Summary. Sixteen sequences, with the moments that destroy value flagged.

1. The question that decides everything

  • Will you own the land, or rent the lot?
  • Owned land → convertible to real property · mortgage financing · homestead exemption · appreciates
  • Rented lot → stays personal property · chattel loan several points higher · depreciates · ground controlled by someone whose interest is opposite yours
  • Know which transaction you are doing. They look identical at the sales center.

2. At the sales center

  • Demand a written itemized price, not a monthly payment:
    • Home · delivery · installation and setup · foundation/piers · skirting · steps and decks · air conditioning · utility connections and trenching · permits · land improvements · taxes and title fees
  • Expect the out-the-door number to exceed the quoted home price by $20,000–$30,000
  • Ask: wind zone and roof load zone on the data plate — appropriate for the site?
  • Ask: who installs, are they licensed and bonded, can you see the license?
  • Ask: warranty — manufacturer, retailer, installer — what and how long, each?
  • Ask for a copy of the manufacturer's installation manual
  • Ask: what financing exists besides theirs?

3. Inspect the home

  • Photograph the data plate AND the HUD certification label — every section. Two minutes; needed for a decade.
  • Floors — soft spots, especially near plumbing
  • Doors and windows — latch and close squarely?
  • Marriage line on multi-section homes — where leaks and drafts begin
  • Roof type, age, warranty
  • Insulation values and thermal zone
  • If used: independent inspection by a manufactured-housing specialist, not a general home inspector

4. Before buying onto a rented lot

  • Lot rent history for five years — the trajectory, not the current figure
  • Who owns the park, and has it changed hands recently? (A recent investment-group sale is the strongest predictor of a large increase.)
  • Get the lot lease and park rules and read them before committing to the home
  • Get park approval in writing before committing
  • Ask: can I sell in place? What are the screening criteria? What fees?
  • Walk the park — vacant lots, deferred maintenance, stale for-sale signs
  • Talk to residents. Ask what rent was three years ago.

5. Financing

  • Shop the loan. Two banks and a credit union before accepting dealer financing.
  • Ask about government-backed manufactured housing programs
  • If you own the land, ask about a land-home package with a real mortgage
  • Compare APR, not payment
  • Ask about prepayment penalties
  • Identify anything bundled into the loan — extended warranties, insurance products, add-ons
  • Understand depreciation — twenty years of financing on a depreciating asset means years of negative equity

6. Insurance, before closing

  • Actual cash value or replacement cost? This is the difference between a payout that rebuilds and one that does not.
  • Wind/hail deductible — often a percentage, not a flat amount
  • Flood zone — never covered by a standard policy; many parks are in floodplains
  • Coverage for skirting, decks, sheds, carports, central air — frequently separate or excluded
  • Anchoring meets the requirement — an insurer may dispute a wind claim otherwise
  • Liability for the rented lot, not just the structure

7. Title and conversion (owned land only)

  • Own the land (or hold a qualifying recorded long-term lease)
  • Permanent foundation to the applicable standard
  • Running gear removed — wheels, axles, hitch
  • Certificate of title surrendered
  • Affidavit of affixation recorded in the land records
  • Lienholder consent obtained
  • Confirm the assessor recorded it as real property — a half-completed conversion produces years of double taxation
  • Claim the homestead exemption, and senior/disability/veteran exemptions
  • Confirm zoning in writing before purchase — width, age, roof pitch, and foundation requirements vary by district

8. Find out what state you are in — legally

  • Does your state have a mobile home park act? Roughly two-thirds do.
  • One call answers it: state manufactured housing agency · legal aid · state manufactured home owners association
  • Where an act exists, expect: written lease · extended rent increase notice (60–180 days) · good cause eviction · long cure periods (30–60 days) · right to sell in place · fee limits · closure notice · anti-retaliation · rule change process · utility billing standards
  • Read the lease NEXT TO the act. Conflicting lease terms are frequently unenforceable, and parks routinely use forms drafted for states without an act.

