Top 5 False Statements made about Mobile Home Loans

Mobile Home Mortgage

Mobile Home Refinance

Mobile Home Loans

5) "Mobile Homes built before 1976 cannot be financed"

The HUD Code, instituted in 1976, changed the standards of safety and the construction procedures for mobile and manufactured homes. As such, homes built prior to 1976 were not subject to the HUD Code and are regarded by mobile home investors as a higher risk loan for a lack of a minimum code of construction. Some investors will still provide financing and refinancing for pre-HUD manufactured and mobile homes, however due to the date of manufactured, the loan will come with a slightly higher mobile home loan interest rate than a similar post-HUD counterpart.

4) "You can just get a co-signer if you have trouble qualifying for a mobile home loan"

Contrary to popular belief, mobile homes cannot be financed like automobiles. Mobile home loans are not car loans, where you can have a co-signer help you. The note on a mobile home, or loan contract, holds each party to the loan commitment as a borrower and/or co-borrower. Additionally, it is inferred, when a manufactured home loan contract is executed by the borrower and co-borrower, that each party is planning on maintaining the mobile home as their primary residence and is a party to the mobile home community, or park, rental agreement, etc.

3) "100% Mobile Home Financing is available to purchase a mobile home"

There are absolutely no 100% (or "zero down payment") financing programs available for any manufactured or mobile home loans. Do not be fooled. Many loan brokers will attempt to accomplish this type of mobile home loan, fraudulently and unsuccessfully, by obtaining a loan approval that regards the home as a traditional real property, or stick-built, condominium unit. Be sure not to implicate yourself in this kind of scheme. Verify that your loan broker truly understands and has a wealth of experience in dealing with mobile and manufactured home loans, and that your loan is being submitted and approved on the basis of the mobile home being the chattel property that it truly is.

2) "Mobile Home Loans are not conventional loans"

It is a common mistake amoung the uninformed to classify mobile or manufactured home loans as unconventional loans. By definition, a conventional loan is any loan that is not insured by the FHA, (the Federal Housing Administration) or guaranteed by the VA, (The US Department of Veterans Affairs). There are FHA and VA loans available on mobile homes and manufactured homes, however they carry many stipulations and restrictions with them. In any case, a mobile home loan that is lent through a financial institution, such as a bank or credit union, is absolutely a conventional loan.

1) "Mobile Homes must be attached to a permanent foundation to be financed"

This false statement is the telltale sign of a loan broker who truly does not know anything about mobile or manufactured home finance. Permanent foundations have NO bearing on the financing of a mobile or manufactured home whatsoever, and usually it´s just an excuse for the broker or institution to avoid making (what is perceived as) a higher risk loan for your home.

Take great care to educate yourself on these and many other issues regarding mobile or manufactured home finance. You´ll save yourself a lot of time and money.