Purpose of this page
This page discusses transferring a mobile home’s ownership from a seller to a buyer in the great state of Washington. This is not intended in situations where the land the mobile home sits on is included in the sale. If the land is included in the sale please reach out to a local real estate attorney to help facilitate your closing. However if you are dealing with an individual mobile home located in a pre-existing mobile home park, on somebody’s rented land, in a lot, or somewhere else than please see the information below.
In the state of Washington the process to transfer a mobile home title from one owner to the next is fairly simple and straightforward. Please see the steps and tips below when considering purchasing or reselling a mobile home in the state of Washington.
Disclaimer: This page is not intended for mobile home investors. The reason this is mentioned is because you may require extra documents and agreements if you are a mobile home investor. These extra documents would include an after closing agreement if the seller was remaining in the home for a bit after closing, personal property trust agreements, a promissory note or lien paperwork, power of attorney, and more. Below is the minimum paperwork required to successfully transfer ownership from one party to another.
Prior to your Washington mobile home closing
Verify seller has the title and he/she is listed as owner: Ask to see the title during your initial walk through of the mobile home. The seller may be willing to text message a picture of the title to you to verify information.
Check for back taxes: Contact the county tax assessor’s//treasurer’s office in the county the home is located. Call with the mobile home’s serial number or VIN to verify taxes are current. Taxes must be current prior to title transfer.
Check for hidden liens: Contact the county tax assessor’s/treasurer’s office in the county the home is located. Call with the mobile home’s serial number or VIN to verify there are no unexpected liens you don’t know about. These liens may or may not be listed on the mobile home’s title in the “Lien’s Holder’s” section of the title. All liens must be paid-off and cleared from title prior to home being transferred to a new buyer.
If inside a mobile home park aim to speak with the community manager to 1.) become park approved, 2.) verify the seller is current on all payments, 3.) ask for a copy of the park rules, 4.) ask if lot rent is increasing in the near future, and 5.) if the park manager see any needed improvements to the mobile home if/when you purchase the home?
Prior to your Washington mobile home closing (continued)
Must do: 1.) Print a Real Estate Excise Tax Mobile Home Affidavit form and 2.) travel to County Assessor’s/Treasurer’s office 3.) to get official tax receipt:
Step 1: Fill in, print, and sign the Real estate excise tax mobile home affidavit form. Click here to be taken to the Washington state website to fill out the Real estate excise tax mobile home affidavit form for mobile homes. Once on this webpage click on the link that says Fill-in under the Real estate excise tax mobile home affidavit section. See photo example below.
Once you click the link in the photo above (your webpage may look slightly different) you will be taken to a webpage that allows you to enter information onto the Real estate excise tax mobile home affidavit form itself. Add all information possible. You will notice that when you fill in the first page it automatically fills in the other duplicate pages. Print and sign all these pages. These duplicate pages will be taken with you (and hopefully the seller) to the County tax assessor’s office prior to transferring the mobile home.
Step 2: Going to the County tax assessor’s/Treasurer’s office. By this time you should have already called the county tax assessors/treasurer’s office to verify if the mobile home you are interested in is current on taxes or behind on taxes. If there are any past due or current amount of taxes due this should be paid by the seller as they are the current occupants of the mobile home. Ideally you and the seller will go together to the local County tax assessor’s/treasurer’s office and bring the Real estate excise tax mobile home affidavit form with you. Wait for a time when the seller is available to go with you to the local County tax assessor’s/treasurer’s office.
Step 3: Obtain a tax receipt. Once the seller and you are both at the office the seller will customarily pay to bring all back taxes current. The Real estate excise tax mobile home affidavit should be signed on all pages by the buyer and seller. Several copies will be taken by the clerk at the County tax assessor’s/treasurer’s office. The clerk will then give you a tax receipt showing taxes are current. You will need to take this tax receipt with you in order to transfer title after closing.
Pro Tip: If the seller is unable or unwilling to come with you to the County tax assessor’s/treasurer’s office then perform this step after you have taken the title and keys from the seller. Make sure to deduct any past due or currently due taxes from the amount you are paying to the seller. Make sure the Real estate excise tax mobile home affidavit form is signed by the seller on all pages. You can then go to the County tax assessor’s/treasurer’s office by yourself to pay the back taxes and obtain a tax receipt to move onto the next step.
At Closing
Paperwork needed: Title (must have), Bill of sale (You may create this by hand or this generic Bill of Sale here.) No notary is needed. One title per mobile home; a single-wide and double-wide will have 1 title.
Pro Tip: If purchasing the mobile home perform one last walk through before closing and handing over any money. The seller wants your money just as bad as you want the property. If there are any surprise repairs needed or trash/furniture you may have to remove then adjust the price accordingly.
After closing – Transferring Washington title ownership
Bring Title, Bill of Sale, and Tax receipt form to your local Department of licensing (DOL) office in the county to pay transfer fees and transfer ownership. Only buyer(s) must be present at Department of licensing (DOL) to transfer title, however ideally buyer and seller go to Department of licensing (DOL) to transfer title to help expedite any last-minute issues that arise at the Department of licensing (DOL). All forms should already be signed. No notary is needed.
Title will arrive 3-6 week via mail to mailing address you provided to the clerk at the DOL.
If for some reason a lien needs to be placed on the title, this will be done at the Department of licensing (DOL) while talking with the clerk that is helping you. The clerk will want to know the name of the lienholder and their address. The new title will be sent to the lienholder’s address. The lienholder will then transfer the title to you once they are paid in full.
If you are the seller: It can be wise to go with the buyer to the local Department of licensing office to make sure the ownership is transferred correctly so that taxes and liability are not in your name moving forward. Some buyers wait years to transfer title/ownership.
Taxes moving forward for new owner: The future owner will receive a tax bill in the mail yearly.
We hope that the information above has been helpful. If you notice any errors or improvements please contact us immediately at support@mobilehomeinvesting.net. As always, if you have any follow-up questions or concerns never hesitate to reach out or comment below any time. All the best.
Love what you do daily,
John Fedro
