Texas Mobile Home Foreclosure or Repossession

Texas Mobile Home Foreclosure or Repossession will depend on your ownership status of the property. Manufactured homes can be sold  as personal property or real property.  If your home still has wheels and trailer hitches on them and can be moved to wherever you want to live, then it is likely to still be personal property and financed under a retail installment agreement.   Manufactured homes designated as “real” property, in contrast, are not moveable. They are fixed to permanent foundations.

REAL V. PERSONAL PROPERTY

Texas Mobile Home Foreclosure or Repossession will also look at whether or not you own the lot that your manufactured home is attached to, as you can convert your house to “real” property at the time you make the purchase of the mobile home.  If you are uncertain then look for the following elements

The land should be deeded in your name

If the land is leased then lease must be in compliance with the State Department of Housing and Community Affairs

Is there a  permanent foundation on the home? This generally involves removing the axles and wheels, then placing concrete blocks, bracing, and underpinning beneath the home. The house is permanently attached to the foundation, and permanent utilities are in place.

Have you surrendered the motor vehicle title at your DMV office.

Did you complete your local paperwork (usually an affidavit of conversion) and record the deed?

 Repossession of Mobile Home if Personal Property

When a debtor has defaulted on his obligations, gaining possession of a manufactured home (that is freestanding and not associated with the land on which it is situated) may be accomplished in one of two ways. If the debtor has vacated the manufactured home, then the creditor may simply repossess the home in a peacable manner. However, if the debtor has defaulted and remains in the manufactured home, then the creditor must proceed with a judicial foreclosure:

1.After default by Debtor, Creditor drafts/mails Notice of Intent to Accelerate giving Debtor thirty (30) days to cure debt and any other additional fees;

2.If Debtor fails to cure debt within the thirty (30) day period, Creditor drafts/mails Notice of Acceleration to Debtor;

3.After acceleration, Creditor shall file a lawsuit in District Court seeking a judgment for the past due payments and possession of the home via a writ;

4.If Debtor fails to answer said suit, then Creditor may obtain a default judgment and proceed with the writ of possession if Debtor is still in possession of manufactured home

 Foreclosure of Mobile Home (Real Property)

If you have made the election to have the mobile home converted into real property, then normally foreclosure laws for Texas apply.  This means posting you on the 1st Tuesday on the Month and giving you 20 days notice before the sale.  Your note would also have to be accelerated prior to the posting.

Eviction Process in both Repossession and Foreclosure

Evictions in Texas are governed by Chapter 24 of the Texas Property Code. The eviction process usually takes about four (4) weeks. The general process is as follows:

1.After the foreclosure process is complete, Creditor sends a Notice to Vacate to Debtor;

2.After the expiration period has expired for the Notice to Vacate, Creditor must file a Forcible Entry and Detainer in the Justice of the Peace Court;

3.Creditor must attend hearing scheduled by the Justice of the Peace Clerk in order to prove the existence of the security agreement, delinquency, and proper foreclosure.

4.After obtaining judgment against Debtor, Debtor has five days to appeal said judgment;

5.If no appeal, then Creditor may take possession of property;

6.If Debtor has not moved out within the five day period, then Creditor may contact Constable to assist in move out of Debtor from property.

 Bankruptcy

Texas Mobile Home Foreclosure or Repossession can be avoided or stayed if you file a bankruptcy. If you have had the mobile home more than one year and not made the election to treat the mobile home as real property, then you may pay the value of the home instead of what you owe.  In order to do this, you must be able to pay the value in full in 5 years.  This term is called cramming the mobile home into the chapter 13 bankruptcy.  In a chapter 7, you may be able to redeem the mobile home if you can come up with the full amount valued within the 4 months you are in chapter 7.  If you have made the real property election, then you can cure arrears but you would not be able to cram to fair market value.  Regardless of the election, you are still able to save you home if you desire.

Motion to Lift Stay (Bankruptcy)

Texas Mobile Home Foreclosure or Repossession may be stopped by the filing of bankruptcy which will give you the shield of the automatic stay.  This shield protects you from your credit collection efforts.  For a credit to attempt the collection process, they must show cause. The filing of Motions to Lift Stay are governed by United States Bankruptcy Code, Rule 4001. It usually takes about a month to obtain relief from the automatic stay. If you file a chapter 13 bankruptcy and you have insurance on the home and are making your plan payments, you will be protected and creditor will not be able to show cause.  If you file a chapter 7 bankruptcy and make no payments post-petition on the home or do not have insurance, then creditor will attempt to lift stay to start the collection process again.  The following illustrates the process to obtain relief from stay:

1.After Debtor has defaulted on at least one (1) post-petition payment, Creditor drafts a Motion for Relief from Stay;

2.Said Motion is filed in the same District as where the Debtor originally filed for bankruptcy protection;

3.If Debtor and Creditor reach an agreement prior to the hearing date, then Creditor shall draft an Agreed Order setting forth the terms of the agreement;

4.If Debtor and Creditor are unable to reach an agreement prior to hearing, then an adversarial hearing shall take place and Creditor shall obtain an Order in accordance with the Court’s findings.

Unopposed Motion to Lift Stay (Bankruptcy)

Unopposed Motions to Lift Stay are governed in principal by the United States Bankruptcy Code, Rule 4001. As the name suggests, the Motion and Order are not opposed by the Debtor because Debtor has decided to surrender the property and an adversarial proceeding is not necessary.  Here is a brief summary of the process:

1.Creditor drafts Unopposed Motion and Order;

2.After obtaining Debtor’s approval (signature) of the Unopposed Motion and Order, Creditor files the Motion and Order together;

3.After the Order is executed by the Bankruptcy Judge, Creditor may repossess or foreclose its interest in the property made the basis of the lien.

Please visit our website for more information about us and bankruptcy. Texas Mobile Home Foreclosure or Repossession is written by Eric Southward, Houston Bankruptcy attorney. You may also view our video with Bankruptcy Information.

Call us today at (713) 974-1151 to schedule a no-obligation consultation or feel free to email us at [email protected].

We provide legal services in the greater Houston metro area including the cities of Houston, Katy, Sugarland, Pearland, Friendswood, Clear Lake and Galveston. We also handle cases from The Woodlands, Spring and Tomball and cases in Baytown and Channelview.

We handle bankruptcy cases in all of these counties: Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Matagorda, Austin, Brazos, Colorado, Fayette, Fort Bend, Grimes, Harris, Madison, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker, Waller, Wharton

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