Mobile & Manufactured Homes

Sell a Mobile or Manufactured Home Fast in Raleigh, NC

We buy manufactured and mobile homes across the Triangle for cash, as-is. Tell us whether yours sits on land you own or on a leased lot and we will tell you straight away whether we can make an offer. Below is how these sales actually work in North Carolina, because almost nobody explains it.

Get a fair cash offer

No obligation — or call (919) 205-0576.

Why these are hard to sell

Most buyers will not touch a manufactured home

If you have already tried to sell, you know. Many agents decline the listing. Most retail buyers cannot get a mortgage on one. Plenty of cash buyers only want site-built houses. The problem usually is not your home — it is that the ordinary way of selling does not apply to it.

We buy them. Single-wide or double-wide, older or newer, in whatever condition it is in — no repairs, no cleanout, no fees or commissions, and you pick the closing date. Tell us whether you own the land or lease the lot and we will tell you straight away whether it is one we can buy.

You can also read what selling as-is actually means in North Carolina. The guide below is the same information we would give a friend — whether you end up selling to us or not.

The question that decides everything

Is your home personal property or real property?

In North Carolina this one distinction changes who can buy your home, how it gets financed, and how it legally transfers. Most sellers do not know which one they have.

Personal property

It still has an NCDMV title

By default, a manufactured home in North Carolina is personal property — titled through the DMV, much like a vehicle. It transfers by signing over that certificate of title, not by deed.

This is the situation for most homes on leased land, and for plenty on owned land too, because retiring the title is a step many owners never took.

Real property

The title has been retired

Once the home is permanently affixed to land you own and the DMV title has been formally cancelled, the home becomes real property — part of the land itself. It then sells by deed, like any house.

This is the version that is easiest to sell and most likely to qualify for ordinary mortgage financing.

How the conversion works. Under N.C.G.S. 20-109.2, an owner surrenders the certificate of title to the NCDMV using an affidavit — DMV Form MVR-46G — declaring the home affixed to the land. The DMV cancels the title and returns the signed affidavit, which is then recorded with the county Register of Deeds. Only once that recording happens is the home treated as real property.

If the DMV never issued a title for the home in the first place, the parallel route is a declaration of intent to affix under N.C.G.S. 47-20.7, recorded with the Register of Deeds.

How a manufactured home becomes real property in North CarolinaStep one, the home is personal property with an NCDMV certificate of title. Step two, the owner files Form MVR-46G, an affidavit surrendering the title. Step three, the DMV cancels the certificate and returns the signed affidavit. Step four, the affidavit is recorded with the county Register of Deeds. Only then is the home real property.STEP 1NCDMV titleThe home is personalproperty, titled muchlike a vehicle.STEP 2Form MVR-46GAn affidavit surrenderingthe title, filed withthe NCDMV.STEP 3Title cancelledThe DMV cancels thecertificate and returnsthe signed affidavit.STEP 4RecordedThe affidavit is recordedwith the county Registerof Deeds.Only after that recording is the home real propertyN.C.G.S. 20-109.2 · if the DMV never issued a title, use a declaration of intent to affix under N.C.G.S. 47-20.7

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The conversion is not automatic. Plenty of owners assume their home became real property when they set it on the land — it does not, until the title is cancelled and the affidavit is recorded.

This is general information about North Carolina law, not legal advice. A real estate attorney or closing attorney can confirm which category your specific home falls into.

Three situations

Which one is yours?

Nearly every manufactured home sale in the Triangle falls into one of these. They are not equally easy to sell.

Decision tree for selling a manufactured home in North CarolinaStart with your manufactured home. If you do not own the land, it is a leased-lot sale: personal property only, the park must approve your buyer, and it is a cash sale. If you do own the land, ask whether the DMV title has been retired. If it has not, the closing transfers a deed and a DMV title together. If it has, the home is real property and sells by deed like any house.Your manufactured homeDo you own the land it sits on?NOYESLeased lot or parkHas the DMV title been retired?NOYESHardest to sellPersonal property only.The park usually has toapprove your buyer.Cash sale in practice.Two moving partsThe land transfers by deedand the home by DMV titlein the same closing.Retiring the title first helps.Easiest to sellThe home is real property.It sells by deed like anyhouse, and conventionalfinancing is possible.

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Two questions decide which of the three you are in.

