Buying a Mobile or Manufactured Home

	Must Own Land	Loan Amount	Repayment Term	Minimum Credit Score
Personal Loan	No	$600 to $100,000	1 to 7 years (depending on lender)	Varies depending on lender
FHA Title 1 Loan	No, but must have leased the land for at least 3 years if land isn’t owned	Home only: up to $69,678 Lot only: up to $23,226 Home and lot: up to $92,904	15 to 25 years (depending on home and lot type)	580
Fannie Mae Manufactured Housing loan	No, but home must be principal residence	Up to 97% of LTV (loan to value) ratio	Up to 30 years	620
Freddie Mac Mortgage	Yes	Up to 95% of LTV (loan to value) ratio	15 to 30 years	660
VA Loan	Yes	Depends on VA entitlement (full entitlement has no loan limit)	Up to 25 years	None (some lenders might have higher credit restrictions because due to greater risk with manufactured homes)
USDA Loan	Yes	Up to 100% financing	15 to 30 years	640
Chattel Mortgage	No	$14,000 minimum	15 to 23 years	575

Let us take a look at each of these different options in more detail.

Personal loan

Best for: Smaller loan amounts

Personal loans can be used for almost any personal expense, including the purchase of a manufactured home, and are available from online lenders as well as traditional banks and credit unions.

These loans typically range from $600 to $100,000 or more, and they come with repayment terms of one to seven years, depending on the lender.

You’ll generally need good to excellent credit to qualify for a personal loan. A good credit score is usually considered to be 700 or higher. There are also several lenders that offer personal loans for bad credit, but these loans tend to come with higher interest rates compared to good credit loans.

FHA Title 1 loan

Best for: Buyers who want to finance both a manufactured home and lot

Title 1 loans are available to borrowers who want to refinance or purchase a manufactured home, a lot, or both. These loans are offered by lenders approved by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and are insured by the FHA.

With an FHA Title 1 loan, you can borrow up to $92,904 if you plan to finance both a manufactured home and a lot together. Loan maximums will be lower if you want to finance just a home or lot separately. Repayment terms for Title 1 loans range from 15 to 25 years, depending on the size of the home and type of lot.

Fannie Mae Manufactured Housing loan

Best for: Borrowers who want to finance a permanent residence

Fannie Mae backs two types of loans for manufactured housing: Standard Manufactured Housing (MH) for homes and MH Advantage. MH Standard applies to properties that don’t meet specific requirements while MH Advantage refers to properties that do.

With an MH loan, you can finance up to 97% of your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. This is calculated by dividing the amount you borrow by the appraised value of the property. You will have up to 30 years to repay an MH loan.

Freddie Mac

Best for: Borrowers who want to pay for land and various fees alongside their mobile home (such as delivery, set up, and installation)

Freddie Mac also backs mortgages that can be used to purchase or refinance a manufactured home. These loans can cover up to 97% of a manufactured home’s LTV ratio and come with terms ranging from 15 to 30 years.

Unlike an FHA-insured loan, a mortgage from Freddie Mac can be used to purchase or refinance a primary or secondary residence.

Keep in mind that loan maximums and terms could differ if you use the loan to fund a secondary residence. Freddie Mac also allows borrowers to cover the purchase of land, the home, set up, and delivery all in one loan.

VA loan

Best for: Veterans or their spouses

To qualify for a loan insured by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), you or your spouse must be an active or retired member of the U.S. military. Keep in mind that while VA loans for traditional homes come with no down payment, VA loans for manufactured homes require a 5% down payment.

Additionally, because manufactured home mortgages present a greater risk to lenders, you might be subject to stricter credit requirements.

USDA Loan

Best for: Low-income borrowers who live in rural areas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers a few mortgage programs to help low-income borrowers in rural areas purchase homes, including manufactured homes. These loans require no down payment and could be a good choice for borrowers with poor credit.

To qualify for a USDA loan, the manufactured home must be new and installed on a permanent foundation.

Chattel mortgage

Best for: Borrowers who don’t own land

Unlike traditional mortgages, chattel mortgages can be used to finance a manufactured home if it’s not attached to a foundation. With this type of mortgage, the manufactured home itself is used as collateral to secure the loan.

These loans can also be used to purchase heavy equipment like tractors or farm equipment.

Keep in mind that chattel mortgages come with lower closing costs and fees than traditional mortgages, they also have higher interest rates as they’re considered a greater risk by lenders.