Title & Paperwork
Avoiding Mobile Home Buyer Scams in Virginia
Mobile home sellers are targeted precisely because the homes are low-value, the paperwork is unfamiliar, and sellers are often under pressure. These are the patterns worth knowing.
Red flags
A firm price quoted before anyone has seen the home or asked about title, land or park status. It will change later.
Pressure to sign today, or a number that expires in hours.
Being discouraged from talking to an attorney, an agent, or another buyer.
Requests for money from you, 'processing', 'inspection' or 'title' fees paid to the buyer.
No written purchase agreement, or one that leaves the price open.
A buyer who wants to take possession before closing and before you have been paid.
Questions to ask any buyer
Who exactly is buying: a person or an entity, and is it registered in Virginia?
Are you buying it yourself or assigning the contract to someone else?
How is the closing being handled, and by which title company or attorney?
What specifically could change your number after we sign?
Ask us these too. If we cannot answer them plainly, that is your answer.
Protect yourself procedurally
Get everything in writing. Close through a Virginia title company or real estate attorney rather than hand-to-hand. Do not sign over a DMV title until you have been paid.
Keep copies of everything you sign, including the title assignment.
Where to report a problem
The Virginia Office of the Attorney General's consumer protection section takes complaints, and the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development oversees manufactured housing programs in the Commonwealth.