Buying a home, whether manufactured or traditional, stands as one of life’s most significant decisions for individuals and families alike. Here, we offer resources to bolster your confidence in choosing a manufactured or modular home. Should you seek more detailed insights, don’t hesitate to reach out directly or explore our member directory to connect with specialized experts tailored to your inquiries.
Confused about manufactured housing terminology? Learn more about common manufactured home vernacular here.
Get answers to frequently asked questions about construction, financing, and types of homes.
There are a lot of misconceptions about manufactured housing, and we want to clear them up!
Watch the latest videos produced by WVHI, covering a wide variety of topics in the manufactured housing industry.
Welcome to the Glossary of the Manufactured Housing Industry, presented by the Manufactured and Modular Housing Association of Minnesota. This serves as your go-to resource, providing quick reference to the terminology that shapes the world of manufactured housing. Whether you’re an industry veteran or a prospective homeowner, this carefully curated compilation of key terms aims to demystify industry language, equipping you with the knowledge required to navigate confidently. Explore the essentials and stay updated on the latest innovations in manufactured housing. Let’s simplify the conversation and deepen your understanding of this dynamic sector together.
Welcome to our Manufactured Housing FAQ hub, your ultimate source for swift solutions and valuable insights. Whether you’re navigating the home-buying process, exploring financing options, or delving into regulatory matters, our FAQs offer concise information to empower your decisions. Should you require further assistance or personalized guidance, don’t hesitate to reach out – we’re dedicated to helping you navigate the world of manufactured housing.
By visiting our website, you’ve already taken the first step in purchasing a quality home. Just like a car, you cannot purchase a new home directly from the manufacturer. New manufactured homes can only be purchased through licensed retailers like us. As you browse through the websites of our members or visit their on-site sales locations, start thinking about your current and future housing needs. Begin the thought process with the number of bedrooms and bathrooms you’ll need and continue with amenities, upgrades, and finishes.
Get through that process and our members’ professional sales teams can help you choose the perfect home for your lifestyle and budget.
Once you have found your dream home, you have multiple financing options available to you. There are two common ways of financing. When you are financing the land on which you’re placing the home along with the home itself, you’re likely to use a conventional land or land construction loan. If you’re financing just the home itself, you’ll probably use a chattel loan.
Our member business housing professionals can further explain the differences between the two types of loans and how things like a stronger credit score may help in your ability to find the right loan for you.
Here again, you have two choices:
You can place your home in a manufactured home community, where you own the home, but rent the land underneath. These communities may offer lifestyle amenities and location preferences that suit your needs. A big advantage of moving your new home to a manufactured home community is that the site work is already done. But make sure to check the terms of any lease and the community’s rules and regulations before you sign on the dotted line.
Or, you can place your home on land you already own or are looking at purchasing. Before you buy a home to place on your own land, make sure to check things like local zoning ordinances, utility access, deed restrictions, and the slope and grade of the land.
The process does not stop when you sign a contract to purchase a home from us. If it is a new home, the manufacturer will give us an approximate delivery date. And If there are any changes in that date, we’ll contact you immediately.
And whether the home is new or preowned, the site where it will be installed has to be prepared for its placement. That means vegetation has to be cleared. We may have to grade the slope of the land. If you’re going to use a septic tank, that has to be installed. Footers may be poured.
Once the site is ready, the home is shipped and installed on the site. After a final inspection is completed, pack up the moving truck. It’s time to move in.
As always, we’ll be there to walk you through every step of the move in process.
Manufactured homes are built with inferior materials and construction quality is poor.
Today’s manufactured homes are built with the same materials as site-built homes, but in a controlled factory environment where quality of construction is invariably superior to what can be built in the “field”.
Manufactured homes don’t appreciate in value.
Independent appraisal studies confirm that manufactured homes appreciate in value the same as other forms of housing with key factors including condition and location of the home.
Manufactured homes are difficult to finance.
Just as there are choices when you buy a site-built home, there are a variety of financing options when you buy a manufactured home.
Down payments and loan terms are similar – 5 to 10 percent of home’s sales price with loan terms of 15-30 years. Most lenders offer fixed and variable rate loans. The home can be financed as personal property, on leased land in a manufactured home community or on a private site. Another growing trend for homebuyers is to finance their home and land together as real property using conventional financing obtained through a traditional mortgage lender.
Manufactured homes are difficult to finance.
Just as there are choices when you buy a site-built home, there are a variety of financing options when you buy a manufactured home.
Down payments and loan terms are similar – 5 to 10 percent of home’s sales price with loan terms of 15-30 years. Most lenders offer fixed and variable rate loans. The home can be financed as personal property, on leased land in a manufactured home community or on a private site. Another growing trend for homebuyers is to finance their home and land together as real property using conventional financing obtained through a traditional mortgage lender.
Manufactured homes lack “curb appeal” and are unwanted additions to neighborhoods.
Today’s manufactured homes are dramatically different in appearance from the “mobile homes” and “trailers” sold two decades ago. Manufactured homes today come in a variety of exterior designs that are fully compatible with any neighborhood architectural style.
Manufactured homes are not safe.
The construction of today’s manufactured homes is the same as site built homes. Manufactured homes may be the safest homes available today because the federal standards requiring smoke detectors, escape windows, and incombustible materials around furnaces and kitchen appliances. Many site-built homes do not contain these safety features. Back to resources