from home buyers, both of which will take up your free time.  And after that, you’ll have to deal with showings.

If you work with Colorado Mobile Homes, we guarantee that we’ll make this process super easy and enjoyable for you. You won’t have to deal with any of the mobile home fsbo risks. We literally handle everything from marketing to closing the deal for you.  We always make sure the paperwork is filed and that the title has been changed.  We’ve paid attorneys thousands of dollars to create agreements, while we specialize in selling mobile homes in Colorado.  In only two years (since 2014) we’ve sold countless manufactured homes.

Even if you’re trying to sell or buy your home on your own, give us a call if you have any questions or concerns about mobile home FSBO risks.  Perhaps we can be of assistance.  We’re always available.