The Napa Valley Register in Calif. offers definitions of mobile, manufactured and modular homes and the appropriate financing. Mortgage banker Chris Salese notes that fateful day of June 15, 1976 when manufactured homes came under the jurisdiction of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the regulated production included “key components such as the quality, durability, safety and affordability of the home,” now known as HUD Code. Manufactured homes are constructed on to a non-removable steel chassis and likely sited on a concrete pad, at which time the wheels and axles are removed The local building inspector is not required to do an inspection because it (presumably) was checked out at the factory. Modular homes arrive in sections that are joined and finished on site, and must be approved by local and state building ordinances, which puts them in the same loan pool as site-built homes. He says for a manufactured home loan, proof must be provided that the home has been converted to real property and is covered by a title insurance policy. MHProNews has learned you will need an appraisal and possibly an inspector to confirm the structure is sound. If you pay cash for a manufactured home, do remember if you intend to later re-sell the home, tighter lending requirements and higher interest rates prevail for this type of property.
