A recently-passed law will revolutionize the way mobile home owners get financing for their home and lot.
In the past, the mobile home and the lot were considered different pieces of property; the land being classified as “real” property, but the manufactured home has been considered “personal” property.
Because of this split, financing entities such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation have refused to provide financing for mobile homes in states where the homes are not recognized as real property.
Last month, Gov. Jeb Bush signed CS/HB 1431 into law. The legislation was sponsored by Sen. Jim Sebesta (R – St. Petersburg) in the Senate and Rep. Stan Jordan (R – Jacksonville) in the House.
The legislation allows mobile home owners to apply to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to “retire” the individual title and apply for a combined title for the home and the land. Thereafter, the home and property will have a single deed and be treated the same as a site-built home.
If, at some time in the future, the mobile home owner wants to move the mobile home or sell the unit, there is a method in the law to convert back to individual titles for the home and land.
Representative Jordan said, “This will open up a great opportunity for Floridians to enjoy homeownership. One in five permits requested are for this kind of housing, and there are 1.1 million of them.”
Senator Sebesta added, “Mortgage rates are the lowest I can recall, yet up until now, mobile home owners were not able to refinance and take advantage of this situation. Now that the law is changed, I hope the word gets out to mobile home owners and they look into their refinancing options. Even though this seems like a minor piece of legislation, when you consider how many of our residents live in mobile homes, this bill has the potential to effect hundreds of thousands of Floridians.”