Most lenders won’t finance a manufactured home that has been moved from its original installation. We will. Freddie Mac conventional financing with as little as 5% down (new as of September 2, 2026), VA financing for veterans, and a Non-QM program as the backstop.

Financing a Manufactured Home That Has Been Moved

Until September 2, 2026, neither Fannie Mae nor Freddie Mac allowed a manufactured home that had been moved from its original installation to be financed conventionally, and FHA financing still doesn’t. That changed: Freddie Mac now permits conventional mortgages on manufactured homes moved from another site, provided a licensed professional engineer (or the appropriate local, state, or federal authority) inspects the home and verifies its structural integrity, and the home isn’t sitting in a more restrictive wind, roof-load, or thermal zone than it was built for. Fannie Mae has not followed, so the loan has to be underwritten to Freddie Mac. If you are a veteran, the VA still allows a manufactured home that has been moved one time with VA financing. Full details on the change are in our post on Freddie Mac’s new moved-home rule.

For homes that don’t fit Freddie Mac — an investment property, a home that fails the wind-zone test, a borrower who needs bank-statement income — we still have the Non-QM program. It is not traditional financing, so there are some major restrictions: 30% down (max 70% loan-to-value), a $100,000 minimum loan amount (so a minimum purchase price of about $154,000), and the home must be a doublewide or larger. See below for the rest. Before September 2026 this was the only non-VA option; now it’s the backstop.

Freddie Mac Conventional Financing on a Moved Manufactured Home (New September 2, 2026)

Freddie Mac updated its Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide to permit mortgages secured by manufactured homes that have been moved from another site, effective September 2, 2026. This is the first time a conventional program has allowed what the industry calls a “second set-up.” To qualify, the home must:

• Pass a structural-integrity inspection by a licensed professional engineer or the appropriate local, state, or federal authority. The report stays in the loan file. In Florida this is typically done by the same engineer who certifies the foundation and tie-downs.
• Not sit in a more restrictive wind, roof-load, or thermal zone than it was built for. All of Florida is HUD Wind Zone II or III, so a home built for Wind Zone I (most of the interior United States) does not qualify here. The data plate inside the home shows the zones it was built for.
• Meet every other manufactured-home requirement: built on or after June 15, 1976 with HUD labels and data plate present, permanent foundation with hitch, wheels, and axles removed, land you own, and the title retired so home and land are one piece of real property.

Once it clears those, it’s priced like any other conventional manufactured-home loan: 620 minimum credit score, as little as 5% down on a primary residence (10% on a second home, doublewide or larger), rate-and-term refinance up to 95% loan-to-value, and cash out up to 65%. Singlewides qualify as a primary residence if they are at least 12 feet wide and 400 square feet. Freddie Mac’s language does not cap the number of moves; some lenders will add their own limits, which is why we shop the file across our manufactured-home lenders. Investment property is still Non-QM only.

Non-QM Requirements for a Moved Manufactured Home (30% Down Program)

• The home must be built on or after June 15th of 1976.
• It must be a doublewide or larger.
• It must be tied down (permanent foundation).
• You must own the land, it cannot be in a park or in a PUD, no HOA dues.
• The title to the manufactured home must be retired before closing (not at closing).
• 70% max loan to value on purchases, and 65% max loan to value on cash out refinances.
• The minimum loan amount with this program is $100,000.

Documenting Income

We have the ability to finance these homes as investment properties as well. Whether you are purchasing the home for a primary residence or an investment property you can use bank statements to qualify if you are self employed. You can also do what is called a DSCR loan, which stands for debt service coverage ratio loan. That means if it’s going to be an investment property you can qualify based on rent or potential rent that the property will garner. Other than that we can of course review your tax returns to qualify.

What Is the Drawback on Financing a Manufactured Home That Has Been Moved?

If the home fits Freddie Mac’s new rule, there isn’t much of a drawback anymore: you get normal conventional pricing, with the cost of the engineer’s structural inspection as the main extra. The drawback lives in the Non-QM program. The number of lenders who will finance a moved home outside of Freddie Mac and VA is few and far between, and those that do are often difficult to work with or slow. Higher interest rates and higher closing costs come with these unique products, but we aim to provide a smooth process for our clients and to expedite the lending process as quickly as possible.

Keep in mind if the title has not been retired it will need to be done before closing. This can be a time consuming process. The title retirement is the legal step that converts the home from personal property (with a vehicle-style title held at the DMV equivalent) into real property attached to the land. In Florida this happens through the county tax collector’s office. The home is then taxed as real estate going forward instead of as a vehicle. Plan for 4 to 8 weeks for the title retirement to complete, and start it as soon as you go under contract.

Why a Home Gets Moved in the First Place

First thing is first, there are a handful of common reasons we see manufactured homes that have been moved from their original installation. The home was originally set up in a park on leased land and the owner bought their own land to relocate it. The home was inherited from a family member at one location and the new owner moved it to their property. The home was relocated as part of a divorce settlement or estate distribution. Or the home was moved when the original park closed or was sold for redevelopment. None of these situations are anyone’s fault. For years the agencies simply refused to underwrite the moved-home risk, so the loan options narrowed to VA and Non-QM. Freddie Mac’s September 2026 update finally treats the question the way it should be treated: with an engineer’s inspection instead of a blanket no.

That’s why most lenders will simply tell a borrower “no” when they find out the home has been moved. The borrower then either gives up, settles for a chattel loan at very high rates, or has to keep calling around. Many lenders will keep saying no for a while, either because they haven’t adopted the Freddie Mac change or because they add their own overlays. We close moved-home loans every week. Conventional is now the first place we look for a primary residence or second home, the VA path is straightforward for veterans, and the Non-QM program covers the rest.

VA Financing on a Moved Manufactured Home

If you’re a veteran, this is almost always the right path. The VA allows manufactured homes that have been moved one time, with no down payment required, and you can include closing costs in the loan up to 100% of the property’s value. The VA does not require an engineer report. They do require a water test (bacteria and lead) if the property is on a well, which most rural Florida properties are. We close VA moved-home loans on doublewides routinely.

Keep in mind the VA still requires the home to be on a permanent foundation, with HUD plates present, and the title retired. The “moved” part doesn’t waive any of the other manufactured home requirements. If those base requirements aren’t met, no program will lend on the property regardless of whether it’s been moved or not.

And if it turns out your home never actually left its original site, the whole menu opens back up — start at Florida manufactured home financing.

Moved Manufactured Home FAQ