HUD Manufactured Home Guidelines On FHA Loans

In this blog, we will discuss and cover HUD manufactured home guidelines on FHA loans. Many of our readers know Gustan Cho Associates specialize in FHA mortgage lending. At Gustan Cho Associates Mortgage, we are a full-service mortgage lender. We offer a wide range of mortgage products without LENDER OVERLAYS. We are here to help you achieve homeownership by any means possible. If for any reason you do not qualify today, our team of highly skilled loan officers will put you on a customized financial plan to qualify as soon as possible. In the following paragraphs, we will detail how to use an FHA loan to buy a manufactured property.

Lenders Who Lend on Manufactured Homes

Many lenders do not offer mortgages on manufactured properties. In this blog, we will define what a manufactured property is in the eyes of the FHA, how do you start the mortgage process to buy a manufactured property, and a couple of keys and tips to ensure you are selecting the right property. We will cover and discuss HUD Manufactured Home Guidelines On FHA loans.

Definition Of Manufactured Homes

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) defines a manufactured property in a slightly different manner than Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Department of veteran affairs parentheses (VA). According to FHA, manufactured housing is a structure that is transportable in one or more sections. It may be part of a condominium project, provided that the project needs acceptable FHA requirements. FHA goes on further to explain a manufactured property.

Requirements Of The Manufactured Home To Qualify

Here are some key requirements for the property if you are going to utilize an FHA loan:

• May only be a single unit dwelling, NO MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES 
• Must have at least 400 square feet of living space
• Must have a HUD certification label (more details below)
• Must be constructed after June 15th, 1976
• Must comply with the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (FMHCSS)
• Must be classified as “real estate”, you must own the LAND
• Must be designed to be used as a dwelling on a permanent foundation
• The permanent foundation must be built to the Permanent Foundation Guide for Manufactured House (PFGMG)
• Must have been directly transported from the manufacturer to the site. The manufactured property may not be moved and resold

HUD Certification Label

The HUD certification label is very important. If the HUD certification label is missing from the manufactured housing unit, the mortgagee must obtain label verification from The Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS). Usually. the appraiser will indicate if the HUD certification label is missing.

HUD Manufactured Home Guidelines: Using FHA Loans To Qualify For Manufactured Home Financing

How to utilize an FHA mortgage to buy a manufactured property. If you are reading this article, you would more than likely have found it is next to impossible to find mortgage financing on manufactured properties. After the housing market crash of 2008, many lenders stop participating in manufactured home programs. We are happy you found Gustan Cho Associates because we offer a wide range of loan programs for manufactured properties. We offer a full line of FHA, Conventional, USDA, and VA mortgages for manufactured properties. In the following paragraphs,  we will detail how to utilize an FHA loan to buy or refinance a manufactured property.

HUD Manufactured Home Guidelines Manufactured Home Mortgage Process

The process for buying a manufactured property is very similar to buying a stick-built property. You will first need to start the pre-approval process. In order to start the process, you will gather some simple income, identification, and asset documentation. Below are the documents you will need to send in to your loan officer:

• Last 30 Days Pay Stubs
• Last Two Years W2’S
• Last Two Years Tax Returns
• Last 60 Days Bank Statements – to source down payment
• Driver’s License

Your loan officer will send you an application link. You will fill out the online application with Gustan Cho Associates. That will give you a loan officer permission to start your file and pull your credit. Assuming your credit qualifies. You will then be issued a pre-approval letter. Does a pre-approval letter will allow you to put an offer in on a property. 

Steps After Signing The Executed Home Purchase Contract

Once your offer is accepted you will send your executed contract to your loan officer. From there you will sign the official loan application. Please read our article on WHAT TO EXPECT DURING THE MORTGAGE PROCESS. During the appraisal process, you will also need to complete a structural engineering report. Besides that, the process for a manufactured home is almost identical to buying a stick-built home.

HUD Manufactured Home Guidelines On Foundations

There are strict guidelines on foundations and how the manufactured home needs to be attached. See below:

• The foundation of the property has an extra step in the mortgage process when buying a manufactured property
• During the mortgage process, the lender must obtain a certification by a licensed architect or structural engineer who is compliant with the Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing (PFGMH)
• In some cases, the lender May utilize the foundation certification from the previous FHA-insured mortgage
• Of course, this engineering report must meet all guidelines
• There may not be any alterations or observable damage after the date of that report
• If the appraiser notates any alterations are damaged, a New Foundation certification must be completed
• At the end of the day, the certification must confirm the Structural Integrity of the property

Depending on the location and size of the property, the fee for the certification can vary greatly. For more specifics please contact Gustan Cho Associates directly. You may contact Mike on 630-659-7644 or send an email to mgracz@gustancho.com. 

HUD Manufactured Home Guidelines On Manual Underwriting

Gustan Cho Associates also offers FHA manual underwriting for manufactured housing. As mentioned earlier in the article, the majority of mortgage lenders no longer participate in manufactured housing mortgages. We go one step above and offer manual underwriting on manufactured properties. For more information on FHA manual underwriting please see our blog on FHA MANUAL UNDERWRITING BASICS. Manual underwriting opens the door for homeownership to thousands of Americans who have had a minor slip-up in the past.

Qualifying For A Mortgage With A Five-Star Mortgage Company Licensed In 48 States With No Lender Overlays

While many lenders are downsizing and minimizing their loan program portfolio, Gustan Cho Associates is growing at a record-breaking pace. We are constantly expanding the loan programs we offer to our clients.  We participate in many specialty loan programs. We have zero overlays on everything from Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, FHA, VA, and USDA mortgages. We even offer a wide range of JUMBO LOANS and NON-QM mortgage products. The combination of no lender overlays and a wide range of loan products allows us to finance more clients than your traditional mortgage lender. We encourage you to reach out to us today. We have seen every credit score possible from 850 all the way down to 400. We will set you up with a customized financial plan to buy a home as soon as possible. Please check out the Gustan Cho Associate reviews, our reviews speak for themselves.  We look forward to helping you and your family with the next chapter of your life.