Buy new from a dealer to build on your own land, purchase an existing home, or refinance, with VA, FHA, USDA, and Conventional programs and as little as zero down for those who qualify.
BuildBuyRefi finances mobile, manufactured, modular, and factory-built home loans in all 50 states. Mobile and manufactured are used interchangeably here, and we lend on all of these when the home is over 400 square feet and permanently affixed to land you already own or will own at closing.
Qualified borrowers can also access up to $50,000 in extra consumer financing before or after closing, to update the home, buy furnishings, or use however they like.
We focus on land-fixed homes only. We do not offer chattel loans on rented, leased, or family land, which keeps your loan structured as a real-property mortgage instead of higher-cost chattel financing.
We are probably not the first lender you found while searching, and that is exactly why we are worth a closer look. Most banks either avoid this property type entirely or quietly steer you toward less attractive options. We do the opposite.
You get a small-town bank feel with the muscle of a national 50-state lender, and we work seven days a week around your schedule, not ours. No call-center runaround, no getting passed off to a stranger.
The fastest way to see what you qualify for is our short eligibility quiz. Answer a few questions and we will show you every program that fits your situation, so you know exactly where you stand.
Purchase, cash-out refinance, streamline refinance, and construction on manufactured and modular homes nationwide, with Conventional, FHA, USDA, and VA options.
Most programs look for a 640 middle score. We have gone as low as 580 on FHA and VA purchases of existing homes. Construction starts at 640 across all programs.
Up to 100% on a purchase with VA, which has no monthly mortgage insurance, and with USDA at zero down in eligible rural areas. FHA goes to 96.5% and Conventional to 95%. USDA is for purchase, not construction.
Qualified borrowers can add up to *$50,000 in separate consumer financing, before or after closing, on every loan program we offer.
Never brokered. The same experienced team from pre-qualification to closing, working around your schedule.
Find Out in MinutesSee what you qualify for. Soft credit check, no hard pull.
Check Your Eligibility
Answer "YES" to all four qualifiers below and you are one step closer to some of the strongest manufactured home loan programs we offer. Answer "NO" to any of them and you may still qualify. It simply tells us where to look.
This covers every path we finance. Buying an existing manufactured or modular home together with the land, refinancing a home you already own, or buying a new manufactured or modular home from a dealer through our construction program and setting it on land you own or will own at closing. In all three cases the land ends up in your name, which is what makes the loan a real-property mortgage instead of chattel financing.
If you do not own the land and instead make lease payments on it, the financing is considered a chattel loan, not a mortgage. In that case the home is still classified as a vehicle and taxed as personal property rather than real property by the county assessor. Manufactured and mobile homes on leased land or in trailer parks usually are not permanently affixed to the ground and could be moved, which makes them too risky for a traditional mortgage lender.
To qualify as a real estate mortgage, the home must sit on a permanently attached foundation. That can be post and pier, basement, slab, or a fixed skirted foundation, where the home is tied down, the tongue, axles, and wheels are removed, and the property is de-titled from the DMV.
If you are buying a new manufactured or modular home from a dealer through our construction program, this happens as part of the build. The home is set on its permanent foundation and de-titled at completion, so you meet this requirement by design.
If you already own your home and meet every other qualification but it was never properly de-titled, contact us and we will walk you through that process.
Moving a manufactured home off its foundation after the original factory installation is a common deal killer. Each move changes the structural integrity, adds risk for both you and the lender, and can make the home uninsurable. These loans are not impossible to find, but they are not something our bank can finance.
This date is a firm line. We cannot lend on a home built before June 15, 1976, because it is not insurable under current standards. Most lenders will not explain why, so here it is. Manufactured home building standards changed on that date and have improved every year since, and we want you in the most durable, longest-lasting home possible.
If your home predates June 15, 1976, you would need a local bank or credit union with a larger down payment, or a higher-risk lender willing to finance it.
If you answered "YES" to all four, you passed the first part of our pre-qualification check. If you have a "NO" anywhere, call us or take our eligibility checker so we can review your situation. A "NO" does not mean you are out. It just tells us which area to look at.
Before we get into the programs we offer, let's cover the most important ways to make the process as smooth as possible.
