Posts filed under 'Manufactured Homes'
When you are looking for finance for Manufactured Homes, be smart. There are various options available and the one you choose determines how easy your loan repayment experience will be. All loan types have a different set of advantages. One will be ideal for you. Do your research.
First you need to decide of you want an ARM or a fixed rate mortgage. An ARM is a variable adjustable rate mortgage. In a fixed rate loan, the same rate is charged throughout the period of loan repayment. In the case of an ARM, the loan rate adjusts as the time period of loan repayment changes.
Another important aspect of the loan is the length. Mortgages can last 15 years or 20 or even 30 years. Some are repayable over 40 and 50 years. If the term is longer, the annual payment is lower. However the interest is higher.
You also need to choose between FHA and VA loans. Loan buyers are often attracted to FHA due to a lesser down payment requirement. Often this is just 3% of the home cost. To buy the home you have to meet certain criteria. You need a good credit history. In addition, you need to display a proof of income and the ability to repay the loan.
One requirement is that mortgage income, property taxes and home insurance must not be more than 29 percent of your income. In addition the housing cost and other debts must not be more than 41 percent of income.
United States military veterans benefit from VA loans. It offers attractive financing. With the variety of home finance options available, if you take time out you are likely to find the one best for you.
June 10th, 2010
The present day manufactured home designs have crossed many barriers and limitations in designing the floor plans, due to the fact that the field of architecture has become wide open to new ideas and innovative structural formations, our forefathers could not even dream of. This has become possible by the Internet usage, which brings in the world architectural designs to your finger tips. Unlike the olden days, architects and engineers have no need to toil and moil to design and draw the floor plans laboriously. Just by the click of the mouse, they are pampered with hundreds of thousands of home designs and templates.
This advantage is passed on to the consumer like you in choosing the right model, sitting with the architects and professionals of a manufactured home producer company. If you had this plan in mind to build a house with brick and mortar in a congested city street, it would be next to impossible. But the factory manufacturing a “mobile home” can easily accomplish this task with quality materials swiftly. All that is necessary thereafter is to carry the parts to you proposed site, in an area or community where good sunlight and fresh air are available and fix it with deft hands.
Imagine a triple-wide manufactured home with two stories (with a full basement too); two car garages; bay windows and specialty windows to let in abundance of sunlight and breezy fresh air and fine finished recessed doorways. Can you build it inside a crowded town area with custom built style? No way! But this is exactly possible with the modern manufactured home, which is built for you exclusively and fixed at a place in the periphery of a big town or city. Your life in this modern home with your family will be what you have been dreaming all these years. Your new home will be a pride to show off to your friends and relatives. And the cost? Well – it is going to be a fraction of the custom-built home if you compare the prices.
The new home is manufactured according to your plans and desired amenities and you have the backing of professionals under warranty, to make any additions or alternations until you have complete satisfaction. All these things are done by the companies in right earnest to get and retain more and more satisfied customer base.
The concept of manufactured homes is spreading fast, particularly with the background of the real estate market crisis prevailing in the country. As such the manufacturers of these prefabricated homes are vying with each other, in grabbing their share of the market and the time has come to change the mental attitudes of millions of Americans.
The choices before you, therefore, are so many – single story home, multi-family condo, double-wide or triple-wide floor plans – if you go in for buying a brand new Manufactured Home.
September 13th, 2008
This is the question nagging in the back of the mind for many people, especially Americans that are in a dilemma, between owning a home proposal but not sure whether they should go in for a custom home or manufactured home. To squarely answer this question, we can go in search of examples in England.
Historically the concept of “prefabricated homes” known as “Manufactured Homes” today, popped up the real estate scene somewhere during 1908 to 1940. In England many companies started up ventures to build up these prefab houses with materials available then and started selling them in large numbers. They were advertised as “Modern Homes” owing to the fact that they had up-to-date facilities compared to conventional homes. Preferably the prefab homes built then were vacation cottages and included multi-story homes as well.
Then came World War II causing untold havoc to the British country, whereby hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes. The British government had to tackle with the housing problem and they rightly chose prefabricated homes to “temporarily” house those who lost their homes to the War. The city of Bristol is a shining example. The setting up of prefabricated homes was so huge that Bristol was known as “prefab city”. As many as over 400 models of prefab homes, villas and bungalows thronged the city and the amazing fact is nearly 700 prefabricated homes still exist in Bristol today.
