Noting a site-built home is titled with the land and recorded as a warranty deed, whereas a manufactured home (MH) is titled more like a car or a boat, the team says the market for MH and lender availability is much more limited than for a traditional home. It is important to compare the costs of owning the MH and renting the land, versus the costs of owning a stick-built home over a five year period.
While it is true that manufactured homes are titled, the authors in the columbusdispatch fail to mention that manufactured homes can be titled and financed the same as real property. While the example given was in an MHC, 2 out of 3 MHs are placed on privately owned land, outside of an MH land lease community.
Further, the respondents failed to make clear that there are numerous potential advantages to a land-lease vs. buying property. An MH on land lease may have little or no real estate or personal property taxes. One saves the initial cost of the land. Trulia recently showed a report that indicated the average stay in a home is about 7 years. Notably in such a scenario, the site built home buyer is going to be paying more than their MH counterpart in a land lease.
The article concludes correctly by saying a home shopper should compare all the facts, but it could have been improved with added insights, such as those noted above. ##
(Photo credit: Liberty Homes-manufactured home)
