Dear Readers,
I can’t believe we are already into February. January was certainly
a busy month in many respects. New business, new goals, new
administration. Through it all, state legislatures have continued their
work, which had been halted for much of the last year.
You can see from the edition, these legislatures are introducing
legislation that touch on a variety of industry-related legislation. One
piece of legislation that was interesting to me came out of Arizona. The
Arizona Legislature recently introduced a bill that would require dealers
selling manufactured homes to maintain a licensee’s trust account or
open an escrow account in the state.
The bill states, “When selling a new manufactured home or factory-built
building designed for use as a residential dwelling that has a purchase
price of less than $150,000 or a manufactured home, mobile home or
factory-built building designed for use as a residential dwelling that is
previously owned and that has a purchase price of less than $100,000,
the dealer shall either maintain a licensee’s trust account or open an
escrow account with an independent financial institution or escrow
agent located in this state. The licensee shall deposit all earnest monies
received for the sale of manufactured homes, mobile homes or factorybuilt
buildings designed for use as residential dwellings in the trust
or escrow account. The department shall conduct an audit of each
dealer’s trust or escrow account, including any transactions with an
independent escrow account, at least once every two years.
“The purchaser of the manufactured home, mobile home or factory-built
account and that the transaction will otherwise be handled through a
trust account controlled by the licensee.”
We’ll continue to share the latest on the legislations being considered
across the country.
Until next time, stay legal.
Andrea Golby
Editor The Legal Description