9. Reading the lot lease

  • Term and renewal
  • Rent, due date, late fees, how increases are noticed
  • Utilities — who bills, how measured, what rate, administrative fees
  • Rules — attached? can they change mid-term? what notice?
  • Maintenance — pad, trees, drainage, utility lines up to the home
  • Sale of the home — sell in place? criteria? fees?
  • Entry rights
  • Termination — grounds, notice, cure period
  • Anything about removal of the home — read it twice

10. When rent goes up

  • Check the notice against the act — period, content, delivery. Defective notice is a real defense.
  • Check the lease for in-term restrictions
  • Check for local rent regulation — a number of jurisdictions regulate park rents specifically
  • Scrutinize the accompanying charges — new utility charges, admin fees, and pass-throughs are where the winnable claims are
  • Talk to your neighbors the same week

11. The four utility questions — in writing

  • How is my usage measured? Submeter, allocation formula, or flat rate?
  • When was my submeter last read or calibrated?
  • What per-unit rate are you charging, and how does it compare to the utility's published rate? (Charging above it is prohibited in many states.)
  • Is common-area usage — community building, irrigation, street lights — included in the allocation?
  • If unanswered, file with the state manufactured housing agency
  • Improper allocation is cumulative and refundable

12. Park rules

  • Rules must generally be reasonable and uniformly enforced
  • Document selective enforcement — who else does the same thing without a notice
  • Rule changes usually require notice, sometimes a comment period
  • Watch for enforcement campaigns — they often precede a sale or closure

13. Organizing — do it before the crisis

  • Many park acts protect the right to organize and to meet in common areas
  • Form an association before you need one. One that exists is worth a hundred times one built in six weeks.
  • Elect officers · open an account · keep a resident contact list
  • Join the state manufactured home owners association mailing list
  • Learn the name and number of a resident-ownership technical assistance organization in your state

14. Selling in place

  • Get the park's written screening criteria before listing
  • Get the approval process and timeline in writing
  • Document every buyer rejection and the reason. If given verbally, send a letter confirming what you were told and asking for correction.
  • Compare rejections to the stated criteria
  • Escalate a pattern: letter to the owner, copy to the state agency
  • Price against actual in-park comparable sales, not online estimates
  • NEVER sign a document surrendering the home to the park without understanding what it forfeits — homeowners under pressure are routinely offered a few hundred dollars for a $40,000 asset

15. Eviction from a lot

  • ANSWER THE CASE. Default judgments are the norm and can cost a $40,000 home over $1,200 in rent.
  • Check whether the act applies and whether the notice complied: grounds · content · delivery · cure period
  • Cure if you can — cure periods here are usually long
  • Ask the court for time to sell in place rather than an order to remove
  • Raise selective enforcement
  • Do not abandon the home — abandonment procedures are frequently defective, and a distressed sale beats a total loss
  • Call legal aid

16. Park sale or closure — the shortest clock in housing law

  • Read the notice for dates. Closure notice: 6–12 months in many act states. Opportunity-to-purchase window: 45–120 days, starting now.
  • Call a resident-ownership technical assistance organization THIS WEEK
  • Call the state manufactured home owners association and legal aid
  • Activate or form the association — officers, bank account, communications lead
  • Determine whether your state provides:
    • Right of first refusal or notice-and-opportunity-to-offer
    • Relocation assistance — from the owner or a state fund, with its own deadlines
    • Minimum closure notice, and whether this notice satisfied it
  • If purchase is impossible: claim every dollar of relocation assistance · get moving estimates early · find out whether any park accepts your home's age · check for compensation where relocation is infeasible
  • Document the park's compliance with every notice requirement

17. Defects — the first year

  • Write to all three separately — manufacturer, retailer, installer — by a method that proves the date
  • Photograph monthly, dated. Lay a level across the floor and photograph the bubble.
  • Keep a log: every call, visit, crew name, and repair attempt
  • File with the state manufactured housing agency — often free inspection and repair orders
  • File with HUD for construction and code issues
  • Get an independent inspection from a manufactured-housing specialist
  • Compare the installation to the manufacturer's manual and the data plate's wind/roof load zones — resolves a large share of these claims, and almost nobody does it
  • Installer usually carries a bond that is reachable
  • Cite the federal warranty act's attorney's fee shifting in your demand letter

Related documents

Educational only, not legal advice. Mobile home park law varies enormously by state. Find out whether your state has a park act before relying on anything here.