These homes were designed to last only around 10 years, but the residents of these “temporary” housing are living there comfortably even after 50 years and more. Some years later, the British government decided to replace these old fabricated homes with asbestos roofing and bulldozed nearly 150 homes. A new set of fabricated homes were built on those sites and they are still efficient even after decades now and look modern in the surroundings.
With this example let us review the situation obtaining in U.S. today, where a number of popular brands of Manufactured Homes are made available. These are designed by experts in the field, mostly fabricated into two sets – bottom and upper portion by skilled tradesmen inside a factory, closely supervised in every shift to fit into the quality standards laid out by the company and that of the Government rules, finished within the set time frame, transported to the proposed site and fit up there with the final touches.
With the ever-increasing demand, every company is concentrating on the upscale designs, fabrication and timely supply of these Manufactured Homes with 100% quality materials. Therefore there is no need for any apprehension over the strength of these Manufactured Homes any more, to last long as against the custom-built homes.
September 3rd, 2008
If you are one among those thinking that Manufactured Homes are sought after mainly because of the lower cost, sorry – you did not get it 100% right. Yes – Lower cost of the Manufactured Homes is a factor to reckon with, but there are other innumerable advantages for going in to buy a Manufactured Home as your residence.
For one thing, the fast mode of building a Manufactured Home as per your convenience holds the primary place for consideration. Thinking of that, just imagine you have a residential plot where you would like to build a custom-home with brick and mortar. The hassles are so many – getting a building contractor that would finish the job exactly in time and within the budget; from foundation to the roof every inch of building needs extraction of work from the labor force (ask any one experienced on this and you will know what it means); dearth of materials day in and day out, to be replenished every time; the time delays occurring due to leave of absence by men at work, pace of working, supply of materials, weather playing havoc; cost escalation, theft of materials and so on.
In refreshing contrast, Manufactured Homes are built smarter, faster and with a professional touch, with every one working on it, specialists on that particular job like wood work, metal frame finishing etc. inside a factory, jointly by a team of experts by experience, doing the same jobs every day with targets for every shift with quality. Besides, Manufactured Homes have to be built in accordance with the Uniform Building Codes under the closest supervision of Factory Managers adhering to Quality Standards. State-of-the-art technology is being used to sustain in business amongst competition in the market.
Result is you get a ready-made house in time, the floor plans of which are approved by you prior to commencement of the building. After finishing 80% of the structure inside the factory what remains is just fixing it on the land identified by you, securely to withstand any season, rain or shine, with special coatings of paints and resins. The impeccable look of the brand of Manufactured Home is their advertisement for business promotion. Therefore every Manufactured Home is assembled with great care and quality consciousness, which is totally absent when you start building a custom home.
There can be many other examples to ponder, but now you will know what are the advantages of buying your own Manufactured Home design. They can be listed as Excellent Quality; Modern technology; fastest building time; costs pre-fixed and agreed not to escalate during the building process and the last one is lower pricing, when compared to a conventional home with similar floor plans and comforts.
August 18th, 2008
Mobile Homes or Manufactured Homes are increasingly becoming the buyers’ choice owing to the real estate crisis and recessionary trend of the economy. What were looked down upon as “trailer homes” once are getting importance now, not only because of their less expensive proposition but also the technology advancements in fabricating beautiful, comfortable and amenity-filled structures towards fulfilling the common American dream.
As more number of buyers opt for manufactured home as an entry for home ownership, the concepts hitherto attached with Mortgage loans for manufactured homes are changing rapidly. As of now the manufactured home loan industry is somewhat concentrated, the top ten lenders controlling over 65 per cent of the market.
If you wish to get a leverage in manufactured home loans, the chief requirement is the best credit rating. You can check up the incentive programs available for manufactured home loan barrowers by the local governments. President Clinton’s Home Ownership Initiative of 1996 is noteworthy in creating additional initiatives for manufactured homes. If the proposed manufactured home is going to be your main residence you are given preference.
On an average the term of the manufactured home loan can range between 10 to 25 years. High interest rates compared to custom-built homes are prevalent for manufactured homes, but it is worth going in considering that manufactured homes are fast depreciating in value over the years. But there is also a way out that if you own the land to park the manufactured home in a prime location there is every chance for appreciation of the land value to rake up your equity for refinancing the home loan.
Some tips here if you go for a manufactured home loan:
Ø There are wide variation in products of manufactured home loans from lender to lender and so an extensive search online will be very useful
Ø There is no obligation to buy a manufactured home from a sales person or take the financing offered by them
Ø The warranty and other clauses of a manufactured home brochure need be studied carefully with specific details as who will bear the cost of defects in manufacture or the installation of the home at the site.
