What's The Deal with Manufactured Homes?
Four things home buyers should know about manufactured homes
What’s the deal with manufactured homes?
Manufactured homes are common place nowadays, and in many markets can provide an excellent buy. There are, however, some additional things to know when purchasing one with a standard conforming loan.
4 things buyers need to know about obtaining financing for a manufactured home:
1. The home must have been built after June 1976. Before this time the industry used the term “mobile home”. After this date HUD created the new code for manufactured housing, and the new homes were much safer and higher quality.
2. The home must be permanently affixed to a permanent foundation – manufactured homes are generally delivered to their final installation site on wheels. In order to permanently install the home, the wheels are removed, and the home is affixed to a foundation (tie downs and runners)
3. The home cannot have been moved from its original installation site. Since the home was originally brought to the site on wheels, many companies can uninstall the foundation and re-attach the wheels or flat-bed a home to another location. Unfortunately, this will oftentimes lead to the home being ineligible for financing, with a few exceptions.
4. The home cannot be in a park. This is due to the requirement for a home loan that you own the ground the home is located on. If the home is in a park you are renting the ground from the landowner, and therefore the home itself is ineligible for financing.
Almost all loan products will allow for manufactured homes, but not all lenders will have those products available. If you are looking for a home and think you may end up making an offer on a manufactured home, be sure your lender has the ability to lend on them!
A few other notes regarding manufactured homes:
Cost:
The rate and closing costs, in most cases will be slightly higher for a manufactured home due to risk and cost of additional required certifications
Certification: An engineer must sign off on the foundation of the manufactured home, to ensure that it meets the current requirements for financing.
Verification: The manufactured home must have all HUD label tags clearly visible and present, or the lender will require a third party verification. The tags are on the exterior of the home and act similar to a VIN number, confirming that the units were designed to go together (two for a double wide, three for a triple wide, etc)
If you have questions about a home purchase, whether manufactured or otherwise, please give us a call today!
Scott Lake
Branch Manager
360-649-2445