There are no true guarantees in lending, because every loan carries unknowns that only surface as you move through it. Anyone promising a locked-in rate or a sure approval before you have met all conditions and closed is someone to be cautious of. Nothing is final until your loan funds.
The good news is you have far more control over the outcome than you might think, whether you are building a new manufactured or modular home through our construction program, buying an existing manufactured home, or refinancing the one you already own. Here is how to put the odds in your favor.
Getting pre-qualified is only the first step. It does not lock in the rate, terms, or program you were quoted. A pre-qualification is a snapshot of where you stand today, and the longer you wait to act on it, the more chances that snapshot has to change. Time works against every borrower on every type of loan.
The faster you move, the more likely you are to close on the program and rate you actually wanted. This holds true across all three paths we finance: construction of a new home from a dealer, purchase of an existing home, and refinance.
Rate locks expire. Most rate locks run 30 days, because shorter locks earn more competitive pricing. If your lock expires because items came back slowly, you may pay a fee to extend it or get bumped to a higher rate. With rates moving the way they have been, a higher rate can shrink the loan amount you qualify for, and a long enough delay can force you to re-qualify from scratch. Construction borrowers should watch this closely, since build timelines run longer and managing your lock window matters even more.
Loan programs can disappear. We have watched programs vanish overnight. Investors change their risk appetite and pull programs with little or no notice. The approval in your hand today is not guaranteed to exist next month, which is exactly why acting on it now protects you. This applies equally to construction, purchase, and refinance programs.
Your job or income could change. A layoff, a pay cut, or even a voluntary job change can put your closing at risk if it happens while the file sits. Any shift in employment or income can come back as less favorable terms or, in some cases, a denial. The shorter your timeline, the less exposure you have to this.
Your credit score could change. Last-minute credit shifts happen all the time. A maxed-out card, a missed payment, or a newly filed judgment can all move your score before closing. If your credit no longer matches the terms you were approved under, underwriting may require you to re-qualify or cancel the loan. Closing quickly keeps your approved credit profile intact.
Choose a lender you trust, then apply to get pre-qualified. Make sure they actually offer the program you need, whether that is construction for a new manufactured or modular home, a purchase of an existing home, or a refinance. If a lender does not sound confident they can close your specific program, or cannot point to real experience and reviews doing it, keep looking. You are welcome to read our reviews to see how we handle these loans.
Lock your rate, then move fast. Once you are pre-qualified, request your rate lock and return every requested item to your lender as quickly as you can. Your part of the process is not finished when you think you have sent enough. It is finished when the loan closes. Treat every document request as urgent.
Own your timeline. Rates have been climbing, and waiting too long can leave you with a higher rate and a smaller loan amount than if you had locked in sooner. It is your job to meet every requirement and keep the file moving, not the loan officer's job to hold it open indefinitely or pay for lock extensions out of pocket. Rate locks cost money, because your lender is reserving both the funds and the rate for you. Move fast, protect your lock, and you protect yourself from a delay that could cost you thousands.
We lend on five styles of factory-built homes, whether you are building new through our construction program, buying a new home from a dealer, purchasing an existing home, or refinancing the one you already own. In every case the home must be over 400 square feet and set on a permanently approved foundation.
A manufactured home that arrives in one or two sections, more than 400 square feet, that fits together and is permanently affixed on site. On a double-wide, the seam down the middle is covered and hidden so cleanly you would never know it was there. To qualify, the home must sit on a permanently approved foundation with the tongue and axles removed.
A manufactured home built in three sections and larger than a double-wide. A custom triple-wide usually delivers more living space, like extra bedrooms, a larger entertaining area, or a full master suite. These larger homes can sometimes sit on a full basement foundation, though not always.
The rarest style, built from four sections for families who want the most square footage possible. Think multiple bedrooms, large living areas, and the same requirement to be permanently affixed to an approved foundation.
Modular homes are built in sections, called modules, inside a controlled factory and then assembled on your land. Unlike manufactured homes, they are not limited to the single, double, triple, or quad-wide format. Modules combine into many layouts, including two-story and multi-story designs, attached garages, and custom footprints that look identical to a site-built home once finished.
Here is the key difference. A modular home is classified as a single-family home from day one, not as a manufactured home. It never carries a vehicle title, so there is no de-titling step, and it does not face the same restrictions manufactured homes do. Every program available to a single-family home extends to modular, including purchase, construction through our build program, and refinance.
