Where Do I Find The ID Number?
I bought a mobile home on a private lot. I have a feeling that the title is not the right one for what I bought. Where do I find the ID number on the MH? I have looked all over the outside. Also, when a title search is done does it include the MH or just the property itself? If the seller provided the wrong title (thereby giving me wrong age, etc) do I have recourse? I'm in Florida. The MH is old - she said 1984, but I'm afraid older. Any help is appreciated!
If the trailer is attached to private property it may not have a title. Look in the closet where the furnace is. If you do not find it there look near the breaker box. Also look around the front and back doors outside and on the tongue if it is still attached.
Furnace and breaker box doors are the frequent location for a HUD sticker - 8x10 paper stuck up that shows the MH specs and the fact that it is HUD-compliant. You can also find this doc on the inside cabinet of the laundry area sometimes. It has a graphic of the continental US as well - showing freeze zones or something - - -
Problem is, a pre-1976 MH won't have this. Sometimes there is a VIN die-stamped into the tongue - use a flashlight and a beefy wirebrush to look here. I have also heard of numbers being around the front door frame, but under the siding.
You can check county records referencing the address; they might .have info on the MH.
If your purchase agreement specified a particular MH, and the one that's there is a different one, seller committed criminal fraud...and one for which a grand jury would happily indict her.
On a MH on pvt land, owner has option of either keeping a MH as personal property, or surrendering the title and thereby converting the MH to becoming part of the RE itself...a "fixture" under law, and thereby having its title passed along with the underlying land whenever it is conveyed or sold.
If you'll find your state's MH laws in some search engine, you can easily read what its particular laws and procedures are for this title conversion process...then you can check to see if that one was surrendered or converted.
I've checked all the places suggested (except for under the siding) and still no luck. The only numbers I find are GEO286664 and GEO286665, one on each half of the DW and that seems too short to be a vin number, and under the numbers all it says is the company declaring it was manufactured under current regulations. But nowhere can I even find a manufacturer name to match up. The MH has a title as it is now being held by a finance company (we were buying from the owner who then sold the mortgage) and they gave me a photocopy. The title says 84 Sant but the Property Appraiser database says 77 Post. I can find no information on these companies-probably long gone. When we bought the MH and land we went through a title company and had a regular closing because we wanted to be sure it was all clear. Also, we pay taxes on it as real property, not with a yearly sticker. John, I'm going to check into that surrendering the title thing that you mentioned and see if maybe a title is not needed. But also, what about my fire insurance? When I got the insurance they wanted the vin number, etc. (I got it off our closing paperwork), but if there is confusion on what it is, am I not covered?
Check inside the kitchen cabinets. That's where I have found the 8x10 piece of paper before.
Yeah, underneath the sink, stuck to the cabinet door is where I've seen it stuck before, too.
Quote:
On 2004-04-14 20:51, bellamystation wrote:
I've checked all the places suggested (except for under the siding) and still no luck. The only numbers I find are GEO286664 and GEO286665, one on each half of the DW and that seems too short to be a vin number, and under the numbers all it says is the company declaring it was manufactured under current regulations. But nowhere can I even find a manufacturer name to match up. The MH has a title as it is now being held by a finance company (we were buying from the owner who then sold the mortgage) and they gave me a photocopy. The title says 84 Sant but the Property Appraiser database says 77 Post. I can find no information on these companies-probably long gone. When we bought the MH and land we went through a title company and had a regular closing because we wanted to be sure it was all clear. Also, we pay taxes on it as real property, not with a yearly sticker. John, I'm going to check into that surrendering the title thing that you mentioned and see if maybe a title is not needed. But also, what about my fire insurance? When I got the insurance they wanted the vin number, etc. (I got it off our closing paperwork), but if there is confusion on what it is, am I not covered?
I believe the 2 numbers you found are the manfacturers date stamp. The GEO stands for state of manufacture Georgia and the 286 for date of manufacture February,1986,and the 664/665 are unit production numbers. This is just a manufacturers production number,but if you can find out the manufacturer you could get more information.
The 2 numbers you mentioned GEO----- are the HUD numbers. The home was most likely produced in Georgia. You can contact the
Georgia State Fire Marshall's Office
#2 Martin Luther King Dr
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-656-3687
they should have records. If not, the Dept. of HUD will probably track those numbers down for you.
Bubba!! Thank you,Thank you! I contacted the Fire Marshall through their website, submitted a form with the HUD number, and they faxed the registration info back to me the next day. The MH I bought is indeed the right one listed on my title. All I have to do now is contact my Property Appraiser's office to have their info corrected. What a load off my mind - and now I can refinance with no worries! Thanks to all of you for helping me with my problem. I love this website!