Newbie Park owner here , in Texas . A long time tenant has been wisked away by daughter 8 hours away because of " dementia " . The home is under the deceased mother’s name , 25 years ago . he is now late 6 weeks on rent . I have the new billing address . The Vin and HUD are not readable . Probable 70s , early 80 s model , questionable movable status .
I could : 1) evict , writ , get rid of his possessions and go through abandonment process
2) see if daughter (POA ) is willing to try to obtain surviving spouse title , then transfer it to me or the new tenant as is , as a sale
Also 2 conversations with the POA are ended abruptly by her , with no resolution . I will try that route again .
3) Am I missing another better option , guys ?
I’d go with option 1. That is what I personally do every time there is an abandoned home. Option 2 relies on someone else to do some leg work that she probably doesn’t want to do and ultimately won’t get done. Option 1 is a foolproof way to solve this issue even though it’ll cost you for the eviction and it’ll take 45 days or whatever TX requires.
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I vote for option #1. Any other will end up a waste of your time.
Thanks guys . the abandonment process I was reading on the TDHCA requires that the home is unoccupied for 4 months , then I can apply for the abandonment . It sounds so painfully long I was hoping someone had a magic bullet but I have , unfortunately , come to the same conclusions . Thanks Guys !
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thanks for the awesome information.
I do think option 1 is the best way, but there is an obvious option that you missed - start renting the home as if it was yours or rent your lot and allow the lot renter to do whatever they want with the home on it. Of course you could have some legal issues if the deceased person resurrects herself after 25 years and decides to come after it. In the unlikely event they come after you, settle by giving them $2000 for the run down 70s home.
One thing I would be very careful about is not “selling” the home to a new tenant. If you sell the home, you are required to provide a title, which you cannot unless you do option 1. If you sell the home, you may find it to come back to haunt you if you ever file eviction. As a countersuit, the tenant could claim you sold a home without title.
You can use this template for abandonments in Texas:
Its easy to forget something, then you have to wait 45 more days, so I made this checklist.
For certified mail I use https://click2mail.com/ instead of going to the post office, saves time and keeps things organized, so you track the mail right from the site.
Make sure to select ‘certified letter with return receipt’ when sending them out.
Can add your taxing entities to the address book since you use those over and over again.
Thank you for providing this list. I’m having issues finding any identifiers (vin, serial number, seal number etc) on a home, so I cannot locate it in the TDHCA system. We found a UL plate No. 94355, but it doesn’t seem to be a valid number to identify the home with. Have you come across this issue before. Trying to figure out how to go through the abandonment process when the home has no identifiers.
You’re thinking through it well. If the daughter is uncooperative and there’s no clear title, starting the abandonment process might be your cleanest path, especially if rent remains unpaid. Still, giving one more good-faith shot with the daughter to explore title transfer could save time long term. Also, check Texas MH abandonment laws closely—some counties have streamlined steps if the home is in disrepair or immovable.