Answers to Mobile Home Questions

Manufactured Home Q&A That Mean Something

Can I finance a used mobile home?

The short answer is absolutely. However, with many finance companies, they may not have an interest in financing older manufactured homes. We are a licensed lender who also works with many other lender programs, so we're not just limited to the loan programs we offer. Want to learn if we can help you to? Just use our quick application to find out more.

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When shopping for a mobile home, what should I consider?

Beyond the condition of the home, when visiting dealers, consider their reputation first. The BBB maintains a database of records for many businesses throughout the United States. You'll definitely want to check their record before doing business with them. A second consideration is the age of the home. If you're shopping new, naturally this is not relevant. If looking at used manufactured homes, age is an important factor. Finally, calculate your cost per square foot. This a normal factor that is consistent in determining the actual value of the deal your getting, whether it's a traditional stick built home of prefabricated home. Your cost per square foot will give you a very good indication of value.

When shopping with a real estate professional, consider location, age of the property, and again, cost per square foot. Interested in getting preapproved? Call today at 1-800-570-0448 or use our quick application today!

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Should I buy a mobile home from a dealer or use a real estate agent?

The benefit of buying from a mobile home dealer is in the appreciable fact you can purchase a brand new home that can be setup on a lot of your choosing. Like any industry, there are good and bad dealers and you'll really need to do your homework to ensure you're working with a reputable company. When using a real estate agent to purchase an existing mobile home with land, you have the benefit of not having to contend with the time and costs associated with setting up a new home, in addition you have the ability to select a home in a desirable location where land may not be readily available. The difference really is nominal and a personal choice.

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Can I finance a single wide manufactured home?

Yes. At fhamortgageprograms.com we offer several financing options for single wide mobile homes.

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What is the difference between a double wide and triple wide home?

A double wide mobile home comes as two units and is assembled on location. A triple wide manufactured home is three individual units which are, again, assembled on location. We have some great programs and rates for financing both double wide and triple wide mobile homes. Why not give us a call today at 1-800-570-0448 to learn more?

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What is the difference between a mobile home and manufactured home?

Nothing. Both refer to the same type of home. Manufactured homes come with an axle and tow bar option. An axle and tow bar option means your home can be "mobile" having both wheels and axles and a means to quickly connect and tow the home to a new location. Hence the popular term used for manufactured homes is "Mobile Home". The industry itself prefers to refer to it's products as "Manufactured Homes" as they believe this better represents the quality of todays mobile home products.

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Are modular homes the same thing as mobile homes?

No. A modular home is manufactured in a production facility and assembled on location. The assemble process typically uses a traditional stick built home foundation (Permanent). Unlike a mobile home, a modular home cannot be moved once built. These homes are treated just like a traditional home you'd buy in a neighborhood. They offer outstanding features, a huge assortment of pre-designed homes, and their price per square foot is almost always lower than the traditional stick built home.

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Can a modular home be built in a subdivision?

Yes and no. A modular home is very much like a traditional stick built home. In almost every subdivision being developed, a prospective home buyer has the opportunity to purchase a lot for future use. The use of the lot must adhere to the rules established within any association. So, if a subdivision has no HOA, chances are, you can build a very unique home on a lot you purchase. This a fantastic way to get more for less with a very custom look and feel.

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Is it difficult to finance a manufactured home?

Financing a manufactured home, unfortunately, can be a very painful process. The reality is, mobile homes through the years have developed a very bad and deserved reputation. The predominant reason for this is a result of past issues related to manufacture quality.

Todays mobile homes are actually held to much higher building code standards than traditional block homes. These building code standards are designed specifically to address Hurricane and Tornado safety concerns. The result of these code improvement is a better built, higher quality manufactured product.

Another issue related to manufactured homes is the perceived quality of the home buyer. In the past, poor lending decisions resulted in extraordinarily higher default rates among mobile home financing. Default rates much higher than seen in tradition markets. This drove secondary market money (Buyers of mortgage backed securities) away from investing in any mortgage securities that were tied in part or full to manufactured homes.

The consequence of both of these issues resulted in many lenders pulling out of the Mobile Home financing market. Less competition has meant higher rates, higher qualifying standards and reduced terms. Fortunately, at our mortgage company, we work with a large assortment of lenders which enables us to provide more borrowers with more financing options at great rates versus that which many of our competitors can provide.

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How do I get a loan for a mobile home?

The first step to getting a mobile home loan is to apply with a qualified lender or broker who can review your credit profile, income and employment. We feel we are one of the most qualified Lenders you can work with for financing a mobile home in any of the states we lend. Why not apply now using or short quick application. A qualified loan officer will contact you promptly to gather the remaining confidential information necessary to review your eligibility.

