Manufactured home loans.

Manufactured, mobile and modular

These three words get used interchangeably and lenders treat them very differently.

• Manufactured. Built in a factory to the federal HUD code, which took effect in June 1976. Carries a HUD certification label. This is what most current programs mean.
• Mobile. Built before June 1976, under no federal building code. Very few lenders will finance one, and that is not likely to change.
• Modular. Built in sections in a factory but to the same state and local code as a site-built house. Financed as ordinary real estate, with no special program needed.

Real property or personal property

This is the whole question. A manufactured home that still holds a vehicle title is personal property, and it is financed with a chattel loan on terms that look more like a vehicle loan than a mortgage.

Once the home is permanently affixed to a foundation on land you own, and the title has been surrendered and converted to real property under your state’s procedure, it is real estate. At that point conventional, FHA, VA and USDA programs all become possible. If you are buying and the conversion has not happened, ask about it before you write the offer — it is the difference between two very different loans.

What underwriting checks

That the HUD label and data plate are present. That the foundation meets the permanent-foundation standard, usually confirmed by an engineer’s certification. That the towing hitch, axles and wheels have been removed. That the title has been properly retired. That the home has not been moved since it was first installed, which some programs require.

Questions people ask

Can I finance one in a park where I rent the lot?

Not with a normal mortgage. Without owning the land there is no real property to secure, so it is a chattel loan or a long-term-ground-lease program, and the options are narrow.

Can I finance a single-wide?

Sometimes. Several programs set a minimum width or floor area that a single-wide does not meet. Double-wides are far easier.

What about a pre-1976 mobile home?

Effectively unfinanceable through mortgage programs. If the plan is to replace it with a new home on the same land, that is a build and it is a construction loan conversation instead.

Program availability varies by state, by title status and by foundation. A licensed loan officer will confirm what is available for your situation.