Ø Owning the land on which the manufactured home is to be parked is ideal because you can have the tax benefits by titling the property as real property and the property taxes paid are deductible
Ø If you are required to title as personal property, chances are you may have to pay annual motor vehicle fees – so check up
Ø The area at which your manufactured home is going to be installed can gain you value appreciation over the years to come – so this needs your attention.
These are only generic guidance and you can do well to do a good research before buying a Manufactured Home for yourself.
August 9th, 2008
Necessity is the mother of invention. With millions of U.S. citizens, who were proud home owners hitherto, having been rendered homeless due to the foreclosure epidemic, such a necessity has arisen. U.S. real estate is reeling under the clutches of a sluggish market – to sell the brick and mortar homes – at their real values. Mortgage lenders for these properties are a scared lot. Therefore to fulfill the government’s commitments to provide homes for the homeless, it has usurped the need for concentrating on Manufactured Homes.
Now if you wish to make it a reality to own a home, there could not be a better time. The manufacturers of Mobile Homes have perceived this upsurge and are coming up with an array of Manufactured Homes, built with a variety of designs, features, floor plans, amenities and comforts and yes – at affordable costs.
Instead of running behind the custom homes, there is a visible change in people going in for Manufactured Homes that are easy to buy, exactly replace the traditional homes in all aspects and the buyer will never regret later, because the investment is not that big as of a traditional home.
The right things to do are – think well in consultation with your family members as what exactly your needs are, the floor plans that suits your family, the comforts essential to fulfill your requirements and of course your financial affordability and budget, without feeling the pinch ever – before buying a Manufactured Home.
Brand new Mobile Homes are available with floor plans of 900 to 2500 square feet; typically have two or three bedrooms; single-wide, double-wide and even triple wide to suit the customer’s needs. They must comply with the basic rules laid by Department of Housing and Urban Development. Better still they should be energy-efficient, so as to help lower your utility bills every month.
Present day varieties of Mobile Homes come up with features of Whirlpool tubs; custom cabinets; walk-in closets; wood-burning fireplaces; bay windows; attached carports and even garages. As such they are indistinguishable in any way from the custom homes.
After ascertaining all the above details from trust-worthy manufacturers, just go and buy the best suited Manufactured Home for you and be a proud Home Owner!
August 1st, 2008
Manufactured homes or Mobile homes have become the order of the day, arising out of the bungling of the real estate market with custom built housing properties. The investment needed for a Mobile Home, when compared to a traditional brick and mortar home is far less. As such they are within the reach of many middle-income group families and it goes without saying that in a downward economy and rising cost of living saving money for a custom built house in a prime location can never be aspired for by these people.
For the purpose of a home loan application for a traditional housing property the basic factors checked are the credit history of the borrower as well as the repaying capacity. Barrowers with bad credit history are looked down upon and are diverted to sub-prime lenders with exorbitant interest rates.
But the scenario is entirely different in respect of Mobile Home loans where even applicants with bad credit history are also considered for eligibility with certain flexible and realistic guidelines. In fact with the foreclosure crisis engulfing the U.S. real estate business and millions of home owners having forfeited their homes to mortgage lenders and have become people with bad credit history thereby, this realistic approach by lenders is timely.
Therefore there are mortgage lenders advertising that they are ready to offer Mobile Home loans with conditions – Loan amounts from $10,000 to $500,000; any year home ok; bankruptcy within 1 year ok; current lates ok; full stated income with 6 or 12 months bank statements; New or used purchases (up to 70%); singlewides, doublewides and triplewides okay; debt to income ratio up to 55% admissible; principle & interest only loans; no prepayment penalties; loan repayment terms 5;7; 10; 15 or 20 years. They are offering loan for main niche as In park homes on leased land.
With so much of flexibility which were never there in regard to the traditional home buying, it is now ripe time for going in for Manufactured Homes that is best suited for you in a location convenient to your work place and with other amenities and comforts.
July 27th, 2008
Home loan offers for Mobile Homes or Manufactured Homes are of a different category, from the conventional and custom built homes. This is because Manufactured Homes are movable properties and are treated as Cars and other vehicles for loan purposes. Though this concept is changing gradually now a days, still most of Manufactured Home lenders go by this traditional thinking.
