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Real Estate Tips

5 Things to Know Before You Buy a Manufactured Home

Posted on Sunday, July 23, 2017
Buying a mobile home can allow you to easily purchase a home for vacant land.

Do you want to buy a home? Becoming a homeowner is a huge financial goal, and that dream can be hard to achieve. Home ownership can be easier if you buy a manufactured home, since these homes are often less expensive than buying a permanent, larger structure on a piece of land. What are the pros and cons of the decision to purchase a manufactured home?

1. There Are Different Costs Associated With a Manufactured Home

When you buy a manufactured home, you're buying a product. This product has specific features that you could change or upgrade for a price. There are also installation and finishing fees when your home is installed. When you buy a traditional home, you look at the cost to renovate it to suit your needs. When you buy a new manufactured home, you'll need to evaluate all of the extras that your home dealer wants to offer you. For instance, some dealerships might offer to include insurance, taxes, and extended warranties into your purchase price. You will need to carefully consider whether adding these costs will be in your best interests.

2. Manufactured Homes Are Versatile

While there are parks specifically designed for manufactured homes, if you're considering getting a manufactured home, you don't need to limit yourself to living in these specific communities. Owning a manufactured home can give you versatility and options. Depending on the building codes in your area, you can place a manufactured home on vacant land. This could be your permanent home on a dream property, or it could be a temporary plan as you work to build another home.

Sale Type

What kind of sale is this? Is it regular, a foreclosure, or a re-zoning? This can impact how you purchase the property and what legal methods you need to go through to complete the purchase. The code Special Sale lets you know if the property is a bank-owned or short sale.

3. Manufactured Homes Give You Housing Diversity

When you buy a traditional home, it's in a single location. It takes a lot to move a home from that location, if it's possible at all. You need to renovate or rebuild if you want to change the home that's on that spot. When you buy a new manufactured home and add it to a community or to your own land, you get to choose from a number of homes that could be on that site. You'll need to look at your budget, potential home features, and upgrades to choose a home that suits your needs.

How will the finances of home ownership in a manufactured home community work for you?

4. Ownership Works Differently If You Live in a Community of Manufactured Homes

If you decide to live in a community of manufactured homes, you'll find that the finances and ownership structure are different from owning your own property. For example, while in a traditional real estate deal you'll acquire the home and land, with a manufactured home you'll get the title to the home. The title transfer is similar to the transfer of title for a boat. You will generally own the home and rent the land.

5. Can You Get a Loan?

According to the Washington Post, "where you might find hundreds of lenders and mortgage brokers willing to offer you financing on a traditional single-family home, you might only have a handful or less willing to offer you financing in the manufactured home." Manufactured homes are a niche market, and most lenders work with more traditional home purchases. Be aware of this before you decide to buy a manufactured home.

Whether you're buying a manufactured home on acreage or an urban apartment, you need a trusted advisor to give you guidance. That's where Open for Homes comes in. We're here to support your home-buying journey. Visit the blog at Open For Homes for information and support for your next home purchase.