Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Missouri

Re: Lease to purchase mobile home, documents necessary to protect both parties.

First, you should forget about this as a way to obtain property. It is risky and there is no adequate way to protect your interests in the event the other party has financial problems. For example, even with a binding contract for the purchase of the mobile home, if your seller gets in financial hot water and declares bankruptcy, the US trustee under the bankruptcy statutes can declare your contract void, and you will become a creditor in bankruptcy without any cognizable interest in the property.

That said, if you are still going to do this, then by all means go to an attorney and pay him or her to draft a contract for conveyance of deed/title, and have that contract recorded at the Recorder of Deeds office in the County where the property is located. This will provide some notice of your interest to third parties interested in the property.

Before you engage in this sale/purchase, you should make sure that your seller is clear and has no financial clouds over his head. Insist on a credit check through your local credit bureau and consider asking the seller to post a bond to cover your losses in the event that he defaults under his obligations under the agreement.

This is not a simple matter, and there are lots of ways this kind of transaction can end up in court. For that reason, you need to see an attorney who practices in this area of the law as soon as possible.