We purchased a very distressed property as our first property. We are having an issue with tenants attempting to sell their mobile homes without titles. During the purchase of the park, we did not look up the titles for all of the “tenant owned homes” as we didnt see this as necessary. In our finding, almost all of the tenants do not have titles and neither does the park. These are abandoned trailers have been rented through the previous owner and just collecting lot rent. With new ownership, many tenants are attempting to sell the homes that they have rented without a title. What legal action can we enforce? Are there statues or abandoned mobile home laws that would not allow them to sell it? Aren’t we as the new owners legally entitled to the abandoned trailers as they are on our property, regardless if tenants are renting them?
You would be required to follow state codes to claim ownership on abandoned homes.
Dealing with tenants attempting to sell homes they do not own is very simple. Send out a notice to all tenants that rented park homes are park property. Also inform them that attempting to sell a home they do not own is a criminal offense. Let them know that any buyer of a home without ownership will not be approved as a resident of the community.
Inform all residents that selling of homes in the community requires proof of ownership. When screening resident applicants they must show proof of ownership unless they are sub leasing the home.
You need to move forward on acquiring the ownership on park homes so you can sell them as quickly as possible.