Lost Title and No VIN

I am in Indiana and bought a foreclosed double wide manufactured home that is attached to a permanent foundation on a real estate auction site. At closing we received a deed to the property but no title for the manufactured home. The bank remodeled the home and removed all the HUD tags. I have crawled all underneath of it looking for a serial number or any identifying marks, but have found none. All I know is from the county records it was put on the land in 1984. How do I go about getting a title when I don’t even know the manufacturer, model # or even have a VIN?

Thanks in advance for any help
Brian

I just sold a new home/lot combination in Florida and the title’s were retired by the title company and the home is considered part of the real estate and no title, just like it was a regular home. That way the new owners don’t have to pay for tags and fees.
Is there any reason you need a title?

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Check the front of the frames behind the skirting. There is often a welded on VIN Number that is put on there for this very situation.

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The foremost crossmember it would be stamped on it if it’s after 1976. Size and location on that crossmember can vary.

Yes, it’s the same here in WV. Once it goes on a permanent foundation is real estate. The title goes away and you get a deed.

Thanks for the help. I will crawl underneath and look again for VIN.

I am trying to get a mortgage and underwriters need a VIN or HUD number.

The county treasurer here has VIN and title number on record so as to chase their tax money. Doubt they care about looking back for yours, no incentive to them. You know the year? Is it new enough to be a HUD sealed home?

I believe it’s a 1984 model. It should have had a HUD tag or seal, but as I said in first post the banks remodelers removed all the identifying tags including the ones on the outside.

The county offices were absolutely no help.

Sorry to reply so late, but I think this can help others in that state. This process is similar to many states. We have big operation in Indiana, so I can provide very detailed information from direct experience. However, the part that I struggle with is that the home has been converted to real estate by permanently attaching it to the ground. Generally when a mobile home is attached to the ground, the title is retired and a deed is issued, which you have. That aside, if the home is not permanently attached (or if you detach it), the title process is this:

  1. find out who is the last owner in the tax record (you can also send an information request to the BMV for $4, but you need the VIN for that).
  2. send 60 day notice to the last owner by hand delivery or certified mail to remove the home
  3. advertise a public auction in the newspaper in the county twice in two weeks
  4. send 10 day notice to the last owner by hand delivery or certified mail that the home will be sold to the highest bidder
  5. hold the auction with a licensed auctioneer (If bidders come, either outbid them by $1 or cancel the auction and start over)
  6. complete a physical inspection to find the VIN (by an officer or licensed dealer) and note that a VIN does not exist on the BMV’s physical inspection of a motor vehicle form
  7. after the auction, complete a BMV affidavit of sale, title application, and application for a special VIN. When completing these forms, you can put “unknown” for the make and model. The auction buyer can be you or any third-party and you have to put a purchase price of at least $1.

All of this can be found in the state’s abandoned mobile home process by google searching “Indiana Abandoned Manufactured Home Packet.” When sending notice by hand delivery, you can post it on the door of the home. I think this process would work for a home that has been deeded, but the problem is that you are technically the owner, but the BMV record is likely to show that somebody else (many years ago) was the last owner. In the end it does not matter, as long as you delver to the last owner in the tax record. You may in fact be delivering the notice to yourself.

The process is long and tedious but not challenging. It will take about 3 months.

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There should be some numbers stamped on the Frame.
Check in the very front where the hitch was attached.

If you find the numbers you can order a HUD certification from here.

In oklahoma, if you have scoured the frame, closets, heater area, and come up with nothing, the assessor will come out and issue documentation so you can go to the state and get a vin and title issued. of course you have to go through their title 32 process proving you have rights to the home …