Can You Enforce an Oral Agreement to Purchase a Manufactured Home

My question involves real estate located in the State of: Washington

I am a resident in a mobile home park.
I entered into a verbal agreement to purchase a "different" mobile home than the one I reside in, in the same park. At the time of the agreement, the mobile home was occupied. As I live in the park already we agreed that occupancy would occur that next month after the current tenants moved out.
When that date arrived, the spouse of the manager moved another party into the home we were to be purchasing and moving into. I was told by the manager I spoke with, "Sorry."
The terms of the sale would have added an additional $100.00 to our monthly rent. This was to be applied to the purchase price. We paid this for 12 months as we waited for the then current occupants to vacate. (I am aware of some of the things I "could" have done, I'm talking about now.)
A few months ago the managers were fired. Later the home became vacant. We were also soon thereafter given notice that the property owner was in default of property taxes and that the property was to be put up for auction by the county. This auction occurs this week. The actual owner of the mobile home is NOT the property owner, nor is their identity known.
My question.
Is there any way I can legally attempt to gain entry to the home in an attempt to claim my interest?
My thinking is that since there is no one in the home, and I have already paid $1200.00 for it, that on the day of the auction there would technically BE no owner to object to an entry and occupancy. I would then be protected by eviction law and therefore be somewhat protected until some type of proceeding could occur.
Is any of this line of thinking valid?
On the off chance someone thought my occupancy was suspicious and contacted law enforcement, my thinking is that any responding officer would be unable to locate a complainant with actual standing to object or file trespass or illegal entry and therefore be unable to or unwilling to attempt any type of arrest.
Again. Is all this just going to get me into trouble?
I can not afford any type of attorney. And I know for certain on the day of the auction the current property owners will not retain possession of the property.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Richard

The mobile home is titled property. It appears you need proof of a purchase contract with the titled owner to have any recourse.

The property owners of this park are currently involved in a number of lawsuits for and has prior complaints against them for defrauding people during the course of sales of mobile homes in the past. We even have a local reporter doing a story on them for these types of business practices.
The problem with your suggestion is that the physical title has not been provided by the property owner. And as I stated, on Friday, the property is up for auction anyway. ???

- - - Updated - - -

Would it make any difference if I were to place some type of 3 or 30 day "Notice to enter and occupy" on the home?

You appear to be stating that you agreed with somebody who was not the owner of the manufactured home that you would have some sort of option to purchase the home they didn't own. Such an agreement isn't even worth the value of the paper it's (not) written on. You can't sell something you don't own.

If you can prove that you overpaid your rent by $100 per month for 12 months, as should be what appears on the landlord's books from the time you paid the extra $100, you can ask them about getting a refund of your credit balance or having it applied to your future rent payments. Of course, the person who you spoke with may have been pocketing the money....

Yea, unfortunately I'm afraid that they may have done just that. Pocketed the money. I did however inform the owner of the payments, as well as showing them the receipts. The owners response was to simply ignore the statement even after I showed them the receipts.
As to the landlord, according to their statements, and those of the owner, the "selling" of these homes WAS part of their job description. (Although I do understand your point.)

I can (and already have) provided the owner with copies of my rent receipts showing the added payments, but at the time, the owner simply chose to ignore that point as if they weren't responsible.

Either way. I guess what I'm asking at this point is would my plan be a strategy that I could take? Again, my thinking is that there is no one a law enforcement officer would even be able to contact if they were called on a suspicious activity call. In previous encounters I've witnessed over my life, this seems like one where the officer would most likely deem it a civil matter and leave without performing an arrest. Of course I know this would be a discretionary decision, but wouldn't it also be the most likely???
My thinking is that assuming possession of the home would be the only way to protect my interest. That once inside an eviction proceeding would be the only real recourse available. (This is assuming that there was even someone who WOULD complain.)
As I stated. The property comes up for auction this week.

You plan to break into and squat in someone else's property? It's not clear that you have any claim on this mobile home. You gave about $1200 to someone who did not own the home. That does not give you a claim on the home. Someone does own and pay taxes on this home. It's very unlikely that they won't act rapidly to have you removed from their home. I do not think that you would be arrested for breaking and entering. I think the owner will have you evicted and, if necessary, forcefully removed so he can continue to rent his property. Is this trailer being auctioned?
I'd suggest that you make plans to move if you do not have a lease for your trailer. Forget the other trailer, it's not yours.

