Does a mobile home have a title or a deed?

It depends on whether the home has been converted to real property. A mobile home that sits on a rented lot or on land the owner does not own is usually titled like a vehicle through the state DMV or a manufactured-housing division, and it transfers with a title assignment plus a bill of sale. Once a home is permanently affixed to land the owner holds and the title has been surrendered, it becomes real property and transfers by deed with the land instead. Check the current status before you sell, because it changes every piece of paperwork the buyer needs.

Does a mobile home bill of sale need to be notarized?

Several states require a notarized signature to transfer a manufactured-home title, and some require notarization on the bill of sale itself. Even where it is optional, notarizing a sale this size makes it far harder for either party to later claim the signature was forged. Confirm the rule with your state DMV or manufactured-housing agency before you finalize, since the requirement often differs from the one for a car.

Is the land included when I buy a mobile home?

Not automatically, and this is the single most important thing to spell out. Many mobile homes are sold as the structure only, with the buyer taking over a lot lease in a park or moving the home to their own land. Others are sold together with the parcel they sit on. State clearly on the bill of sale whether the sale is the home alone or the home plus land, because the two are completely different transactions with different documents and different tax treatment.

What does selling a mobile home "as-is" mean?

An as-is sale means the buyer accepts the home in its present condition with no warranties from the seller. After the bill of sale is signed, the seller is not on the hook for a failing furnace, a soft floor, a leaking roof, or a plumbing problem the buyer finds later. As-is language is standard in private manufactured-home sales because used homes carry a lot of aging systems, and it should be written out plainly so no one is left guessing who owns the risk.

Do I pay sales tax when I buy a used mobile home from a private party?

Often yes, though the rules vary widely. Some states charge sales or use tax on a private manufactured-home sale, some charge a lower rate or a flat transfer fee, and a few treat a home already taxed as real property differently from one still titled as personal property. The tax is usually collected when the buyer transfers the title or registers the home. Ask your state agency what applies before you agree on a price, so the tax does not come as a surprise at the counter.

Mobile Home Bill of Sale Template & Guide

A step-by-step guide to writing a mobile home bill of sale. Covers the HUD label, serial number, land inclusion, titling, liens, sales tax, and as-is sales.

Selling a mobile home is not like selling a car, and it is not quite like selling a house either. A manufactured home can be personal property titled through the DMV, or it can be real property that transfers with a deed, and which one you are dealing with changes the paperwork completely. In the middle of all of it sits the mobile home bill of sale, the document that records who sold what, for how much, and on what terms.

This guide walks through what a mobile home bill of sale is, when you need one, what every section should say, and the mistakes that turn a clean sale into a title headache months later.

What is a mobile home bill of sale?

A mobile home bill of sale is a written record of the transfer of a manufactured or mobile home from a seller to a buyer. It names both parties, describes the home, states the price, and captures the terms of the sale. For a home titled as personal property, the bill of sale works alongside the title assignment to prove the deal happened and to show the tax authority what was paid.

The term "mobile home" covers a few things people use interchangeably: a single-wide or double-wide manufactured home, an older pre-1976 mobile home, or a modular home built to a state code. The bill of sale is broadly the same across them, but the titling rules and the HUD paperwork differ, so it is worth knowing which one you have before you write anything down.

When you need one

You need a mobile home bill of sale any time ownership changes hands outside a dealership, including when you:

Sell a single-wide or double-wide to a private buyer
Buy a used home in a mobile home park and take over the lot lease
Move a home you bought onto your own land
Transfer a home between family members, even as a gift
Sell a home that a lender still holds a lien on

If the home has been converted to real property and rides with the land, you may not use a bill of sale at all. That sale runs through a deed and a title company, the way a stick-built house does. Figuring out which track you are on is the first real decision, and the rest of the document depends on it.

Personal property or real property?

This is the fork in the road, so it is worth slowing down on.

A manufactured home starts life as personal property. It has a manufacturer's certificate of origin, then a state title, much like a vehicle. If it sits on a rented lot, on leased land, or on land the owner does not hold, it usually stays personal property for its whole life. It transfers with a title assignment plus a bill of sale.

A home becomes real property when it is permanently affixed to land the owner holds and the owner files an affidavit of affixture (states use different names) to surrender the title. From that point the home and the land are one legal thing, and they transfer together by deed. If you are selling a home like this, you are closer to a land sale. Our guide to the contract for deed and land contract covers how those seller-financed land deals are structured.

Get this wrong and the sale can stall. A buyer's lender will not fund a home the seller treats as real property if the state still shows a live title, and a county will not record a deed for a home that was never converted. Confirm the current status with the state title record before you draft anything.

What to include in a mobile home bill of sale

A good bill of sale is specific. Vague descriptions and missing numbers are what let a dispute start. Here is what belongs in the document.

Parties

Full legal names and mailing addresses for both the seller and the buyer. If more than one person is on the title, every titled owner has to sign. If a business owns the home, name the entity and the person signing for it.

