Manufactured Homes

Is Borrowing Money for a Manufactured Home more difficult?

Manufactured home loans are available to home buyers but unlike conventional home mortgages, loans for manufactured homes are more difficult to obtain and interest rates can be higher. The interest rate can be 2% higher compared to a traditional home loan in some cases. Right now a 30-year fixed rate is around 6% with good credit and 20% down payment for a traditional home. Same scenario but for a manufactured home the interest rate is around 7.5%. However, though the interest is higher typically you are not borrowing as much because a manufactured home costs less.

In response to a rising number of delinquencies and foreclosures, mortgage giants like Fannie Mae - which has recently been taken over by the Federal Government - are making it tougher to get manufactured home loans. Most lenders now require a 10 percent down payment for 30-year mortgages. It used to be a buyer only needed to come up with 3% down payment but times have changed. In this new economic environment consumers need to start saving for a down payment if they expect to purchase a manufactured home and easy money is a thing of the past.

One reason there are fewer lenders to loan money to borrowers for a manufactured home is these types of loans are risky in nature. Manufactured homes have a tendency to depreciate quickly in resale value. That is why it is so important to purchase a quality built manufactured home from a reputable dealer. Poorly constructed low-end mobile homes are a poor investment, which continues to drag down the manufactured home industry in my opinion.

According to the Manufactured Housing Institute, an industry trade group, the average sale price for a manufactured home for 2008 is roughly $53,000, compared to about $189,000 for a traditional single-family home. Although, this price makes a manufactured home far more affordable, some of the price advantage is lost due to the higher interest costs and lower resale values of manufactured homes.
Manufactured homes can be a good investment if you know what you’re doing. There is one publication that rates over 169 builders across the country. This publication is called, “The Complete Guide To Modular Housing” by Randall Eaton. Mr. Eaton is a best-selling author and factory built housing expert. To learn more about this helpful resource for manufactured home buyers please visit http://www.modularhomeusa.com.

	The Complete Guide to Modular Housing is a 112 page E-Book that rates over 60 popular builders in the United States. To ORDER your copy, click the button below. Only $29.95