Mobile Home Vocabulary: Owner, Buyer & Seller Terms (PA)

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Topic

Showing 58 of 58 terms

A

Abandonment: Leaving a home behind on a rented lot.
Act 156 conversion: Turning a titled mobile home into real property tied to the land.
Aluminum wiring: Older branch wiring insurers may flag.
Arrears: Past-due lot rent, utilities or fees.
As-is sale: Selling without making repairs or credits.
Assignment: Selling a signed contract to another buyer.

B

Back taxes: Unpaid county, school or municipal taxes on the home.
Belly wrap: The protective membrane under the floor.
Bill of sale: The short document recording the transfer of a titled home.
Book value: A guide price from a manufactured home valuation guide.

C

Cash offer: A purchase with no lender, appraisal or financing contingency.
Certificate of Title: The ownership document for a home taxed as personal property.
Chattel loan: A personal-property loan for a home without land.
Cleanout: Clearing belongings and debris before transfer.
Closing: The meeting where documents are signed and money moves.
Comparable sale: A recent nearby sale used to price a home.

D

Data plate: The paper label inside the home listing its specs.
Depreciation: Value lost as a titled home ages.
Double-wide: A two-section home joined on site.
Duplicate title: A replacement when the original title is lost.

F

FHA Title I: A government-backed loan program for manufactured homes.
Frozen pipes: Winter line breaks in an unheated crawl space.
Furnace and ductwork: The heating system, often under the floor.

H

Heir title: A home still titled to someone who has died.
Homeowner insurance for manufactured homes: A specialty policy written for titled homes.
HUD label: The metal plate proving the home meets federal code.

J

Judgment: A court-ordered debt attached to the seller.

L

Land-owned home: A home sitting on a lot the homeowner owns.
Lien: A recorded claim that must be paid before ownership can transfer.
Lot lease: The contract for the land under a community home.
Lot rent: The monthly payment for the land under a home in a community.

M

Manufactured home: The legal term for a HUD-code factory-built home.
Manufactured home community: A park where residents own homes but rent the land.
Manufactured home eviction: The court process a community uses over unpaid rent or rule breaks.
Marriage line: The seam where two sections meet.
Modular home: A factory-built home that meets local building code.
Moving a mobile home: Transporting the home to a new site.

N

Net proceeds: What actually reaches you after deductions.

P

Park approval: The community's sign-off on a new resident.
Park rules: Community standards on skirting, sheds, pets and parking.
Permanent foundation: Footings and piers engineered to stay put.
Pre-HUD home: A home built before June 15, 1976.
Probate: The court process that gives an executor authority to sell.

R

Real property vs personal property: Whether the home is legally land or legally a titled asset.
Realty transfer tax: The state and local tax on transferring real estate.
Resident-owned community: A park bought and run by the people who live in it.
Right of first refusal: A chance for residents to match an offer on their community.
Roof load: The snow weight a roof is designed to carry.
Roof-over: A new roof installed over the old one.

S

Section: One factory-built unit of a home.
Settlement sheet: The line-by-line accounting of a sale.
Single-wide: A one-section home, typically 14–18 feet wide.
Skirting: The panel enclosing the crawl space.
Soft floors: Spongy decking, usually near a tub or sink.

T

Tie-downs: Anchors strapping the home to the ground.

W

Water damage: Moisture that has reached the structure.
Well and septic: Private water and sewer on rural lots.
Wind zone: The wind rating a home was built to.

Most-asked vocabulary questions

What is the difference between a mobile home and a manufactured home?

They describe the same kind of factory-built house. Homes built after June 15, 1976 meet the federal HUD construction code and are legally called manufactured homes; "mobile home" is the older term and is still what most people say and search for.

What does lot rent mean?

Lot rent is the monthly payment for the land under a home in a manufactured home community. The resident owns the home but rents the ground, so lot rent is both the biggest ongoing cost and the number that most affects resale value in Pennsylvania.

What is an Act 156 conversion in Pennsylvania?

Act 156 is Pennsylvania's process for retiring a manufactured home's Certificate of Title and recording the home as part of the real estate when the owner also owns the lot. After conversion the home transfers by deed and can usually be financed with a mortgage.

Why do banks refuse homes built before 1976?

Homes built before June 15, 1976 predate the federal HUD code, so they carry no HUD certification label. Most lenders, insurers and communities will not accept them, which leaves cash buyers as the practical market.