Selling a mobile or manufactured home in Delaware
A mobile home changes hands in Delaware through a different set of offices than a house on a foundation. The title usually sits with the DMV, the taxes run through the county, and if the home is in a community on a rented lot, the community owner gets notice, an inspection and a short window to buy it out from under your buyer. Here is the order things happen in, so the last week before settlement holds no surprises.
Published October 14, 2026 · Northbound Home Buyers
On a rented lot, tell the community before you advertiseDelaware law expects a homeowner in a manufactured home community to give the community owner notice of the intent to sell before the home is listed. Skipping that step does not void a sale, but it can push your settlement date back while the inspection catches up.
Start with one question: who owns the ground?
Everything else depends on this. Delaware’s manufactured housing chapter treats “manufactured home,” “mobile home” and “trailer” as the same thing, but the sale looks very different depending on where the home sits.
- Your home, your land. The lot is real estate and goes by deed at an attorney’s settlement, like any Delaware house. The home itself may still carry a DMV title, or it may have been folded into the real estate years ago.
- Your home, someone else’s land. You own the home and rent the lot in a manufactured home community. The home moves by DMV title, and the lot lease is governed by Chapter 70 of Title 25 of the Delaware Code, which sets out exactly what the community can and cannot do when you sell.
How do you know whether your home was folded into the real estate? Delaware’s DMV regulation on mobile home fees looks for four things together: the home was attached to the land, it has been assessed and paid realty taxes, the attachment is noted on the deed, and realty transfer tax was paid when it last sold. If all four are true, the home is generally handled as part of the house and lot. If you are not sure, your deed and your last tax bill will usually tell you, and the settlement attorney can confirm it.
What the DMV needs from a seller
For a titled mobile home moving from one Delaware owner to another, the DMV asks the seller to hand the buyer two things: the Delaware certificate of title and a letter from the county’s Receiver of Taxes showing nothing is owed on the home. Call the right office early, because that letter is the piece people forget:
- New Castle County Receiver of Taxes, (302) 395-5340
- Kent County Receiver of Taxes, (302) 744-2341
- Sussex County Receiver of Taxes, (302) 855-7871
The tax letter matters even on a rented lot. Sussex County, for one, taxes manufactured homes in parks as real property, so a home can owe county tax although its owner has never held a deed. If you are behind, sort that out first or plan for it to come out of the price; the behind-on-taxes guide shows how each county’s penalty adds up.
On the back of the title, the seller fills in the assignment section, and every owner named on the front signs unless the names are joined by “and/or.” The buyer fills in the purchaser’s application and, if there is a loan, the lien section. Delaware titles do not need a notary, and the DMV recommends that buyer and seller come in together to finish the transfer. If you still owe money on the home, ask your lender for a payoff letter and for how it releases its lien on the title. That release is what lets the buyer title the home clean.
Which tax applies, and who pays it
This is where mobile homes differ most from houses. When a titled mobile home is sold, the DMV collects a document fee as the new owner titles it. Above a $500 price it rises by $3.75 for each additional $100, and the price is evidenced by a notarized bill of sale. Because that fee is paid, Delaware’s realty transfer tax does not also apply to the home itself.
Land is different. If you own the lot, the deed carries Delaware’s realty transfer tax, which state law divides equally between seller and buyer. On a sale to us, you pay half and we pay half. When the home and the land are sold together, ask the settlement attorney how the price will be allocated between the title and the deed, because that allocation decides which charge applies to which part.
Selling a home on a rented lot, step by step
Section 7013 of Title 25 lays out the sequence. These are the dates the statute fixes; anything not listed depends on your community and your buyer.
- Before you list
Notice of intent to sell
You tell the community owner you plan to sell. Notice can go to the address the community has registered with the Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Authority, to an address it uses with residents, or to its designated email.
- Within 10 days of your notice
Optional exterior inspection
The community may inspect the outside of the home against its written resale standards. Those standards can cover appearance, upkeep, safety and code compliance, but age cannot be the main reason to refuse a home.
- Within 7 days of the inspection
Written list of problems
Any conditions that break the standards must be listed in writing, with the rule each one falls under. That list is what your buyer will be expected to fix.
- Within 10 days of a complete application
Buyer’s tenancy decision
Your buyer can apply to the community even before you have a contract. The community must accept or reject on the same basis as any other applicant and explain a rejection in writing.
- At least 3 weeks before settlement
Notice of the sale terms
Once you have a deal, you send the community the buyer’s name and address and a written statement or proposed bill of sale showing the price and terms.
- Within 7 days of that notice
Community’s right of first refusal
The community owner may buy the home for 10% more than your contract price. It must answer in writing within 7 days, pay a 5% nonrefundable deposit if it says yes, and keep your settlement date.
- Settlement
Title and lease move to the buyer
The lot lease transfers to the buyer automatically, and the buyer then has 90 days to make any required changes, or until June 1 when the transfer happens between November 1 and March 1.
The right of first refusal does not apply in every case. A community owner cannot claim it when a lender has foreclosed on the home, when you are selling to a family member or a family trust, when the transfer is between joint owners, or when the home passes by gift or through a will.
Rules that protect you as the seller
- No exit fee. A community cannot charge you a fee for leaving, apart from charges for services it actually provided.
