Real property or personal property: what your title actually says
Two similar manufactured homes can have different registration, foundation, land, tax, and loan records. Those records affect a transaction, but no single form guarantees financing, tax treatment, or resale value. Here's how to confirm what you're actually buying.
What you'll learn
- The difference between an HCD certificate of title and a recorded deed, and why it matters
- What Form 433A documents in the foundation-system process and which records to confirm
- Which HCD, County, title, escrow, lender, and tax records to request
- What to verify on title before buying a used manufactured home, including liens and back fees
- When converting an existing home to real property makes financial sense
Step by step
- Ask the seller whether the home is on an HCD title or recorded as real property. Get the answer in writing.
- For HCD-titled homes, request a title search through HCD to surface registration status, liens, and unpaid fees.
- If the seller describes the home as installed on a foundation system, obtain the recorded Form 433A and confirm the completed record with HCD, the enforcement agency, County records, title or escrow, and the lender.
- Pull the county tax record and check that the home and land are assessed together if the seller claims real property status.
- If the home sits in a park, read the lease before anything else. Space rent and park rules shape the real monthly cost.
- Talk to lenders early. Give each lender the same registration or title, foundation, land, home, and occupancy facts and ask which programs and current terms it will consider.
Appearance does not establish the home's legal or lending status. Verify the recorded foundation documents, HCD registration status, land records, and lender requirements for the specific transaction.
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