Mobile and manufactured home escrow

1. 01

   Step 1: Escrow opens

   The buyer’s deposit is paid to escrow, never to the seller. When a dealer sells a used home, escrow must also send HCD a notice that the escrow has opened (Health and Safety Code §18035). For up to 120 days after that, or until the escrow closes or is canceled, HCD generally holds the home’s record: it won’t record another transfer or a new lien (§18100.5).

2. 02

   Step 2: The title search and the payoffs

   An HCD title search, run on the decal number or the serial number, names the owner and any lenders with liens. Escrow asks each lender for its payoff. When the request comes in writing in a sale, the lender must supply the balance due and the loan papers (§18035.5).

3. 03

   Step 3: The tax clearance

   For a home that pays county property tax, HCD needs a tax clearance certificate before it will move the title. It comes from the tax collector in the county where the home sits (Health and Safety Code §18092.7). If tax is owed, the county can issue a conditional certificate that shows the amount (Revenue and Taxation Code §5832). Escrow can pay it from the sale money. Los Angeles County, for one, collects it when the escrow closes. A home on HCD’s yearly registration skips the county certificate. Instead, HCD collects use tax on the sale unless an exemption applies (HCD RT 804.1).

4. 04

   Step 4: The park approves the buyer

   When the home will stay in a park, the buyer applies to the park’s management. Within 15 days, the park lists its approval standards and the papers it wants. After it has them all, it has 15 business days to answer in writing, and silence counts as approval (Civil Code §798.74). Before closing, the escrow must hold a copy of the rental agreement the buyer signed, or a statement signed by the park and the buyer that they agreed to its terms (§798.75).

5. 05

   Step 5: The seller’s disclosure

   The seller owes the buyer a disclosure form written for these homes, the Manufactured Home and Mobilehome Transfer Disclosure Statement (Civil Code §1102.6d). When it reaches the buyer after the offer is signed, the buyer may back out within 3 days of getting it in person, or 5 days after it’s mailed (§1102.3a).

6. 06

   Step 6: Closing and the HCD transfer

   Escrow pays off the loans and any taxes, then pays the seller. The transfer package then goes to HCD: the title signed by the seller, the registration card, the tax clearance, HCD’s fees and HCD’s Multi-Purpose Transfer Form, RT 476.6G. HCD adds a penalty unless the package is postmarked or received within 20 days of the sale (HCD RT 804).

When a buyer asks the park for a residency application, the park has 2 business days to hand over its “Information for Prospective Homeowners,” which shows the starting rent and the fees (Civil Code §798.74.5).

We handle the HCD paperwork as part of the escrow. At the start, we confirm how the home is titled, so the right steps follow.

We time the escrow so the park’s approval, the payoffs and the transfer come together, and the money moves only when all of them are in place.