What to do if you cant find VINs on mobile homes?

[Padric Lynch]

Situation:

Currently drawing up a contract for a mobile home park. There are 10 vacant homes that the owner does not have title to. We were encouraged by a broker to include the descriptions and VINs in the contract, and we would need them to request duplicate titles from the state. I went to the park and checked all of the vacant home's interiors (master bedroom closet, electric panel, kitchen cabinets, under sink) and exteriors (on the tongue and in the vicinity of). I was not able to find any VINs. This may be due to how old the homes are. Can I procure duplicate titles without the VINs? and is it absolutely necessary to have the VINs in the contract? 

[Frank Rolfe]

Besides the places you looked, the serial numbers on some mobile homes are etched into the frame -- you'll have to literally climb under the home with a flashlight to see if you can find them. If not, you've pretty much exhausted the options. So in many parks, the homes are identified simply by the lot number, # bedroom and bathrooms, size, and manufacturer (if you can even find that name). Since the homes are old, it's improbable that they will ever move, so identifying them based on their current location will probably suffice as far as the Bill of Sale.

As far as obtaining the title to the homes, that's an entirely different matter. Contact your state mobile home association (MHA) and find out the requirements and methodology to get replacement titles. In some states it's not too bad, and it other states it may be impossible. If the state requires a title in hand to sell or rent a home -- and you can't get one -- you might be able to do an abandoned property auction in some states to cleanse the title and create a new one, and in other states you may simply have to demolish the home and replace it. Let your state MHA be your guide on this,