You own the land, title retired

The simplest case. The home is real property and sells by deed like any house. The widest pool of buyers, and conventional financing is genuinely possible.

You own the land, title still active

Very common. The land sells by deed and the home transfers by DMV title — two moving parts in one closing. Retiring the title before you sell often widens your buyer pool considerably.

The home sits in a leased-lot park

The hardest case. You own the structure, not the ground under it. The sale is personal property only, the park usually has to approve your buyer, and mortgage financing is generally unavailable — which is why these sales are almost always cash.

The other thing buyers ask

How old is the home?

Federal construction standards for manufactured housing — the HUD Code — took effect on 15 June 1976. That date is a hard line in this market.

The 15 June 1976 HUD Code lineHomes built before 15 June 1976 fall outside the HUD Code. Mainstream and FHA lenders will not finance them, so the buyer pool is cash only. Homes built on or after that date are HUD-code manufactured homes carrying a certification label, and financing exists though it is narrower than a mortgage on a site-built house.Built before 15 June 1976Built on or after 15 June 1976HUD Code takes effectMobile homeManufactured homeOutside the HUD Code. Mainstream and FHAlenders will not finance one, so the buyerpool is cash only.Carries a HUD certification label. Financingexists, though it is narrower and pricier thana mortgage on a site-built house.

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  • Built before 15 June 1976. Technically a mobile home rather than a manufactured home. Most mainstream lenders, including FHA-backed programmes, will not finance one. In practice the buyer pool is cash-only.
  • Built on or after 15 June 1976. A HUD-code manufactured home, carrying a HUD certification label. Financing exists, though it is narrower and usually pricier than a mortgage on a site-built house.

Put the two factors together and you have the whole picture. A pre-1976 home on a leased lot is a cash sale, full stop. A post-1976 home on owned land with a retired title can be sold much like any other house. Most homes sit somewhere between, and that is where knowing your position is worth real money.

None of this means your home is hard to sell. It means the ordinary route — list it, wait for a buyer with a mortgage — often does not work, and sellers who do not know that lose months finding out. If you want the arithmetic behind any cash offer, we publish it: how we calculate your cash offer.

Before you talk to any buyer

What to have in hand

Any serious buyer will ask for these. Having them ready is the difference between an offer this week and an offer next month.

  • The certificate of title, or confirmation that it was retired. If you cannot find it, the NCDMV can tell you whether a title is still active on the home.
  • Whether you own or lease the land — and if you lease, the lot rent, the park name, and whether the lease transfers.
  • Year built and the HUD label, usually a metal plate on the exterior end of each section.
  • Make, model and serial or VIN number, plus width and section count — single-wide, double-wide, triple.
  • Any liens against the home, the land, or both. A lien on a DMV-titled home is recorded differently from one on real property — our guide to selling with a lien or title problem in NC covers how these are cleared at closing.
  • Unpaid property taxes or park fees, which are settled at closing. See also taxes when selling a house in North Carolina.

Common questions

Selling a manufactured home in NC

Do you buy mobile homes on leased land or only on land I own?
Both. We look at manufactured homes on owned land and in leased-lot communities. Tell us which one you have and we will tell you straight away whether we can make an offer, rather than leaving you waiting.
Do I have to retire the DMV title before I sell?
No. We can work with a home that still carries an active NCDMV title as well as one that has already been converted to real property. Which one you have does affect how the closing is handled, so it is the first thing we will ask about.
Will you buy a home built before 1976?
Tell us the year. Homes built before 15 June 1976 fall outside the HUD Code, which is why mainstream lenders will not finance them and why they are almost always cash sales. That is exactly the kind of sale we handle.
Do I need to make repairs or clean the home out first?
No. We buy as-is, in any condition, and you can leave behind anything you do not want to move.
What if I still owe money on the home?
That is normal and it does not stop a sale. Any payoff on the home, the land, or both is settled at closing out of the sale proceeds, the same as with a site-built house.
How fast can this move?
We make a fair cash offer within 24 hours of seeing the details, there is no obligation to accept it, and if you do accept it you choose the closing date.

Ready to sell your manufactured home?

Get a fair, no-obligation cash offer on your Triangle mobile or manufactured home — as-is, no fees, closed on your schedule.

Get a cash offerOr call (919) 205-0576

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