Buying a mobile home with owner financing follows a clear order. You pick a home, apply with us, get approved by the park, sign your paperwork and then make monthly payments through a loan servicer until the home is paid off. We offer owner financing on every home we sell, and we carry the note ourselves, so you deal with us instead of a bank from the first call to the last payment.
How do you start the process?
You start with the home, not the paperwork. Browse our current listings and pick the homes you want to see in person. Tour them, ask questions and take your time. A home you love in a park that doesn’t work for you is still the wrong home.
Once you’ve found the one, you fill out our application. It tells us about you and your income so we can set up the note. We’ll tell you exactly what to bring when you apply, and you can ask us anything about the process before you commit. For the bigger picture of how a seller-carried note works, read How Does Owner Financing Work for a Mobile Home in Phoenix? or visit our owner financing page.
Why does the park have to approve you too?
Because you’re buying the home, but you’re renting the lot. The park decides who becomes a tenant, so every buyer goes through the park’s own application. That usually means a background check, proof of income and agreeing to the park’s rules.
Arizona law gives you some protection here. A park may approve or reject a buyer as a tenant, but it can’t do so unreasonably. If a park turns you down, it has to give you written reasons within 10 days of your written request.
We work with parks across the Valley and know what each office asks for. We’ll tell you up front what the park requires, so you can gather your documents once instead of scrambling later. You can see the communities we sell in.
What do you sign at closing?
Expect a few documents. The purchase agreement covers the home itself. The promissory note is your written promise to pay the balance over time, and it spells out how the payments work. You’ll also sign the park’s lease or rental agreement, which is separate from anything you sign with us.
Read every page. Ask what each section means before you sign it. We’d much rather answer a question at the table than have you confused six months from now. Keep your copies together in one folder, because you’ll want them later.
How do your monthly payments work?
You pay through a loan servicer. A loan servicer is an independent company that collects your payments, tracks your balance and sends you statements. You don’t hand cash to anyone, and you always have a record of what you’ve paid.
That record protects you. If you ever have a question about your balance, the servicer’s statements show every payment and when it posted. It also keeps things clean for us, which is why we set it up this way on every note.
Remember that lot rent is a separate bill. Your note payment goes to the servicer, and your lot rent goes to the park. Plan your budget around both. If you want a refresher on how lot rent works, read What Is Lot Rent and Why Isn’t It Included in the Sale Price?
What happens with the title?
In Arizona, a mobile home on a rented lot is titled through the MVD, much like a car. A multi-section home has one title for each section, so a double-wide comes with two.
Before you sign, check that the serial number on the title matches the serial number on the home. At closing, we’ll show you how the title is handled while you’re paying the note and what paperwork moves it fully into your name at the end. If a seller anywhere can’t show you a title, walk away. Our post How to Avoid Common Mobile Home Buying Scams in Arizona covers the warning signs.
What happens when you make the last payment?
The servicer confirms the note is paid in full. We then sign the paperwork the MVD needs so the title shows you as the owner with nothing owed. Keep the final statement and the updated title somewhere safe.
What if money gets tight while you’re paying?
Call us early. A problem you raise in the first week is far easier to solve than one that’s three months old. The same goes for lot rent. In Arizona, a park has to give you written notice and at least 7 days to pay before it can end your rental agreement, but you never want to get close to that line. Talk to the park office too, and keep both bills current.
For the full path from browsing to moving in, see How to Buy a Mobile Home in Phoenix, Step by Step.
Ready to look at homes? Browse our current listings or call (602) 641-3237 to join our Preferred Buyers List.