Expert: Dick Dennis - 3/31/2009

Question
I live in Texas and about seven years ago I moved into a mobile home loaned to me by my mother-in-law.  I will be moving soon and seeing as how my mother-in-law has no use for the mobile home asked me to sell it and even offered to have me keep the profits, if any.  Problem is she never had the title transferred to her name.  All she has provided me is a title that does in fact look to be signed by the previous owner in the "signature of seller or transferor" box.  Of course this also means that no property taxes have been paid on the mobile home for just as long. Is it possible to transfer the title to my name just until I can sell it?  Will I need the previous owner present?  I do recall her mentioning the gentlemen intended to leave the states for good, so if I need him for some reason I doubt I would be able to find him.

Answer
Actually, Laura, this is not a real estate problem. Assuming it is in a mobile home park, this is more a DMV problem. However, I strongly recommend you consult with a Texas estate attorney to make sure this all transpires properly. The attorney would be able to tell you what steps you need to take. You also might want to talk to a mobile home broker and ask his/her suggestion on how to solve this. Each state has its own way of handling mobile home sales in relation to real estate, if any. I do wish you well, Laura.

Dick Dennis