These are not traditional manufactured or mobile homes, but they are often confused with them because of how they are built. Many qualify as modular or site-built single-family homes, while others are assembled in a controlled factory environment much like a manufactured home. The right program depends on how the home is classified. Learn more about barndominium loans here.
There are four program types: Conventional, FHA, USDA, and VA. Which one fits is usually driven by your goals, and also by factors like property location, loan amount, borrower status, and whether you are buying, building, or refinancing a manufactured or modular home. Each program has its own set of products underneath it, and each works a little differently.
Conventional loans are not insured by the government and usually require a stronger equity position to qualify. There is no 100 percent conventional financing for manufactured homes, but you can go up to 95 percent on both purchases and cash-out refinances. This product is often the right call when you have a larger down payment, like 20 percent to avoid mortgage insurance on a purchase, or when the equity in your home is below 80 percent on a refinance.
Why pay mortgage insurance if you have enough equity to qualify without it? Just know that conventional loans typically require a higher credit score and a lower debt-to-income ratio than their FHA, USDA, and VA counterparts.
FHA stands for the Federal Housing Administration, a government agency designed to expand homeownership for borrowers with lower credit scores, lower income, and higher debt ratios. Because of that, FHA loans carry mortgage insurance, and it does not automatically drop off once you fall below 80 percent. To remove it, you refinance out of the FHA loan. For borrowers putting little down, FHA is a strong option.
Our manufactured FHA loan allows up to 96.5 percent on an existing home purchase, so you can get in for as little as 3.5 percent down. With the FHA 203k, you can buy a home and renovate it at the same time, in some cases financing above the agreed purchase price to set the home up the way you want. FHA cash-out plans allow up to 80 percent cash-out for consolidating debt. And the FHA loan pairs with an FHA construction loan to combine the land purchase and new home build into one streamlined path, which gives buyers more flexibility than traditional construction lending. FHA loan limits vary by your property's county.
USDA loans are backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand homeownership in qualifying rural communities. To qualify, the home you buy, build, or refinance must sit in a qualifying area. USDA loans require mortgage insurance, but the monthly amount is currently lower than a comparable FHA loan.
USDA allows up to 100 percent financing for brand-new manufactured homes in all 50 states, as long as you meet the minimum credit score and a debt-to-income ratio lower than FHA requires. Qualifying areas exist in all 50 states and can include large tracts of land. One important note: USDA is not currently funding purchases on used manufactured homes except in a few qualifying pilot states, so always ask us before putting a USDA contract on a used home.
A couple more things to know. USDA does not allow cash-out or debt consolidation under any circumstances. Its renovation program exists but tends to be limited, so if you need improvements, ask us about up to *$50,000 in additional in-house consumer financing before or after closing. We also offer construction loans for borrowers who want to build their home and buy their land at the same time, with USDA financing available on the final take-out loan. USDA has maximum income limits based on household size, but no maximum loan amount.
The VA home loan offers some of the best benefits available to Veterans and their spouses. Of all manufactured loan programs, the VA loan delivers the highest loan-to-value, competitive interest rates, and no mortgage insurance at all, which is why more eligible Veterans should use it whenever they can.
Occasionally a realtor will steer a borrower away from this loan type, and that is usually a sign you are working with the wrong realtor, because VA is among the strongest government-backed programs available. Every VA program allows 100 percent or more in financing. That includes purchase, cash-out, debt consolidation, the VA IRRRL streamline refinance, and the VA Renovation Loan, which we now offer up to $50,000 while many lenders still cap structural and interior renovations at $35,000. We also offer the full 100 percent one-time-close construction loan, so you buy your land and home in a single loan instead of three separate transactions.
VA loans require fewer reports on manufactured homes, so they tend to move faster, though we move quickly on every product type. You can also access large tracts of land and certain exceptions you will not find in conventional, FHA, or USDA programs. There are no location or income restrictions on a VA loan, though there are DTI and loan amount limits based on where you buy.
You may already know which program you need. If you are still learning, here is a plain-English breakdown of each product, who it fits, and how it works across buying, building, and refinancing.
