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An affidavit of affixation is the owner's sworn statement of permanent attachment. The form, also called an affidavit of affixture, ties a manufactured home to the land beneath it. Owners need one most when they finance, sell or retitle the home with its land.
This page explains what the affidavit covers, what to gather, how to fill it out and where state rules differ. The builder below turns your answers into a ready affidavit form you can download or print.
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An affidavit of affixation is a sworn statement that a manufactured home is permanently attached to a piece of land. Owners sign it to show the home is not meant to be moved. A lender or title company may ask to see it when the home is financed or sold.
Both names mean the same document. "Affixation" and "affixture" both mean the act of attaching something, so you will see "affidavit of affixation", "affidavit of affixture" and "affixation affidavit" on county and lender paperwork. Some offices shorten it to "affidavit of fixation".
The affidavit links two pieces of property that are often tracked apart: the home, which usually starts life with its own title like a vehicle, and the land, which is described in a deed.
You need an affidavit of affixation when you want a manufactured home and its land treated as a single piece of real estate, most often for a mortgage, a refinance or a sale. Until the conversion is complete, the home stays personal property with its own certificate of title.
Before the conversion, the land passes by deed and the home keeps its own certificate of title. That means separate paperwork whenever the property changes hands or serves as security for a loan.
Recording the affidavit and retiring the home's title are separate steps, and the order varies by state. In Arizona it also depends on who owns the land. An owner whose home is permanently affixed to land the owner owns (the meaning A.R.S. § 42-15201 gives "permanently affixed") surrenders the title to the Arizona Department of Transportation first and attaches the department's receipt to the affidavit of affixture, under A.R.S. § 42-15203. For a park home whose affidavit of affixture has been recorded under A.R.S. § 33-1501, the owner surrenders the original certificate of title after the recording, as A.R.S. § 28-2063 sets out.
Typical moments when owners prepare the affidavit:
When the home will be sold apart from the land, or moved, a different document fits better. A mobile home bill of sale covers the sale of the home on its own.
An affidavit of affixation identifies the owners, the home and the land, then states that the home is attached to that land. The items below are what forms commonly ask for, not a legal list; the form for the county where the land sits sets its own contents.
The legal description is the part owners most often get wrong. Copy it word for word from the recorded deed, and get the parcel number from the county assessor rather than a tax bill estimate. The local treasurer's or assessor's office can tell you how the home has been taxed so far.
Example of a completed home section (sample values only): Owner: Jane Q. Sample. Home: 2004 Example Homes Ridgeview, serial no. EX0000000AB, certificate of title no. 0000000. Land: Lot 12, Sample Acres Subdivision, parcel no. 000-00-000. Lienholder: none. Foundation: permanent block foundation, wheels and hitch removed.
To fill out an affidavit of affixation, gather the home's title and the land's deed first, then copy their details into the form exactly as they appear and sign only before the official who takes the oath.
Read the finished affidavit against the title and the deed one more time. A single mismatched digit in the serial number or the parcel number is enough for an office to hand the form back.
Where the signed affidavit goes varies by state. In Arizona, a park home owner who meets every condition of A.R.S. § 33-1501 files it with the county recorder of the county where the land is located. A title agency in the deal may ask for a copy too.
Call the office ahead and ask what it needs from you. Questions worth asking before the trip:
Keep a stamped copy of the affidavit with the deed. A lender, a title company or a future buyer will ask for it, and the copy saves a second trip.
Yes, the steps vary from one state to another, so the affidavit and the order of steps depend on where the land sits. Owners often look for a local version, such as a Michigan or Arizona affidavit of affixture.
Arizona is one example of how a state sets these steps:
Other states set their own steps. Check the rules for your state before you sign.
The county office that keeps land records and the agency that titles manufactured homes give the most reliable answer for your parcel. Both can tell you which form they accept and in what order the steps go.
Most affidavits of affixation come back for small slips: a wrong number, a missing owner or a form from the wrong place. These are the mistakes to check for before you sign:
An affidavit is sworn, so every line should be something you know to be true. Leave out opinions, guesses and anything you only heard from a seller; write what the title, the deed and your own inspection of the home show.
Yes, an affidavit of affixation and an affidavit of affixture are different names for the same sworn statement that a manufactured home is attached to its land. The wording on the form depends on the county or agency that issues it.
Look up a recorded affidavit of affixture in the land records of the county where the home sits, searching by the owner's name or the parcel number. Many county offices offer an online index; the staff can also search for you and sell a copy.
A manufactured home that is not affixed has its own title, separate from the land. What happens to that title when the home becomes real property depends on the state. Ask the agency that issued the title before you send the original anywhere.
The way back, and what it is called, varies by state. In Arizona, for a park home, the landlord who also owns the land may record a notice and affidavit that terminates the affidavit of affixture, but only if the lease has ended before its expiration, with the parties' termination agreement, a court's forcible detainer judgment or the landlord's affidavit that the home has been removed from the land attached (A.R.S. § 33-1501). The Arizona Department of Transportation then retitles the home to its owner on a copy of that notice, a tax clearance from the county treasurer's office and any other requirement the department sets (A.R.S. § 33-1501). Elsewhere, the office that took the affidavit can tell you which document reverses it and what the home's title needs afterward.
A home in a mobile home park can sometimes be affixed, depending on the state. In Arizona, A.R.S. § 33-1501 allows it only when the wheels and axles are removed, the lease runs at least twenty years and permits recording, and a memorandum of lease is recorded first; elsewhere, ask the landowner and the county office.
Yes, an owner can prepare the affidavit of affixation, using the county's form or a builder like FormsPal's. If a lender or title company is handling a loan, ask whether it prepares the affidavit for you.
Yes. FormsPal's affidavit of affixture form asks a few questions about your home and your land, then builds the document for you. You can save your progress, finish on any device, and download or print the result.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