- No 60-day move-out notice. The notice a tenant gives before hauling a home off the lot does not apply when you are selling it in place.
- No pressure to sell to the landlord. If a community owner wilfully pushes you to sell to it, unfairly fails your home on its standards or unreasonably turns down your buyer, a court can award three times your damages or three times the monthly rent, whichever is higher.
When the community offers to buy your lease instead
Up to the time it hands you the inspection results, a community owner may offer to pay you to give up the right to pass your lease to a buyer. The offer has to be at least the greater of $1,500 or 36 months of the difference between your lot rent and the current market rent, and the owner has to tell you in writing that a transferable lease at your current rent is likely to make the home worth more. You do not have to accept. Whatever you decide, you must tell a buyer whether a below-market lease is coming with the home or whether a new lease will apply. And if you receive lot rental assistance, that credit stays with you; it does not pass to the buyer.
When the home belonged to a parent who has died
A lot of the mobile homes families sell in Delaware are inherited, and Chapter 70 gives estates breathing room. The lease passes to the estate for a year, and to heirs as well, so nobody is forced out the month after a funeral. The community cannot start an eviction case for at least 90 days after the last resident dies, though it may change the locks for safety. The personal representative, or the heirs if no estate is opened, should send the community written notice within 90 days naming the new owners, their addresses and phone numbers, and anyone who plans to live there.
Heirs who do not intend to move in do not have to fill out a tenancy application, and the right of first refusal does not apply to the inheritance itself. It does come back into play once the estate sells the home to an outside buyer. The Register of Wills side, including who may sign a title or deed for an estate, is covered on our inherited house and probate page.
Your realistic options
| Route | What it involves | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Sell it yourself | You find a buyer, handle the community notices and meet at the DMV to sign the title over. | Buyers who cannot pass the community’s application, or who cannot get financing for an older home. |
| List it with a licensed agent | An agent markets the home and coordinates the paperwork; with owned land, a Delaware attorney runs the settlement. | Commission, showings while you still live there, and repairs the community’s inspection list may require. |
| Sell to a cash buyer | One visit, a written number, and a settlement date you pick, with the home bought as it stands. | The price reflects repairs and risk, so weigh it against your take-home from repairing and listing. |
No figures are implied. Compare what each route leaves you with after repairs, fees and the months it takes.
What to pull together before you sell
- The DMV title. If it is lost, request a duplicate before you have a buyer, not after.
- The Receiver of Taxes letter. Proof that no county tax is owed on the home.
- Your deed, if you own the land. Plus the most recent tax bill for the lot.
- Your lease and the community’s written rules. Especially the resale standards and any recent lot-rent notices.
- A payoff letter. For any loan secured by the home or the land.
Where we fit
We buy manufactured homes on land the owner holds, across Delaware, including the farm towns around Harrington and Millsboro where many of them sit. Nothing needs fixing first: not the skirting, not the roof, not a houseful of furniture. Expect a cash figure in roughly a day, built from nearby sales minus what the home needs. With clear title, settlement can land about seven days out, or months away when your plans need that; our process page has each step.
If your home is in a community on a rented lot, call us anyway; a short conversation settles whether it is a home we are able to buy. Either way, the steps above are what any buyer will go through with your community. For more on the counties themselves, see our Sussex County and Kent County pages.
Free help if the community is the problemDelaware funds a Department of Justice contracted attorney to represent manufactured homeowners in disputes with community owners, from lease terms and community rules to evictions. If a community is stalling your sale or rejecting buyers without a written reason, start with the Delaware Department of Justice before you sign anything.
We buy houses; we are not attorneys or tax advisers. Chapter 70 has more detail than any one article can hold, so have a Delaware attorney read your lease and contract before you sign. Broader questions about selling to us are answered in our FAQ.
Mobile home sale questions
Do I need my park’s permission to sell my mobile home in Delaware?
No, but you must give the community owner notice before listing and written notice of the buyer and terms at least 3 weeks before settlement. Your buyer may also have to pass the community’s tenancy application, and the community may inspect the outside of the home against its written resale standards.
Can the community owner buy my mobile home instead of my buyer?
Yes, by paying 10% more than your contract price. Under 25 Del. C. 7013 it must tell you in writing within 7 days of your sale notice, pay a 5% nonrefundable deposit and keep your settlement date. The right does not apply to sales to family members or after a lender foreclosure.
Is there transfer tax when you sell a mobile home in Delaware?
Not the realty transfer tax on the home itself, as long as the DMV document fee is paid when the new owner titles it. If you also own the land, the deed carries the realty transfer tax, split 50/50 between seller and buyer; on a sale to us you pay half and we pay half.
What happens to a mobile home lease when the owner dies?
It passes to the estate for one year and to the heirs, so the family is not forced out right away. The community cannot start an eviction for at least 90 days after the last resident dies, and the personal representative or heirs should notify it in writing within 90 days.
Do you buy mobile homes in Delaware?
Yes, we buy manufactured homes on land the owner holds, as-is and anywhere in Delaware. If yours is on a rented lot, call (302) 202-4891 and we will say up front whether an offer is possible.
Still unsure? Read the FAQ, look through the rest of the blog, or tell us where the home is for a written figure.