A purchase loan is for buying a primary residence, second home, or investment property. We offer Conventional, FHA, USDA, and VA purchase loans on manufactured and modular homes, with financing available up to $10 million.
A standard purchase loan fits a home that is already built, and it can also be paired with a construction or renovation program when you want to build new or improve as you buy. Through our in-house homebuyer assistance program, eligible borrowers can access up to 101.5 percent financing in 49 states, with New York excluded, and you do not have to be a first-time buyer to qualify.
A cash-out refinance lets you pull equity from your home as cash, whether for personal use or to consolidate credit cards and other debt into one lower monthly payment. You trade equity for cash and, in many cases, a lower total monthly obligation. We offer Conventional, FHA, and VA cash-out manufactured and modular home loans.
A quick note on home equity loans and HELOCs, since borrowers often ask. True home equity loans and HELOCs on manufactured homes are rare across the industry, and we handle them only by exception, typically doublewide or larger, never singlewide, capped near 80 percent loan to value, and approved case by case through senior management review for borrowers with strong credit and high equity. For almost everyone, a cash-out refinance is the reliable way to access equity, which is why it leads this section. If you own both your home and the land under it, your options open up. If you lease your lot, equity lending is generally not available. We will tell you which path actually fits your situation.
A streamline is strictly for lowering your interest rate or adjusting your loan term. No cash-out, debt consolidation, or renovation is allowed. We offer Conventional, FHA, USDA, and VA streamline refinances. Each program names it differently. Conventional calls it a Rate and Term refinance, FHA has the FHA Streamline, and VA offers the Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan, known as the VA IRRRL.
We offer rehab and renovation financing on modular and all other eligible property styles, usable on a purchase or refinance even if you owe close to 100 percent of your home's current value. Because we run these in-house as portfolio programs, we can finance up to $2 million in renovation work, well beyond what most lenders offer.
One important note for manufactured homes. We do not currently offer renovation loans on manufactured homes. If you own a manufactured home and want to fund updates, the common workaround is a rate-and-term or cash-out refinance paired with our in-house consumer loan of up to *$50,000, a separate program covered in the note below this list.
You can use renovation funds for flooring, kitchen and bath remodels, structural and safety repairs, and similar improvements. Luxury upgrades are not allowed, including pools, spas, saunas, outdoor fireplaces, and sport courts.
Construction loans are for borrowers ready to choose their land and design a custom home, or for those who already own their lot and want to roll everything into one low-rate loan. This is also the path when you are buying a new manufactured or modular home from a dealer and setting it on land you own or will own at closing.
Our flagship is the BuildBuyRefi Hybrid Construction Loan, an in-house program built to beat the older one-time close structure for most borrowers. Instead of the three separate loans a traditional construction project requires, the Hybrid can close in as little as one or two closings, with one set of closing costs, one appraisal, and no separate qualifying at each stage. Borrowers with a 640 or higher credit score can build the home they want, where they want it, with construction financing available up to $4.5 million.
The Hybrid's biggest advantage is rate flexibility. We prepare both sets of closing documents up front, so your permanent rate stays flexible through completion. If the market improves while your home is being built, you capture the lower rate at the end instead of being locked in from day one. And because we service it in-house, FHA and VA borrowers can later use a streamline refinance on the permanent loan with no second appraisal and no income documentation. We offer up to 100 percent VA and 95 percent Conventional construction financing. For manufactured homes, our construction is offered through the Hybrid program.
You can read more about our construction loan structures, guidelines, and requirements through our sister site, Manufactured Nationwide.
A jumbo loan applies when your loan amount exceeds standard Conventional, FHA, USDA, or VA limits, which can happen in high-cost areas or on large tracts of land. Rates are typically a bit higher and the loan-to-value is often lower, since jumbo financing requires a stronger equity position.
We offer jumbo financing two ways. Our in-house portfolio jumbo serves borrowers across property types and scenarios, including 1-4 family, second home, and investor purchases, with bank-statement income options for those who qualify outside traditional documentation. For eligible Veterans, the VA Jumbo is the standout, carrying no mortgage insurance and requiring the smallest down payment of any jumbo option.