As to "my" home, no worries. I have been in the same residence for over five years and have never been late on a rental payment.
As to the other trailer, you people all seem to be missing he point.
There IS NOBODY with an interest or ownership of the trailer in question other than perhaps the property owner who is losing the property on Friday!
I have paid 1200.00 to an authorized representative of the property owner, who was acting on the authority of the property owner.
I have receipts showing payment to the owner of the property, and most likely the trailer as well.
And again. The property owners are in arrears of over 89,000.00 in property taxes and will be losing the property in less than one week.
The property owners have a history of committing fraud related to the sale of used mobile homes and are currently in litigation for a variety of similar complaints against them.
To the best of my knowledge, the trailer itself IS NOT up for auction and as these trailers are barely habitable I can not see the property owner making any type of fuss over some broken down trailers on a lot of property they will be losing to the county in less than a week.
Break in and squat? Man, that just makes me sound like some transient wino just out to be a piece of dirt.
I'm talking about physically taking possession of something I've paid good money for. And that is at risk of being transferred to a party that has no interest or standing in the trailer other than it just happens to be on the property.
Failure to act in SOME way would guarantee that I never saw ANY return on my investment. At least this way, as you already acknowledged, I would most likely be at least given the opportunity to fight for what I feel is mine.
As to anyone who might purchase the property at auction? I can also assure you that the homes would not be the primary concern of anyone bidding on the property. As it stands, any new owner wishing to do something other than bulldoze it is going to have to go around to each home and ask who lives there anyway.
This property, the mobile homes on it, the previous landlords, the current owners, and the majority of tenants over the years have been nothing but garbage in this slum of a local eyesore.
The current residents of the park, including myself have done much to make this place as nice as we can. We've removed the last of the loser drug addicts that used to flood this place, and we are about to finally be rid of the slumlord pieces of garbage who have been just as irresponsible, criminal, and immoral as the tenants they've allowed to reside there.

I'll try again. You do not currently own this trailer. You don't have the title to it. You believe that the person to whom you paid money has committed various frauds in the past which relate to mobile homes. Unless this person has title and intends to go through with the sale, you have nothing. You may have thrown your money away.
I'm curious, what was the intended sale price of the trailer? Why didn't you complete the sale a year ago, and collect rent from your tenants.
Do not break into this trailer. It is not yours.
Somewhere on the outside of the trailer should be a metal tag with model no., serial no., et c.. With this info You may be able to find the owner. Your County probably handles licensing, so give them a call. Ask the owner if he wants to sell. Who knows, he may say yes.

I do understand your point. Technically there "IS" no grey area here.
However, I feel there are still a few areas of our conversation that are not quite being communicated correctly.
Here is an article that came out today in our local paper that may help explain things a little better than I have been able to.
http://www.chinookobserver.com/free/...a4bcf887a.html
Just to be on the safe side here though, I'd like to state that I have absolutely no intention of committing any action that would be considered statutorily criminal in my local jurisdiction.
My only intention here was to determine whether or not there was an argument here that could be made under my very special circumstances. If you look at my signature below, I guess the answer would be no. :)
There was no intended price for the trailer. We were simply informed that as the property owner did not "rent" trailers to anyone, we were either going to pay for the one we wanted, or we were going to pay for the one we were in. (The one we've been in for 5 years was never intended as a permanent residence as it was in violation of many local codes at the time of occupancy.) As I stated earlier. The only reason "we" didn't have possession was because it's tenancy (note I said "tenancy" not ownership?) changed at two key moments.
Again, I do understand your point of fact. And I will give full advice of counsel to it's weight. Thank you.
That said, I have contacted the executive director of the Mobile Home Owners Association here in Washington state and requested their assistance. Hopefully there is something that they might be able to help us all out with. Wish us luck.

I realize you have been defrauded. I suggest you take a step back from this. Get the trailer VIN and find out who it is titled to from the BMV or tax assessors office. Come to an arrangement with them about transfer. They may give it to you.

Thank you for your advice. I'm sure that's exactly what Ms. Dickens will advise me to do tomorrow when I speak with her.
Here's a more specific form of the question.
At auction for failure to pay taxes, either the current owner will pay the arrears and penalties and retain the land and structures personally held, or a private party will bid and win the land and all structures not currently held by private deed, or nobody will bid and the land and all structures not held by private deed will transfer to the lending company.
My question.
At the end of the auction, what happens to those of us who do not hold title to our homes? We have never signed so much as a lease on our trailer much less received a deed to the property. And this is the one we DO live in. (Although on this one we DO have a recorded history of tenancy.)

If you do not hold title to your home then you are tenant who is renting both the land on which your trailer sits and also you are renting the trailer. If you don't have a written lease then you are a "month to month tenant. The new landlord must honor your lease. Your lease expires in a month and the new landlord can then change the terms of the lease or ask you to move.
Most likely, the new owner will either keep things the same or bump the rent up a bit.