Singlewide Manufactured Home Financing

We finance singlewide manufactured homes as long as you own the land, it’s not in a co-op or a condo association. Some lenders will only finance a double wide manufactured home but that is not the case with us. We have no problem with single wide manufactured homes. We cannot finance a single wide mobile home that’s on leased land. That is considered a chattel loan. The words manufactured home and mobile home are used synonymously.

We can lend on single wide manufactured homes back to June 15th of 1976. We can use either FHA financing, VA financing, or Conventional financing. For a more detailed guide on financing manufactured homes visit our manufactured home guide.

Important Things to Note About Financing a Singlewide Manufactured Home

• We cannot finance a single wide as a second home or an investment property. It must be a primary residence.
• We do not finance a singlewide on leased land, you must own the land.
• It cannot be in a co-op (cooperative where you own a share of the community) or a condo association. HOAs are allowed.
• VA financing allows a single wide manufactured home to have been moved once.
• The singlewide must be at least 400 square feet for FHA, VA, or conventional financing through Fannie. Freddie requires 600 sq feet.
• An engineer report will most likely be required which will inspect the tie downs underneath the home to make sure they are up to code.
• If you own a singlewide manufactured home and want to get cash out you must use FHA or VA financing. Up to 80% of your home’s value can be financed for cash out with FHA financing, and 100% with VA financing. With VA financing you must be paying off an existing mortgage as well.
• Minimum credit score for FHA financing is 580. 620 for conventional financing.

Why Singlewide Financing Is Harder to Find

First thing is first, most lenders avoid singlewides because their secondary market is thinner. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both finance singlewides on permanent foundations, but a lot of lenders set their own internal overlays that exclude singlewides regardless of what the agencies allow. That means borrowers who own perfectly good singlewides on owned land sometimes get told “we don’t do singlewides” by lender after lender. We do them. We’ve built the underwriting process and the appraisal management around manufactured homes specifically.

The other reason singlewide financing gets harder is the appraisal. Manufactured home appraisals require a specific 1004C form (rather than the standard 1004 form for a stick-built home), and the appraiser needs to be qualified for manufactured home work. In some Florida counties the qualified appraiser pool is small and the turn time can be 2 to 4 weeks. We start the appraisal early and have backup appraisers lined up so the file doesn’t stall.

What the Appraiser Looks For on a Singlewide

Keep in mind that the property has to meet a handful of specific singlewide requirements:

• HUD plates (also called HUD certification labels) must be present and legible. These are the small metal plates inside the home, usually in a closet or kitchen, showing the home was built to HUD standards. Missing plates are a deal-killer until they’re replaced.
• The home must be on a permanent foundation. Pier and beam with skirting around the perimeter and proper anchoring counts.
• Tie-downs must be to current code. An engineer report confirms this on most loans.
• The towing hitch, axles, and wheels must be removed.
• The home must be classified as real property, not personal property, with the title surrendered to the state.
• Utilities must be permanently connected (not extension cord or temporary).
• The home must be at least 400 sq ft for most programs (Freddie Mac wants 600 sq ft).

We pre-screen the property before the appraisal is ordered when we can. If we know the parcel address, we can often spot foundation, plate, or skirting issues from county records and Google Street View before spending the appraisal fee.

Common Singlewide Scenarios We Close

• Buyer purchasing a singlewide on land: FHA 3.5% down with a 580+ score. Most common.
• Veteran purchasing a singlewide on land: VA $0 down. The cleanest path when it’s available.
• Refinancing a singlewide out of a chattel loan: Once the home is on a permanent foundation and the land is owned, dropping out of a chattel loan into a real estate mortgage typically saves 2 to 4 percentage points on the rate.
• Cash-out refinance on a paid-off singlewide: FHA up to 80% LTV. Used commonly for renovation, debt consolidation, or to help a family member.
• Singlewide on inherited land: Common in rural Florida. The financing works fine as long as title is clear and you own the land outright.

Florida Singlewide Financing FAQ

Get a No Hassle Mortgage Pre-Approval

On weekdays we can approve you in 24 hours or less. Send us the property address and your scenario, we’ll come back with the program that fits.