Immobilizing A Mobile Home
About
About Immobilizing A Mobile Home
A mobile home property may be movable or immovable under Louisiana law. Whether the law calls your mobile home movable or immovable can affect your financial options because it can affect your ability to get loans and your rate for property taxes. Banks are more likely to offer mortgages for mobile homes that are legally classified as immovable. You may be eligible for a lower property tax rate since immovable property typically gets taxed differently than movable properties.
You may be able to switch the legal label for your mobile home from movable to immovable through something called an Act of Immobilization. In order to do this, you must file a request with the court in the place where your mobile home is located. The court may then review the request and determine whether the home may be considered an immovable property. If the property qualifies the property as immovable property and the court approves your request, then you will need to register the Act of Immobilization with the local Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DMV) and pay the applicable fees.
You may need to make additional changes to your mobile home, such as installing a permanent foundation or tying it down to the ground, in order to meet the requirements of the Act of Immobilization.
What You Need To Know
An act of immobilization is an authentic act or a validly executed and acknowledged sale and/or mortgage which includes a complete description and location of the immovable and states that the immovable shall remain permanently attached to the land described in the act. If you sign this you are swearing that the mobile home will remain permanently attached to the land listed in it.
An act of immobilization must have these things to be valid:
- The document must be notarized in front of two other witnesses. This can be a part of a sale or mortgage or be separate.
- The act must include a completely legally sufficient description of and location of the mobile home and land where it is installed, and
- The Act must say that the mobile home will remain permanently attached to the land named in the act.
The law related to this issue is found in Louisiana statutes:
Louisiana law classifies property as either immovable or movable. Immovable property refers to things like land and everything permanently attached to it like a house or buildings. Movable property is a thing that can physically exist and can move from one place to another. Mobile homes are called movable property unless the mobile home is immobilized.
Immobilizing means the home is made a part of the land both physically and legally, If made immovable, it is legally treated like land and other buildings on the land.
You can file a request to the Clerk of Court in the Parish where the immovable property is located. The request must contain an affidavit, or sworn statement, that states the home will remain permanently attached to the lot or tract of land described in the act.
Once the court approves your request for an act of immobilization for your mobile home, then you must file a certified copy of the act with the Louisiana Office Of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The act must be mailed to the Office of Motor Vehicles, Title Registration Unit, P.O. Box 64886, Baton Rouge, LA 70896. Your application should include:
- The original Certificate of Title or Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin
- A bill of sale
- An Authentic Act of Immobilization that includes a declaration by the owner and if applicable, the lienholder, that the factory-built home shall remain permanently attached to the lot or tract of land described in the act and a description of the factory-built home as described on the certificate of origin
- A completed vehicle application form (DPSMV 1799)
- Sales/use tax and handling fees, if applicable
The DMV will record the name of the owner, the date of the recording of the act of immobilization, the parish where the act is recorded, the year of manufacture, the name of the manufacturer, the dimensions, and the vehicle identification number or numbers of the mobile home, and the date of the secretary's filing of a copy of the act of immobilization.
The DMV will return proof that the act of immobilization is received and the record is created. The proof of the act of immobilization will tell you where you can find the record if you need it.
There is an $8 handling fee and a $2 service charge associated with recording an act of immobilization with the Louisiana Office Of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The service cost is $10 per transaction.
To find out if your mobile home is an immovable property you should contact the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The DMV has a mobile home immobilization inquiry tool to determine if a mobile home is no longer registered as a motor vehicle.
A mobile home is not immobilized unless an Act of Immobilization has been notarized and officially recorded. The parish Clerk of Court's office can tell you where to check for an "Act of Immobilization". If you find an Act of Immobilization recorded with the conveyance or mortgage records, then your mobile home is labeled immovable unless there is also an "Act to De-Immobilize a Manufactured Home" there. If no Act of Immobilization or Act to De-Immobilize a Manufactured Home is in the record, then your mobile home is classified as movable property.