HOW TO SELL A MOBILE OR MANUFACTURED HOME IN A PARK IN OREGON

You want to buy or sell a manufactured home in a park in Oregon but you’re not sure how to complete the paperwork on your own.  In this article I’m going to explain, step-by-step, how to sell your manufactured home in Oregon, without the land, when it sits in a mobile home park.  

Selling a manufactured home is more like selling a car than selling real estate.  In fact, it was the DMV who used to keep track of the titles of manufactured homes in Oregon, not anymore.   Starting May 1, 2005, the Oregon Building Codes Division (“BCD”) now keeps track of these titles (actually, they’re called “Ownership Documents” now, not titles).  All forms needed to transfer ownership can be found at their website, here. 

If you use a realtor to buy/sell a mobile/manufactured home, the realtor and the title company will handle this paperwork.  However, it costs roughly $1,000 for each buyer and seller to do this.  And, unlike traditional real estate transactions, title companies in Oregon do not issue title insurance for mobile/manufactured homes.  All you’re paying for is for them to organize the paperwork and act as a neutral 3rd party where each side can feel protected exchanging the money for the ownership document.  

For transactions with a large dollar amount, this might be worth it.  However, if the transaction is not a big dollar amount, it would seem silly to pay an extra $1,000 per person to consummate the transaction.  Sometimes, this might be more than the transaction itself.  Below is a step-by-step process of how to do this yourself if you find yourself in that situation.

STEP 1 – BILL OF SALE

Once you find a willing seller (or buyer), you’ll want to write up a contract that outlines the price and terms of the agreement.  There isn’t a standard bill of sale, so to speak, but there are a few key terms you’ll want to include (this is not legal advice):

Parties

You’ll need to identify the Buyer(s) and Seller(s). An example of this would be:  

This contract (the “Contract”), dated __________, in which Buyer, _____________________, offers to purchase from Seller(s), __________________, the following described manufactured home (“Property”):

Address/Home ID/Park

You’ll need to identify what is being sold.  While the home is being sold without the land, the key identifier of what is being sold is the Home ID (as shown on the Ownership Document), the Address of where the home currently sits, and the name of the mobile home park where the home is located. An example of this might look like this:

Address: 123 Main St

Home ID: 261457

Name of Park (“Park”): Excelsior Mobile Estates

Price

You should have both (1) the purchase price, and (2) how that purchase price will be paid.  Is the buyer going to be paying earnest money?  Are they paying the seller all the money at closing?  All of this is negotiable between the buyer and seller. An example of what a price term might say is:

The purchase price is to be $10,000, payable in the following manner: 

$500 refundable earnest money paid within 2 business days of signing this Contract; 

The remaining $9,500 paid in cash at closing

Park Approval Contingency

Because the buyer is only buying the home, and the park owns the land, the buyer will need to get approval from the park to lease the land before they can buy the home.  This will need to be part of the bill of sale that explains that if the buyer doesn’t get approved by the park, then the buyer can walk-away from the transaction (this is called the Park Approval Contingency).  An example of what the park contingency might say is:

Buyer’s performance hereunder is subject to and contingent upon obtaining approval from the [NAME] Mobile Home Park.  Seller agrees to cooperate with Buyer in applying for and obtaining this approval.

Inspection Period

It’s customary in any contract to be able to “look under the hood” of what the buyer is buying before closing.  This is usually called the Inspection Period (or Due Diligence Period).  This allows the Buyer to inspect the home to make sure there are no other defects they weren’t aware of before closing.  An example of what the park contingency might say is:

This Agreement is subject to the final inspection and approval of the Property (“Inspection Period”) by the buyer on or before X business days from the signing of this Contract.  If the Buyer, for any reason, is unsatisfied with the inspection, the Buyer, with written notification to the Seller, can terminate the contract without penalty.

Closing Date

You’ll need to agree in wiring on when the closing will happen.  When will the buyer give the seller the remaining purchase price and when will the seller sign over ownership to the buyer. An example of what the park contingency might say is:

Closing date shall be on or before _______________. Title is to be free, clear, and unencumbered, free of any county, city and federal liens. All liens against the property shall be paid at closing by the Seller. 

STEP 2 – PARK APPROVAL

Once the bill of sale is signed, the buyer will need to get park approval.  The Buyer will need to take their bill of sale to the park manager and ask for a lease application.  The buyer will need to pay a lease application fee, usually between $25-75.  All parks are different, but most all parks will check the following:

Criminal Background 

The buyer will need to give the park their social security number so the park can search for any outstanding warrants/arrests.  Getting flagged isn’t always a deal-breaker on its own, but is a factor in their approval process.

Income/Employment Information

The buyer will need to prove they have the income necessary to afford the home plus the space rent. They will either need to be employed or self-employed.

