Bill of sale for a house or land
Short answer: a house, a condo or a piece of land cannot be sold with a bill of sale. Real property transfers by deed, recorded with the county. What you probably need is one of the forms below.
What to use instead
- Mobile or manufactured home (no land)Sold as personal property in a park or on someone else's land. Bill of sale plus a title or statement-of-ownership transfer.
- Furniture, appliances and contents sold with a houseA general bill of sale listing what stays, signed at closing so nobody argues about the fridge.
- Tiny home on wheels, park model or camperIf it has a VIN and axles it is an RV for titling purposes. Use the RV bill of sale.
- A house, condo, lot or acreageWarranty deed or quitclaim deed, prepared by a title company or real estate attorney and recorded with the county. We do not generate deeds; getting one wrong can cloud the title for years.
Why a deed and not a bill of sale
A bill of sale is a receipt for personal property, meaning things that can be moved. Land and anything permanently attached to it is real property, and every state requires a written, signed, usually notarized deed that is recorded in the county land records to transfer it. A bill of sale for a house is not recordable and does not give the buyer title.
Mobile homes sit in between. Most states title them like vehicles while they are on wheels or in a park, and convert them to real property once they are permanently attached to land the owner holds. That is why the mobile home bill of sale exists and a house bill of sale does not.
Common questions
Is there a bill of sale for a house?+
No. Real estate transfers by deed, which is recorded with the county. A bill of sale cannot transfer land or a house attached to it. Searches for "house bill of sale" usually mean one of three things: a mobile home sold without land (use the mobile home form), the furniture and appliances sold with a house (use a general bill of sale), or a deed, which needs a title company or attorney.
What about land with no house on it?+
Still a deed. Vacant land, lots and acreage transfer by warranty deed or quitclaim deed, recorded at the county clerk or recorder.
What is a bill of sale used for in a home sale?+
For the personal property that stays: appliances, furniture, a hot tub, a shed that is not attached, a riding mower. Those are listed on a bill of sale at closing so there is no dispute over what conveyed with the house.
I am selling a mobile home. Deed or bill of sale?+
If the home is personal property (in a park, or on land you do not own or are not selling), it is a bill of sale plus a title or statement of ownership transfer. If it is permanently affixed to land you are selling, the land deed covers it. The county assessor can tell you which applies.