How to Convert a Mobile Home to Real Property in Texas

To convert a mobile home to real property in Texas, you file an Application for Statement of Ownership with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA), elect real property status on that application, and then record the certified statement TDHCA sends back in the real property records of the county where the home sits. You have 60 days from the date TDHCA issues the certified copy to record it and to notify both TDHCA and your county appraisal district that you have done so.¹ Once those steps are complete, the home and the land underneath it are treated as a single piece of real estate.

Whether Your Home and Land Qualify

You must own the manufactured home, and it must be attached to land you own or to land you hold under a qualifying long-term lease as defined by TDHCA rules.¹ If you lease the lot rather than own it, contact the TDHCA Manufactured Housing Division to confirm your lease meets the duration requirement before you start assembling paperwork.

The home has to sit on a permanent foundation that satisfies TDHCA’s manufactured housing installation rules, which incorporate standards from the International Residential Code. In practice, the wheels, axles, and tow hitch used to move the home are removed so the home meets the permanently attached standard that appraisers, lenders, and taxing authorities apply.

You will also need the home’s two federal identifiers. Every HUD-code home built after June 15, 1976, carries a HUD Certification Label (the small metal “red tag” riveted to the outside) and a Data Plate (a paper label inside, usually in a kitchen cabinet, electrical panel, or bedroom closet).² Both the serial number and the HUD label number go on the TDHCA application. If the interior Data Plate is missing, the Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS) issues replacement Performance Certificates; standard processing runs seven business days, with rush service available.³

Documents to Gather Before You File

The core filing is the TDHCA Application for Statement of Ownership, with the box checked electing real property status. The form asks for the home’s serial number, HUD label number, manufacturer information, and the location where it is installed. You will submit the application together with:

Proof of home ownership: the original Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin for a new home, or the existing Texas Statement of Ownership for a previously owned home.
Proof of land ownership or a qualifying long-term lease: a copy of the recorded deed, or your lease documentation.
A tax lien clearance from the tax assessor-collector for each taxing unit with authority over the home, confirming no enforceable tax liens exist and no personal property taxes are delinquent for any January 1 falling within the 18 months before the transaction date.⁴
Complete lienholder information, including account numbers and contact details, for every lien on the home.

Getting Lienholder Consent

This is where many conversions stall. If any liens exist on the home, TDHCA will not issue the new Statement of Ownership until every lienholder either releases the lien or provides written consent to the conversion, and that consent has to be placed on file with TDHCA.⁵ Contact your lender early. Consent letters can take weeks to produce.

There is one workaround. TDHCA can issue the statement before liens are released when a licensed title insurance company has issued a commitment to insure a title policy covering all prior liens, typically at the closing of a new mortgage.⁵ A federally insured financial institution or a licensed attorney who has obtained such a policy may also receive the certified statement. This exception usually comes into play when you are refinancing into a real estate mortgage as part of the conversion itself.

Filing With TDHCA

Send the completed application, the supporting documents, and the filing fee to the TDHCA Manufactured Housing Division in Austin. Fees are paid by certified funds, cashier’s check, or money order. TDHCA publishes a fee schedule that changes from time to time, so confirm the current amount before mailing. Processing takes roughly 15 working days from the date TDHCA receives a complete application, not counting mail time on either end.

When TDHCA approves the application, it mails you a certified copy of the Statement of Ownership showing the real property election.

The 60-Day County Recording and Notification Deadline

The clock starts the day TDHCA issues that certified copy. Within 60 days you must do two things:

File the certified Statement of Ownership in the real property records at the county clerk’s office in the county where the home is located. The clerk charges a recording fee that varies by county.
Notify TDHCA and the chief appraiser of your county appraisal district that you have made the filing.¹

Your real property election is not legally perfected until both the county filing and both notifications are complete.¹ Missing the 60-day window does not automatically kill the conversion. If a mortgage loan is closing at the same time, the statute allows the lender or loan servicer to complete the conversion after the fact, so long as the record owner receives at least 60 days’ written notice by certified mail.

What Changes After the Conversion

Once the election is perfected, the manufactured home is treated as real property for all purposes under Texas law.¹ The personal-property title is effectively replaced by the recorded Statement of Ownership in the county’s real property records. The home can no longer be transferred separately from the land, and you sell or transfer the combined property using a standard real estate deed.

For property taxes, the county appraisal district will assess the home and land together and issue a single tax bill. Send the notification promptly after recording, because the statute makes that notice part of the perfection process. If you had a separate personal-property tax account for the home, the appraisal district will merge or close it.

The main practical reason most owners convert is financing. A home classified as personal property can generally only be financed with a chattel loan, which usually carries higher rates and shorter terms than a real estate mortgage. Conversion opens the door to FHA, VA, and conventional loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae, for instance, requires the home to be titled as real property before a lender can originate an eligible mortgage, and the mortgage itself must describe the home by make, model, and vehicle identification number, confirm it is permanently affixed to the land, and be covered by a manufactured housing endorsement (ALTA 7 or local equivalent) on the title policy.⁶ VA loans require real property classification, a permanent foundation, at least 700 square feet of interior floor space, and both the HUD Certification Label and the Data Plate; homes built before June 15, 1976, generally do not qualify.

One thing conversion does not affect: the homestead exemption. Texas Tax Code Section 11.432 provides that the homestead exemption applies to a manufactured home on land you own whether you have elected real property status or not, as long as you occupy the home as your principal residence and can prove ownership through a TDHCA Statement of Ownership, a purchase agreement, or a sworn affidavit.⁷ Chasing the homestead exemption alone is not a reason to convert.

Reversing the Election Later

If you later need to move the home or separate it from the land, you can reverse the real property election. You apply for a new Statement of Ownership with TDHCA and indicate on the application that you are switching the classification back to personal property. TDHCA will require an inspection, a lien search or title company confirmation that no liens are outstanding, and notice to the county tax assessor so the assessment can be split back into separate accounts for the home and the land.⁸ Talk to your lender first, since any existing mortgage is secured by the combined real property.

A new Statement of Ownership is also required any time you move the home from the location shown on the current statement, whether or not you are changing the classification.¹

1
State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code Section 1201.2055
2
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Manufactured Housing HUD Labels (Tags)
3
IBTS (Institute for Building Technology and Safety). Manufactured Home Certifications
4
Texas Public Law. Texas Occupations Code Section 1201.206
5
Texas elaw. Texas Occupations Code Section 1201.2075
6
Fannie Mae. Titling Manufactured Homes as Real Property
7
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 11.432
8
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Frequently Asked Questions – Statement of Ownership