Reference Checks

The park will ask for past rental references.  Expect these past rental references to be called. 

STEP 3 – FORM 2952 ($55)

After the buyer receives their park approval and the buyer is satisfied with their inspection, Form 2952 needs to be completed. You can download the form for free, but the cost of turning in the form once complete is $55.  Below are pictures and explanations on how to complete this form. If you have questions, please contact the Oregon Building Codes Division and they will walk you through how to fill out each section.

Page 1

Page 1 is basically the cover sheet.  You’ll need to check the box under the “Instructions” section next to the word, “REQUIRED” to acknowledge you understand a tax certification is required to successfully file this form (more on that in Step 4 below).  In addition, at the bottom, you’ll need to write $55 in the “ownership document change” column and again in the “total column”.  Because this article focuses on selling a manufactured home in a park, no trip permit fees are required, as the home is not being removed from the park. 

Page 2  

Section 1 – Nature of Filing. For our example, you’ll just select “Used home sale” 

Section 2 – Applicant Information.  This is the section for the applicant, the person filing the form.  This can be anyone listed here.  In this example, we’re going to say the applicant is the Seller.

Section 3 – Home Information. This is the home information section.  You’ll get this information from the Ownership Document. Here is an example of what an ownership document looks like:

And here is how you’d fill out section 3:

There are two serial numbers because this home is a double-wide, one serial number per section.  The date of sale is something that you won’t pull from the existing ownership document, this date of sale is for when the seller/buyer close on the current transaction.  Similarly, the sale price is not pulled from the ownership document, as that price was the price the seller bought at previously.  The sale price you’ll want to put here is the sale price located on the bill of sale, which was $10,000 listed above.

Section 4 – Dealers.  This section is only for dealers.  Disregard.

Section 5 – Home Location.  This is the location where the home is currently located.  This can also be found on the bill of sale if you identified the home to be sold with the homes address.  Because this home is not being moved out of the park, the bottom section will be left blank.

Page 3

Section 6 – New Owner Acknowledgement.  This is the section where the new owner(s) complete.  Right of Survivorship means that if one of the owner(s) pass away, ownership of the home automatically transfers to the other owner(s), without the need to go through probate.  This is often checked “yes” for husband and wife owners, but doesn’t have to be. Right of Survivorship can be checked for anyone.  

Page 4

Section 7 – Security Interest Holders.  If the buyer were to purchase the home with a mortgage, the bank would be listed here as a security interest holder.  If the seller were to sell to the buyer and hold a note (accept monthly payments as part of the purchase price), the seller would put their name here.  For this example, we’re assuming the buyer bought this money with their own cash, so we leave this blank.

Section 8 – Current Owner Acknowledgement.  This section is for the seller(s) to complete.  Make sure the seller checks the box saying, “I release my interest in this structure”. 

Security Holder Release.  This last section on the last page is for current security interest holders to sign-off that they’ve been paid in full for the amount they lent to the seller(s) in the previous sale.  If there is a lien against the house, of any kind, the transaction can’t record until this is filled out.  The bank for the mortgage on the house is the party that would usually complete this section.  In our example, there is no mortgage on the house so we leave this empty.

STEP 4 – VALID COUNTY TAX CERTIFICATION ($16)

Once Form 2952 is complete with signatures, you’ll need to take that form to the County Tax Assessor’s Office where the home is currently located.  You’ll need to obtain a valid county tax certification that shows there are no taxes owed on the home before they’ll allow you to transfer ownership.  If there are taxes owed, this would need to be paid before they issue the tax certification.  Customarily, the Seller pays this.  

The County won’t give you a valid county tax certification without a completed Form 2952.  You can either walk into the county tax assessor’s office to get this or you can email them (make sure to have/email your Form 2952).  This will cost you $16.  Here is a picture of what a valid county tax certification looks like:

STEP 5 – SUBMIT FORM 2952 + COUNTY TAX CERTIFICATION

Once you have both Form 2952 completed and a valid County Tax Certification that shows no taxes are owed on the home, you need to submit both forms.  If your Form 2952 has the wet signatures, you can simply turn these into the County Tax Assessor’s office, the same office you received the Valid County Tax Certification.  They’ll submit them to the Oregon Building Codes Division for you and email you once they’ve been successfully recorded.  If you don’t have the wet signatures on Form 2952, the County will give you the Tax Certification but you’ll need to submit those yourself to the Building Codes Division in Salem at 1535 Edgewater St NW, Salem, OR 97304, in person or via mail. Or, you could submit them online at MHODS (Manufactured Home Ownership Document System).  You’ll need to create an account and upload the docs yourself. 

FAQ: How to Sell a Mobile Home

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