You’re Looking To Build, Buy, Refinance, or Renovate A Manufactured Home, So Why Choose BuildBuyRefi Over other Lenders?

First and Foremost, We Provide the most Manufactured loan Programs of any 50-state bank, And We Do So working 7 days a week around Your Schedule, Not Ours!

Respond “YES” to Each Of the top 4 qualifiers, and you Are one step closer to getting Some Of The Hottest Of manufactured home loans BuildBuyRefi has to offer.

Respond “NO” To Any Of These Statements, And You May Still Qualify!

(1). You’re borrowing on land you will own at The time of purchase, or currently own for a refinance.

When you do not own the land and make lease payments on that land, it is considered a chattel loan and not a mortgage. Meaning your property is still classified as a vehicle and not taxed as real property as defined by the county assessor. Manufactured or Mobile homes residing on leased land or trailer parks most likely are not permanently affixed to the ground and could be moved, and therefore too risky for a traditional mortgage lender to lend on.

(2). Your property is on a permanent foundation, no longer classified as a vehicle.

To qualify as a fixed real estate mortgage, your property must be on a permanently attached foundation. The foundation could be post and pier, basement, slab, or fixed skirted foundations where the home has been tied down, tongue, axles, wheels removed, and the property has been de-titled from the DMV. 

If you meet all of these qualifications and your property wasn’t correctly de-titled, contact us, and we will help you through this process.

(3). Your manufactured property has not been moved more than once.

Another deal killer for manufactured homes is moving the property from its foundation after the original factory install. Doing so changes the property's structural integrity, adds risk for the buyer and the lender, and therefore un-insurable. It’s not impossible to get loans for these types of properties, but it is not possible through our bank.

Great, if you answered “YES” to each of these, you passed the first part of our pre-qual test. If you have a “NO” somewhere, call us now, or take our eligibility checker to discuss your situation. Answering “NO” doesn’t mean you won’t qualify; it just means we need to find out which area impacts your request.

Before we discuss the programs we offer, let’s review the most important ways to make the process as smooth as possible.

First, There Are No Guarantees Because There Are Many Unknowns.

Anyone offering you a guarantee is probably someone you want to avoid. It’s not guaranteed until you have met all conditions and closed your loan. But let’s discuss further how you can get the desired results.

You need a Team Designed For Wicked Fast Speed, and here’s why!

Applying and getting pre-qualified for a manufactured loan is only the first step; it doesn’t guarantee you’ll get the rate, terms, or program you were pre-qualified for initially. Many factors go into achieving that low rate and great program you wanted, and that is “the speed at which YOU move.” Time plays against every borrower in a big way with any loan.

Learn the 4 most important reasons to “light the fire” and Take Fast Action on Your manufactured Home Loan Pre-Qualification!

1. Rate Locks Expire: Many loans are locked for 30 days because the shorter term allows you to get competitive rates. If you lose your rate lock by letting it expire or needing to extend it because you took weeks to get the items back, it will cost you more money or a higher rate. With rates recently rising, a higher price could make you no longer eligible for the loan you wanted. A long delay could require you to re-qualify for the loan again.

2. Programs Could Disappear: It’s happened before; we’ve witnessed many loan programs get wiped out overnight. Investors can choose to change their risk portfolio and stop offering programs altogether; that is why moving fast on the approval you have in your hand means taking action.

3. Your Job or Income Status Could Change: What if you lost your job, your income was reduced, or you wanted to take a new job, but it put your loan closing in jeopardy because you took too long? Any changes in your employment status could come back with more unfavorable terms or, worse, a complete loan denial.

4. Your Credit Score Could Dramatically Change: We’ve seen last-minute credit changes happen many times before. A borrower maxes out their credit card for business, they miss a payment because they weren’t paying attention, or judgment was filed for many reasons. Not closing quickly under the same credit terms is another reason underwriters require you to re-qualify or cancel the loan.

Follow These 3 Steps to Get A Competitive, Low, Fixed-Rate Manufactured Home Loan.

1. Find a lender you feel confident in and apply to get pre-qualified from that lender. Make sure the lender has the program you want, and if they don’t sound confident they can close this program and have experience and reviews doing so, then keep looking! You may want to check out our reviews to help give you this confidence.