Jumbo manufactured homes are still rare, though they are becoming more common in coastal markets and areas where land values have climbed sharply. High loan amounts are far more common on modular homes than manufactured. Our VA option also lets eligible borrowers access capital against manufactured homes in high-cost areas where Conventional and FHA cannot. There are no 100 percent jumbo programs available today.
A reverse mortgage lets eligible homeowners receive payments from their home equity instead of making monthly mortgage payments. Borrowers are generally 62 or older with a home that is paid off or close to it. These are most often used by homeowners on a fixed income who want to tap equity or eliminate a monthly mortgage payment. Reverse mortgages on manufactured homes are uncommon, and we handle them through our in-house reverse mortgage specialists. If this is a fit for your situation, ask us and we will connect you with the right banker.
If you have found a manufactured or modular home on significant acreage, do not let it slip away because a realtor is steering you off it. We offer FHA, USDA, and VA programs built to handle larger tracts of land. They are not making more of it, so when the right parcel comes along, we want to help you finance it.
Love your smaller home and the land it sits on? Put it on a permanent foundation and finance it with a low-payment manufactured mortgage. Conventional, FHA, USDA, and VA all allow financing on manufactured homes that meet or exceed the 400 square foot minimum. One thing to plan for. The appraiser needs comparable properties to value the home, so talk with your realtor and loan officer early when financing a small-square-footage home on large acreage, since comps can be harder to find.
Qualified borrowers can access up to *$50,000 in separate, unsecured funds, underwritten in-house alongside any loan program we offer, whether you are buying, refinancing, or building. It does not depend on your equity and cannot be used for the down payment. One family even used it to place a small home for a relative on the same land as their new build.
See if you qualify for the extra $50,000 alongside your loan.
Check Your Eligibility*Qualification for up to $50,000 is for qualified borrowers and can be applied to all loan programs. This is a separate unsecured consumer loan underwritten in-house at the same time as your mortgage. Proceeds cannot be used for a down payment. Contact your banker for applicable rates, terms, and conditions.
Step 1: Choose the loan program you want, then enter your details below.
Home and Loan Details
Cash-to-Close Details
For most manufactured loans, we look for a minimum middle credit score of 640. Your middle score is the middle of the three numbers reported by the credit bureaus, not the average and not the highest.
Your rate depends on many factors, and rates move daily, sometimes more than once a day, so a quote today will likely look different tomorrow unless you have locked it in.
As a rule, a 640 score sees a slightly higher rate than a 680 or 720, because investors reward higher scores with better pricing. A higher score signals lower credit risk, and lower risk earns a lower rate.
If you buy now at a higher rate with a lower score, you are not stuck there. Many borrowers raise their score within six months to a year, even after a 100 percent loan, and we work with our existing clients to review market conditions and offer an internal streamline refinance when it makes sense. A streamline is the most effective way to lower your rate, and in most cases it requires no new appraisal, since you are only reducing your rate or term. Some streamlines, like the VA IRRRL, look at whether your overall financial picture has improved rather than leaning on your credit report.
In some cases, yes. We have closed loans with scores as low as 580 on VA manufactured purchases and FHA purchases of existing homes. Buying a new home from a dealer requires a 640 minimum. Below 640 it gets more difficult, and here is why.
The rate climbs too high. Pricing adjustments for lower scores raise the cost of the loan sharply. Because we offer government-backed programs, we avoid loans that cross into what the government defines as high-cost territory, since that works against you.
Thin or unacceptable credit. Sometimes a borrower has limited trade lines, or trade lines that do not meet current underwriting guidelines. This can happen even at a 640. Underwriters need to see a track record of on-time payments to confirm you are a low risk to default.
You may be closer to a better score than you think. If you are sitting just under 640, a little credit work can lift you over the line and into a better rate. You often do not need a third-party credit repair company, since today's lenders have tools to show you exactly which moves help most. Putting in that work can earn a lower rate and qualify you for a larger loan with better home options than settling for worse terms now.
We accept nearly every income type when verifying and approving these loans. The five most common are below.
W2 income, full-time and part-time
Self-employed income
Active military income
Retirement, pension, and regular 401k disbursement income
Social Security and disability income
One critical point on employment. Any change in your job status during the loan, such as being let go or switching jobs, is grounds for denial or re-underwriting. Avoid changing jobs while your loan is in process, and if there is even a chance something might change, tell your loan officer right away.
