Florida Real Estate Blog

Yes it is a home but the state does not treat it as such. When you buy one you get a Title (like when you purchased a car). If you have a double wide which many are, you will get two titles and if you own the land then you will get a deed for that. You will also need to know the VIN number (vehicle identification number) as your insurer will want that and the name of the manufacturer. If you can find out when the home was moved to this location. It can save you on the depth of inspections you will need to have done. Florida has a Statue for the tying down of these homes it is 320.8325 and the installation standards are on the SunBiz.org site it is 15C-1.0104.

Lenders are very tough to come by on older Manufactured Homes so be prepared to go all cash. Insurance is also a chore. Currently hear in July 2010 Citizens and AARP are the only two companies writing insurance on these homes.

Inspections are treated differently. Only Companies that Install them can inspect them so your normal home inspector is not going to work. The good news is the state has a list of all the Licensed Installers at their site. Just Google “Florida Mobile Home Installers”