Real property or personal property: what your title actually says
Two identical manufactured homes can have completely different legal lives. One is titled like a vehicle through HCD; the other is recorded as real estate on a permanent foundation. That single difference drives your loan options, your tax bill, and what the home is worth when you sell. Here's how to read 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 a 433A foundation conversion is and what it does to financing and resale value
- How property taxes differ between licensed homes and real-property homes in California
- 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.
- For real-property homes, confirm a Form 433A was recorded with the county. That document is what makes the home legally part of the land.
- 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 your lender early. The title status decides whether you are shopping for a mortgage or a chattel loan, and the rates differ.
A home that looks permanently installed is not automatically real property. Only a recorded 433A makes it so. Verify the paperwork, not the foundation skirting.
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