Do not assume a better job offer will be fine. Changes like these make underwriters nervous, trigger more documentation, and can delay your closing, cost you your rate lock, or even lose your purchase escrow. Being upfront with your loan officer from the start saves you thousands in lost time and money.
Every determined borrower wants the same thing, an excellent rate and the right loan program. We offer competitive, low, fixed-rate mortgages for manufactured and modular homes that rival what most of our competition can put in front of you.
So why do other lenders, and even your local bank, quote higher rates, shorter terms, or bigger down payments? The short answer is that they are not experts in these loans. Here is the longer answer.
Most lenders, brokers, and banks carry only a handful of programs, nothing close to the range of manufactured and modular products we offer. Because this is a niche they dabble in rather than specialize in, their rates often run higher and their terms shorter. Many also cap loan-to-value low, because they still treat this property type as undesirable, which inflates the risk in their eyes and the cost in yours.
In this space, experience is everything. At many lenders, the loan officer handling your file may never have closed a manufactured or modular loan, which is a dangerous mix on a property type with this many moving parts. You want a banker who knows how to navigate these homes, and most of ours bring 15 to 30 years of experience lending on exactly these property types.
Your local bank or credit union may act like they are doing you a favor by keeping your business, when the truth is they do not want this property type on their books. That is often why they push you toward a larger down payment or a higher rate while calling it an exception to their guidelines. Their reluctance, dressed up as loyalty, ends up costing you more. We take the opposite approach. We seek out these loans and build our programs around them.
Here is the truth. When a broker, bank, or lender offers a worse program on a manufactured home, that is a statement about the lender, not the property. They are simply not the right bank for this home. The property can be excellent and still get a bad offer from someone who does not understand it.
So ask yourself: Why pay more when you could pay less? Why wait longer to close when you could close faster? Why settle for a lender who rarely touches these loans when you could work with one who specializes in them? Whether you are buying an existing home, refinancing the one you have, or building new by purchasing from a dealer and placing it on your own land, the home is worth it. You just need the right lender behind it. Here are three reasons these homes are a smart move.
Most manufactured homes simply cost less than a comparable stick-built home, and that lower price often buys more home, not less. For the same money, you can get upgraded features many buyers in pricier stick-built neighborhoods do not have: jetted tubs, stainless steel appliances, front and rear decks, skylights, and more bedrooms and bathrooms. And it is brand new, rather than 50 or 100 years old like much of the existing housing stock in many parts of the country.
Manufactured and modular homes are built indoors in a controlled environment, so the structure is never exposed to rain, wind, snow, or hail during construction. Stick-built homes use treated lumber meant to handle the elements, but exposure during the build still leaves room for defects. On top of that, because these homes ship in sections, they must pass quality-control testing that a typical stick-built home never goes through. If you want one of the cleanest, most precisely built homes on the market, factory-built is hard to beat.
When you buy a new manufactured or modular home from a dealer and set it on land you own or will own at closing, you are not inheriting someone else's choices. You pick the floor plan, the layout, the finishes, and the features that matter most, then place the home exactly where you want to live, whether that is a quiet lot, family land you are purchasing, or acreage with room to grow. Factory-built homes are also typically built faster than a comparable stick-built home, because the home goes up indoors on a controlled schedule while your site work is prepped at the same time, which means less waiting and a clearer path to move-in. Our Hybrid Construction Loan rolls the land and the build into as little as one or two closings, so the financing is as streamlined as the home itself.
A quick note on equity. Because manufactured and modular homes often cost less and sit on land you own, some borrowers find they build equity sooner than expected once the home and land are combined into a single appraised value. Equity is never guaranteed and depends on your purchase, your market, and your area, but starting from a lower price point can work in your favor.
Most of these apply to every program. A gold tag means the reason applies to construction loans only, and a navy tag means it applies to a specific program or transaction type.
Credit score below the program floor. We look for a 640 middle score on most programs, as low as 580 on FHA and VA purchases of existing homes, and 640 on construction. A score under your program floor needs work before applying.
Thin credit profile. A high score on only one or two tradelines, or tradelines too new to season, may not satisfy underwriting.
Singlewide or chattel home type. Singlewide manufactured homes and homes not permanently fixed to land do not qualify for our real-property mortgages on any program.
Land not titled or parceled in your name. Leased land, rented lots, mobile home park lots, and family land that is not in your name and parceled for the property cannot be used.
Appraisal comes in low. On a purchase the home must appraise at or above the price, and on construction the appraisal is based on the finished home. Specialty styles and large-acreage properties with few comparable sales can appraise low and reduce the eligible loan.
Lender fees inflate the loan past the appraisal. When administrative fees are baked into the loan, the total can climb above what the home appraises for. This is exactly the trap our no-admin-fee structure avoids.
Income that cannot be documented as stable. A recent job change, reduced hours, or self-employed tax write-offs that lower qualifying income can sink a file that looked strong on paper.
Debt-to-income ratio too high. Hidden or revolving debt found in underwriting can push the ratio past program limits.
Large unsourced deposits. Any deposit above the underwriter's threshold within the documentation period must be sourced and explained.
Down payment or reserve source issues.Purchase & Construction Funds must be documented, and gift funds have limits. Unseasoned money that appeared recently raises questions.
Incomplete builder package.Construction Missing plans, missing specs, a budget without a contingency line, or a builder who does not pass approval review will stall or stop a file.
Buyer acting as the contractor.Construction We do not allow self-build, self-contracting, or family builders. The work has to be done by an approved builder.
Ineligible property type. Container homes, geodomes, tiny homes under the size minimum, A-frames, mixed-use, and commercial projects do not qualify on any program.
New York dealer manufactured restriction.New Dealer Homes New dealer manufactured homes are not available in New York, though modular and site-built construction is.
Credit or employment changes before closing. New debt, a missed payment, or a job change during the process can re-trigger underwriting and delay or cancel the loan.
If buying your home means purchasing land, or you need to sell a property first, our Real Estate Commission Savings Program can keep thousands of dollars in your pocket. Through our participating agent network, eligible buyers and sellers reduce the commission on the represented side by up to 30%, in all 50 states, with full-service representation from offer to close.
See the full breakdown and your state's rules in our Commission Savings guide.
Check Your EligibilityTap any item to mark it complete. Files that arrive with these in hand close faster and run into fewer surprises in underwriting. Not every section applies to every program. The Land sections apply when you are buying or refinancing, and the Builder section applies to construction only.
THE FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH OR ACTING ON BEHALF OF THE FHA, USDA, VA, OR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
*Subject to credit approval. Terms and conditions may apply. Property insurance is required on all loans secured by property.
*No SSN required. No credit pull. No risk. The info you share on this eligibility form is only used to check general eligibility against our banks loan programs — based on what you tell us. We never pull your credit (not even a soft pull), and we don’t ask for sensitive data like your Social Security number at this stage. Your information is never sold. If you decide to move forward, your banker will walk you through next steps and confirm before running any credit check. Until then, it’s 100% no-pressure, no-obligation.
*Messaging and Data Rates May Apply.
*VA eligibility is required for VA loan products. USDA loans are only available in USDA-eligible areas as designated by the USDA.
*We do not offer new dealer-manufactured home loans in New York, but we do offer modular and site-built land and home construction.
*Qualification for up to $50,000 extra is for qualified borrowers and can be applied to all loan programs. This is a separate unsecured consumer loan we will underwrite in-house at the same time as your requested mortgage loan. Please contact your banker to request this program and the applicable rates, terms, and conditions. Consumer unsecured lending programs prohibit loan proceeds from being used for down payment.
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†Subject to applicable law and lender approval, when represented by one of our participating real estate brokerage companies during the purchase or sale of a home or land, eligible Consumers may receive a rebate of up to thirty percent (30%) off of the fee to be received by the participating real estate brokerage company representing the respective Consumer, at closing, which rebate will be applied exclusively toward paying down that Consumer’s applicable closing costs. In no event shall any rebate be greater than the aggregate of all closing costs. Issuance of a rebate is subject to a participating real estate brokerage company’s receipt of its fee. The following states condition, or do not permit, the granting of a rebate by real estate brokerage companies (list is subject to change at any time): Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Tennessee. No remuneration is paid to The Federal Savings Bank or to any of our Bankers. This is a free program we offer exclusively to help our consumers save on their real estate transactions.
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