If nobody shows up in 3 years, you then get your bond back.Ī fact sheet, “Titles Obtained by Bond,” explains the process in more detail. The title you get through this process makes you the legal owner. If someone does, and proves it, they’re paid the value of the mobile home out of the bond. They hold the bond for 3 years, to see if anyone shows up claiming the mobile home is theirs. The Illinois Secretary of State can then issue you a title to the mobile home. You get that from the Cook County Treasurer's Office. The fifth and final step is proof that the mobile home “use tax” has been paid. Step four is an application for title, and the $95 fee.
#ILLINOIS APPLICATION FOR TITLE FULL#
If you can’t find a bond in the form of insurance, they’ll take cash in the full amount. That’s needed for step three-a bond for 150% of the appraised value. Second, you need a written appraisal of the mobile home’s current wholesale value. If you don’t have a bill of sale, receipt, or cancelled check, they’ll accept a notarized statement “explaining how you came into possession of the vehicle.” The process has 5 basic steps, outlined below, applies to any motor vehicle-both cars and mobile homes.įirst, the Secretary of State wants some proof of purchase. The bond money protects the original owner if they re-appear and prove that title to their property has been transferred to somebody else. When an item’s paper title is missing, it can be replaced through the “bond for title” process. Usually, to prove you own something, you just need physical possession, along with some evidence about how you acquired it. In Illinois, cars, boats, and planes have official paper titles. When a mobile home is sold, its title is supposed to be transferred to the new owner, just like in a car sale.īy providing legal proof of ownership, certificates of title make it hard for thieves to sell certain kinds of valuable and mobile personal property. Therefore, just like cars, mobile homes have certificates of title. Mobile homes are classified as motor vehicles under Illinois law. But it’s the only way to get title if a transfer from the original seller is missing. Even in theory, the process isn’t quick, easy, or cheap. After 3 years, if nobody shows up claiming the mobile home was theirs, you get the bond back.Īt least, that’s how it’s supposed to work, in theory. You complete some paperwork, give them a bond, and they give you a title. Answerįollow the Illinois Secretary of State’s “bond for title” procedures. How can I get a title? The person who sold it to me can’t be found. I’d now like to sell the mobile home, but nobody will buy it without a title. I paid in full, but never got a title from the seller. The following questions were submitted to John Roska, an attorney/writer whose weekly newspaper column, "The Law Q&A," ran in the Champaign News Gazette.