Owner financing: No realtor, does the seller have to run it through escrow?

Your Realtor is exactly correct. Don't do this deal without good title ownership of the home on the official government records. If the seller is not shown on the official records of either the Deparment of Motor Vehicles or the Department of Housing and Community Development, then you do not know who actually owns the property. It is possible you could give the seller $12,000.00, and then be evicted by the true owner. The whole idea of an escrow is you give the escrow holder your money, and the escrow holder does not give it to the seller until the title has been transferred to the buyer on the official government records. The only reason for a seller to refuse to do it this way is because the seller does not really own the mobile home. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack