Ohimesama
Mar 2, 2008, 09:49 AM
When I moved to this mobile home park I bought my home from the manager of the park and found out later that the title was in another person's name, someone who was not on the contract and was never mentioned to me at all. I asked last year for proof of her ownership and have never received it, so I went down and paid the taxes for the last 3 years (!) and the excise tax on the money I gave her (!! ) and then tracked down the owner on the title and got a release of interest and filed that. I now hold title to the home according to the state, but do I need to file for a quiet title as well? Can I do that myself or do I need an attorney? Any help or advice is appreciated.
Fr_Chuck
Mar 2, 2008, 10:53 AM
Do you have a deed on the prperty, or a "title" to a mobile home. Which is nor real estate but personal properlty like a car or truck.
In general if there is a title, then I is not real estate but personal property, and who signed the title over to you, did the manager of the park sign a title in the name of someone else, or was it already signed and the manager give you a title that they had signed over to them.
But if you got them to sign a release ( not sure that was even needed) but I see no need for any future action. If you were given a new title by the state in your name, it should be clear.
Ohimesama
Mar 2, 2008, 08:06 PM
When I moved here (Washington state) in 2006, I made a down payment and then started making monthly payments. Since this was my first time buying anything (I was newly divorced and knew nothing about what I should ask for when buying a mobile home), I assumed I would get the title when it was paid in full, but never thought about the registration or the taxes from previous years.
About 8 months after moving in, I was asked by a friend if I had paid my property taxes before the deadline. No notice had come to me, so it was the first I'd heard about any taxes being due. I went online to find out how much they were and where to pay them, and when I did a property search at the assessors office, I discovered that not only were the taxes not paid since 2004, the title holder and legal taxpayer was someone whose name was never mentioned to me and his name was not on the contract I have with the woman who sold it to me.
I paid the taxes and took my contract to the assessors office and they told me the excise taxes had to be paid before a title could be issued, and that as far as the state was concerned, the legal owner was the guy on the title and no one else.
So I paid the excise taxes (That still sticks in my craw) and they issued a "title in doubt" since I had been unable to find the title holder.
I then wrote a letter to the woman who sold it to me asking that she show proof that she owned it before selling it to me, or show me her dealer's license that allowed her to sell it for the legal owner. That was almost a year ago.
8 months ago, my lawyer asked for the same proof, and, as of this day, I have not seen any title or registration with her name on it for this place.
I tracked the guy down and he was upset that it was still in his name, and he signed and notarized a release of interest form.
So, I guess in actuality, I have 2 questions - 1) do I file for a quiet title, even though in about 4 weeks I'll have a title from the state with my name on it? And 2) Do I legally owe this woman any more money since she appears to never have owned it legally?
(When I asked for proof, she sent me an eviction notice for having a messy yard - it was snow-covered and I had a tarp over my woodpile).
I'm more than a little peeved that I've had to do all this, I gave her a lot of money and I was the one who paid the excise tax on money I gave her! Grrrrr!
Sorry to be long-winded...