I owned a mobile home here in Iowa and my husband and I bought a house in a neighboring town. The trailer court manager's daughter's boyfriend at the time bought it from me. I signed the title to him, he stated he would file it in a few days and off we went. A week or so later, he changed his mind and sold it to another couple. A year later now, we have received the property tax bill. Apparently the title has never been filed. I called the trailer court manager and he spoke to the couple who said they would take care of it by he end of the month (October). They never did. I went down to the county office and told them what was up. They stated that this would be considered "title jumping" and that the first party I sold it to would have to come file the title and THEN the couple would have to do the same. I do not know the names of any of these parties. I called the trailer court manager back. He says he has no contact with either party now and that the couple has not been seen for three weeks, they have no phone, they have not paid their lot rent and they have the trailer for sale again. This is cascading into a nightmare. In the meantime, the county still considers me the owner and liable for the property taxes which are now overdue. HELP please. I've considered filing for a lost title and reselling the trailer but that could be messy too. Any ideas?

Any ideas?Hello Amy:

Sure. I have ONE. Hire a lawyer.

excon

Ok the worst that can happen here is the county sells the trailer for unpaid taxes. This might go on your credit report, but can be easily explained. Do you have any documentation (Bill of Sale, etc.) of your sale? I'm assuming you received the purchase price from the person who bought from you.

If you try reclaiming it, that would be fraud, since you did receive payment.