Home description

This is the heart of the document. Include:

Make, model, and model year of the home
Manufacturer's serial number (also called the VIN or the HUD serial), stamped on the data plate and often on the frame
HUD label number(s): the red metal tag on the exterior of each section. A double-wide has two labels, a triple-wide has three; list them all
Size and type: single-wide, double-wide, dimensions, and section count
Current location: the park name and lot, or the parcel address

The serial and HUD numbers are how the state ties the physical home to the title. A transposed digit here is one of the most common reasons a transfer bounces at the counter.

What is and is not included

Spell out exactly what conveys with the home. Skirting, the deck or porch, a shed, the AC unit, appliances, window treatments, and any furniture should each be listed or explicitly excluded. And state in plain words whether the land is included or whether the buyer is taking the home only and stepping into a lot lease. This one line prevents the ugliest disputes.

Price and payment terms

State the total price and how it is paid: cash at signing, a payment plan, or a buyer-arranged loan. If the seller is financing it, note the down payment, the schedule, and who holds the title until the balance clears. Record any deposit already paid.

Lien and title status

If a lender holds a lien, say so, and describe how it will be cleared. The clean path is to pay off the loan, get a lien release, and hand over a free title. If the buyer's money is funding the payoff, run it through the lender or a title company so the lien is released and the title signed over in one sitting. Note the payoff and release on the bill of sale so the record matches the title.

As-is language

Most private mobile home sales are as-is. Write it out. Without an as-is clause, the seller can be exposed to implied-warranty claims on a home full of systems that wear out: the furnace, the water heater, the roof, the plumbing. One clear paragraph is the seller's biggest protection.

Signatures and date

Both parties sign and date. Add a notary block if your state requires one, and leave room for witnesses if you want the extra proof. For a companion vehicle-side view of why signatures and a complete description matter, see do you need a bill of sale when selling your vehicle. The reasoning carries straight over to a manufactured home.

How to write one, step by step

Confirm the home's legal status. Pull the title record and decide whether you are selling personal property (title plus bill of sale) or real property (deed). Everything downstream depends on this.
Gather the numbers. Copy the serial/VIN from the data plate and every HUD label number off the exterior. Photograph them so you are not working from memory.
Settle the land question. Decide and write down whether the sale is the home alone or the home plus the parcel, and confirm the buyer can take over the lot lease if one applies.
Handle any lien. Contact the lender for a payoff figure and arrange the release before or at closing.
Write the bill of sale. Fill in the parties, description, inclusions, price, terms, lien status, and as-is clause.
Sign, notarize if required, and assign the title. Complete the title assignment on the back of the certificate the same day so the ownership record and the bill of sale line up.
File and pay. The buyer transfers the title, registers the home, and pays any sales or use tax within the state deadline.

Common mistakes to avoid

Mixing up personal and real property. Selling a titled home as if it were real estate, or the reverse, is the fastest way to stall a deal. Settle the status first.

Leaving the land question unstated. Silence here is where buyers and sellers end up in different rooms: one thought the acre came with it, the other never intended to sell it. Say so on the page.

Copying the serial or HUD numbers wrong. A single wrong digit can send the buyer back for a corrected document. Read them twice against the data plate and the labels.

Ignoring an open lien. You can sell a home with a loan on it, but the lender holds the title until it is paid. Clear the lien as part of the sale, not after.

Forgetting the as-is clause. Without it, the seller stays exposed to warranty claims on aging systems long after the money changes hands.

Selling on someone else's behalf without authority. If you are handling a relative's home, make sure you are allowed to. Our guide on how to sign documents as a power of attorney shows how to do it so the signature holds.

After the sale: what each party should do

Signing is not the finish line.

The seller should keep a copy of the signed bill of sale and title assignment, cancel or transfer any insurance on the home, and, where the state allows it, notify the titling agency that the home was sold so liability does not follow them.

The buyer should keep the bill of sale and signed title, transfer the title and register the home within the state deadline, pay any sales or use tax, and line up insurance before moving in. If the home stays on a rented lot, get the lot lease in writing too. The terms there work more like the mobile home lot lease agreement than a bill of sale, and you want that relationship documented before the first rent check.

Frequently asked questions

A mobile home bill of sale is a short document, but the details decide whether it holds up. The legal status of the home, the serial and HUD numbers, the land question, and the lien status are where most deals go sideways. If you are unsure whether your state titles your home as personal or real property, whether the sale needs a notary, or how use tax is figured, your state DMV or manufactured-housing agency is the authoritative source. The as-is clause, an honest price, and a complete description are the points that get overlooked most.

Related guides

Generate Your Mobile Home Bill of Sale with Contractable

A mobile home bill of sale looks simple, but skipping the HUD labels, mistyping the serial number, leaving the land question open, or ignoring a lien can cost you when a title question or a dispute comes up. Contractable generates a complete, customized mobile home bill of sale in seconds, with the right description fields, inclusion list, as-is language, and payment terms for your sale. No lawyers or legal templates to wrestle with.