There are a number of private home lenders if you make a search online apart from Government based Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) financing for Manufactured Homes. Generally one can get Home loans for purchase of a Manufactured Home; Home with the land where the mobile home sits; individually or clubbing both; refinancing the Home loan from a lender already barrowed with another lender for shortening or lengthening the term of the loan or reduce interest rates and also purchase of used Mobile homes in their present condition.
The upfront down payment varies with different lenders from 10% on the value of the proposed mobile home to 5%; the interest rates also vary – either a fixed rate interest where the interest on the entire home loan is calculated and divided evenly to be added in the monthly repayment installments; or a floating rate (ballooning rate as it is also known as) of interest in accordance with the financial market fluctuations where the monthly repayment installments will vary in amounts.
Home loans towards mobile homes carry a slightly higher rate of interest when compared to the custom-built homes and the loan period is also does not extent to more than 10 years generally to be repaid. All other terms and conditions like waiver of penalty for prepayment of loans, collateral securities for lowering the interest rates, application fees etc. differ with each lender. So it is advisable to get all the info prior to signing a loan agreement for Mobile Home loan and get one that is most suitable for you.
July 18th, 2008
The common American dream of owning a house is the back-bone of the U.S. housing market and we can dare say Mobile or Manufactured homes are fulfilling this dream to a considerable extent. As many as 19 million people are residing in Mobile homes through out the U.S. country, according to reliable statistics, and one out of three new homes purchased presently are Manufactured Homes.
According to informed circles, the concept of affordable housing has changed dramatically over the last 5 or 6 years. Thanks to the modern technologies used for manufactured homes, the old mobile homes popularly identified in the good old days as “trailer homes”, “box kites”, “ovens” and “freezers” are no more suitable for such infamous adjectives. The latest manufactured homes are coming in good quality materials, stitched and secured seamlessly in double-wide sections to be affixed on the ground, identical and in no way inferior to the custom built conventional homes.
The manufactured home industry has grown into a $14 billion turnover, inasmuch as it provides homes at affordable costs to the needy Americans. The spurt in business is spectacular and buying manufactured homes is brisk, as opposed to the glut in real estate market of late in all the States of the U.S. nation.
However the only stumbling block is the higher rate of interest charged on mortgages of mobile homes. But there is sound reasoning behind this like – the homes are not “immovable properties” to stand as collateral; the hang over is still there to treat the loan as personal loans as in the case of automobiles and boats; the buyers of mobile homes are in a tight budget; the life-span of manufactured homes is less compared to conventional homes; the depreciation is faster in reducing the re-sale value; and also all administrative charges, connected with mortgages – application fees, credit report fees, cost appraisal fees, documentation fees etc. are borne by the manufactured home sellers.
But the solace is, more and more lenders are now forthcoming for 30 years’ term home loans with fixed or variable rates of interest. The time is therefore ripe to own a Mobile Home now, based on the situations obtaining.
July 9th, 2008
In view of the popularity of Mobile Homes and the demand from those who could not afford buying the conventional brick and mortar homes, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is coming forward to finance the Mobile Home buying.
The system works this way – lenders in the approved list of HUD can extend home loans to barrowers towards buying Mobile homes from their own resource and after satisfying the eligibility criterion of the barrower. FHA insures such loan amounts to the lenders that in case of default in repayment, HUD will reimburse the lenders with the dues.
The purpose of such loans is for purchase or refinancing of manufactured homes, a lot for placing the manufactured home or a combination of purchase of manufactured home and a lot. The pre-condition for the loan is the barrower should use the Mobile home as their principal residence. The interest rate charged is generally the market rate prevailing at the time of purchase of the Mobile home.
The maximum amount of loan are stipulated thus –
manufactured home only – $48,600
· manufactured home lot – $16,200
· manufactured home & lot – $64,800
The maximum Mobile home loan repayment terms are also prescribed thus –
· 20 years for a loan on a manufactured home or on a single-section manufactured home and lot.
· 15 years for a manufactured home lot loan.
· 25 years for a loan on a multi-section manufactured home and lot.
The eligibility criteria for barrowers to purchase Mobile homes to be financed with the help of HUD are as follows:
· Have sufficient funds on hand to make the minimum required down-payment of 5 percent.
· Be able to demonstrate that they have adequate income to make the payments on the loan and meet their other expenses.
· Intend to use the manufactured home as their principal residence.
· Have a suitable site on which to place the manufactured home. The home may be placed on a rental site in manufactured home park, or on an individual homesite owned or leased by the borrowers.
These are the basic information for availing home loans for purchase of Mobile Homes through financial assistance from HUD and all further details can be had from the official site of HUD online.
July 3rd, 2008
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