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Should I finance my mobile home through a dealer?

Absolutely not. No matter where you purchase your manufactured home, you should always seek out an independent lending institution that has no relationship with the mobile home dealer. In finance we call this checks and balances. An example of why can be found in this very real scenario;

A client going through a Tampa, FL area mobile home dealer contacted an experienced loan officer friend to do a review of the financing documents presented to them. The new home was already on their property and they were in the final stages of financing when they made this call. The client owned the land out right and was using the property as their downpayment. After reviewing the paperwork, the dealer price tag for the home went from 99,500.00 to a financed amount (With closing costs and setup fees) of over a $130,000.00. The amount financed should have actually been right at $112,000.00. Had this borrower not gone to their friend, they would have lost $18,000.00 to the dealer in mysterious "junk fees". While as a result of this issue there were consequences to the dealers finance department, many buyers just don't have the knowledge or relationships to have an independent review done. A third party reputable finance company can prevent this type of fraud from ever occurring.

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Can I use my mobile home to consolidate debt?

In some instances, we can utilize a Refinance loan to get cash back to be paid to creditors and get the debt monkey off your back. The process of qualifying is really not so different than qualifying for a traditional Mortgage, though there are more limitations and restrictions. To learn more, just give us a call at 1-800-570-0448 or use our quick application to learn more.

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How difficult is it to refinance a manufactured home?

With sufficient equity and credit, refinancing a manufactured home to improve your interest rate or repayment terms is a relatively easy process. Our FHA loan program offer substantial benefits for rate and term mobile home refinance clients and we can also offer more traditional conventional loan financing options. If you're interested in refinancing a mobile home, we'd love the opportunity to review your situation to see if the process make sense for you. Call today at 1-800-570-0448 or use our easy quick application for a no obligation consultation.

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Does my mobile home have to be permanently affixed to the ground?

For a traditional mortgage financing option your manufactured home must be permanently affixed to the ground; have the axles fully removed; have the tow tongue fully removed and have the appropriate skirting in place. We offer alternative financing solutions for those who a wanting to financing the mobile home only, however, these programs do require a substantial downpayment, great credit and sufficient equity ratios.

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Does your company have experts that specialize in MH financing?

Yes, we like to think each of our trained loan officers are experts in financing manufactured homes. However, we recommend you have a very good conversation with our loan officer to ensure you feel comfortable with their knowledge and expertise. If you don't, simply ask them for a referral to another Mortgage loan officer who has the experience level you're looking for. The way we look at it, our job is to best serve your needs. We're a large company and have many loan officers of varying degrees of experience, and one thing that doesn't change, is the opportunities we offer each loan officer to expand their expertise via comprehensive training and mentoring.

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How do you view credit when financing a mobile home?

With our FHA loan financing for manufactured homes, we focus on credit quality rather than credit score. We're most interested in what you've done with your credit over the last 12 months. If you have elected not to use credit up to now, that's OK. We may still be able to assist you with financing. When working with our traditional conventional mortgage programs, credit score is a very key component to the qualifying process.

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I need a fast turnaround time, can your team get it done?

Absolutely! Many delays in the loan process are traditionally caused by; inexperienced loan officers or the customer not providing documentation and signed docs in a timely fashion. If you're in a hurry, we'll tell you exactly what we need to get the deal done fast. Provided you work with us as a team player, getting a loan closed in 5 to 10 days is more than possible!

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Can I get a pre-approval letter for a mobile home loan?

Absolutely. Complete our full mortgage application and we can have a preapproval to you within hours via Fax of Email. It's really as simple as that! Not sure? Give us a call at 1-800-570-0448!

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What are the closing costs on a mobile home loan?

Depending upon where the home is located, the closing costs are very comparable to those experienced with a traditional mortgage. Most Home Buyers can expect to closing costs between 3% and 6% of the amount financed. Homeowners can expect a refinance to cost between 2% and 6% dependent upon the type of loan being done. Factors to consider when considering closing costs are fees outside the control of the lender. These fees range from appraisal, title, state and county taxes, well inspections, sump inspections, etc.

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What Interest rate can I expect to get when financing a manufactured home?

The traditional financing of a mobile home loan can result in rates ranging from 2% to 5% above those offered for traditional stick built homes. Our FHA financing can dramatically reduce the amount of interest you pay on loan and save you tens of thousands of dollars cumulative! If you're serious about the Interest rate you're going to get, you want to complete our fast and easy quick application or call us right now at 1-800-570-0448 for a serious review and rate proposal! When it comes to financing mobile homes, we don't just want your business, we want to do business!

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