Bulletin: MO2011001

Dear Associates: 

Missouri Senate Bill 630, passed by the General Assembly during the 2010 session, allows a manufactured home to be converted to real property by a process of affixation beginning March 1, 2011.  You may issue an ALTA 7-06 in conjunction with an Owner’s or Loan Policy if:

(1) A Certificate of Affixation issued by the Department of Revenue is recorded with the office of Recorder of Deeds in the county in which the real estate is located;

(2)   The manufactured home is permanently affixed to the real property.  You should verify this by an Affidavit of Owner stating that the manufactured home is: (a) anchored to the land by attachment to a permanent foundation; (b) constructed in accordance with applicable state and local building codes and manufacturer’s specifications; and (c) connected to residential utilities including water, gas and/or electricity, and sewer or septic service; all as provided in RSMo 442.015.1; and

(3) You verify that the manufactured home is assessed as real property.

To obtain a Certificate of Affixation, the owner of the land must first record, with the Recorder of Deeds Office in the county where the real estate is located, an Affidavit of Affixation, Form 5312.  A form may be found at the Department of Revenue site: http://dor.mo.gov/forms/5312_2010.pdf.  After recording the Affidavit of Affixation with the Recorder of Deeds, a certified copy of the Affidavit of Affixation can then be filed by the owner with the Department of Revenue within 60 days of recording.

The Affidavit of Affixation filed with the Department of Revenue must be accompanied by either :

(a) an Application for Surrender of Title or MCO, Form 5315:  http://dor.mo.gov/forms/5315_2010.pdf; or

(b) an Application for Confirmation of Conversion, if the owner does not have a Certificate of Title or MCO, Form 5314:  http://dor.mo.gov/forms/5314_2010.pdf.

You are not authorized to complete or file Form 5314 or any other forms as an agent of or on behalf of Stewart Title Guaranty Company.  You should exercise caution if you receive closing instructions which require you to undertake or complete the affixation process outlined above.  You may not do so as an agent of or on behalf of Stewart Title Guaranty Company. 

Note regarding Sales Tax:  As a condition to issuing a Certificate of Affixation, sales tax will be collected if the Department of Revenue’s records do not indicate that a title has been previously issued on a manufactured home; the manufactured homeowner is surrendering a MCO; or the homeowner is completing an Application for Confirmation of Conversion (Form-5314) and does not have a title to surrender.

Unless the above requirements are satisfied, all policies on which a manufactured home is located must include the following exception:  "The land described in this policy shall not be deemed to include any house trailer, manufactured home, mobile home or mobile dwelling on the subject property."

You may not issue an ALTA 7 series endorsement to any policy of title insurance unless the above Certificate of Affixation has been issued by the Department of Revenue, even if an ALTA 7 series endorsement was previously issued with a policy of title insurance on the property.

The following is a link to RSMo 442.015:  http://www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/C400-499/4420000015.HTM

If you have questions related to this bulletin, please contact your local underwriting personnel or Stewart Legal Services.

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