2. Request a rate lock on your loan once you are pre-qualified and get your lender every item needed as fast as necessary to close your loan so your rate lock doesn’t expire. Your side of the process is only complete when the loan is closed, not when you think you sent enough to satisfy the underwriter's requests.

3. Take responsibility and move fast; as you know, rates have been rising lately. Wait too long, and you could end up with a higher interest rate, therefore qualifying for a smaller loan amount than if you locked in faster on a lower price. It’s your job to ensure you meet all requirements, not the loan officer or lender’s position to hold the file open as long as possible, paying for the rate lock extension out of their pocket. Locks cost money because your lender is reserving the funds and rate you wanted. It’s your responsibility to ensure you move fast as not to let that lock expire, or it could end up costing you thousands.

BuildBuyRefi Will Loan On These 4 Styles Of Manufactured homes.

*Modular homes are not considered manufactured homes, they fall under the same category as Single Family Home and do not have the same restrictions as Manufactured Homes. Every program available to a Single-Family Home extends to Modular.

What Do Conventional, FHA, USDA, & VA Loans Mean, And Which Do I choose?

These terms (Conv., FHA, USDA, VA) refer to the program type, and more often, it is decided based on your goals. These can also be determined by other factors such as location, loan amount, borrower status, and the borrower’s desired transaction request. Each program has a different set of product offerings underneath it that are uniquely different.

These 4 different program types are available Through BuildBuyRefi.

1. Conventional Manufactured Loans

   • The government does not insure conventional loans and typically requires a higher equity position to qualify. There are no 100% Conventional financing programs available for manufactured homes. However, you can go up to 95% on purchases and cash out. This product type is often chosen when you have a more substantial downpayment, like 20% helping you avoid mortgage insurance on a purchase or when the equity in your home is less than 80%. 

   • Why pay mortgage insurance when you have the equity in your property to qualify without it? Conventional home loans require a higher credit score and lower debt-to-income ratio than those of their FHA, USDA, and VA counterparts.

2. FHA Manufactured Loans.

   • FHA stands for the Federal Housing Administration, a government agency devised to help increase homeownership to lower credit scores, income amounts, and a higher debt ratio. Because of this, the FHA loans come with Mortgage Insurance and do not automatically drop off when you get lower than 80%; you will be required to refinance out of an FHA loan if you want to drop the mortgage insurance monthly premium. 

   • However, our manufactured FHA loan allows up to 90% on a purchase, meaning you can get in for as little as a 10% down payment. In other cases like the FHA 203k loans, you could purchase a new home and rehab or renovate simultaneously, in theory going over 100% of the purchase price you agreed upon to design the house how you want it. FHA also allows up to 80% cash out when you want to consolidate debt. Additionally, the FHA loan can be used with our BuildBuyRefi construction loan for homes and land.

   • The FHA has maximum loan amounts depending upon your property’s specific county location.

3. USDA Rural Development Loans For Manufactured Homes.

   • The U.S. Department of Agriculture backs these loans to increase homeownership in qualifying rural communities. To qualify for the home, you buy or refinance it in a qualifying area. Mortgage insurance is also required for USDA loans. However, the monthly MI amount is currently lower than a comparable FHA loan. 

   • Additionally, the USDA allows up to 100% for brand-new manufactured homes in all 50 states as long as you meet the required minimum credit score. Also, your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) must be lower than the FHA requires. However, they allow for large tracts of land, and USDA-qualifying areas exist in all 50 states. USDA is not yet funding purchase loans on used manufactured homes except for a few qualifying pilot states, so be sure to ask us before putting a USDA contract on used manufactured homes. 

   • Other caveats to be aware of are that USDA will not offer a cash-out or debt consolidation under their guidelines under any circumstances. While some lenders offer the USDA renovation program for qualifying upgrades to structure and interior, it tends to be quite limited. If you require improvements, you may want to ask us about accessing up to *$50,000 additional before or after closing. We also have attractive construction loans for borrowers looking to build their own homes and buy their land simultaneously, with USDA financing available on the final take-out loan. The USDA has maximum income limits per number of people per household but does not come with a maximum loan amount limit.

4. VA Manufactured Home Loans For Active Military, Disabled or Retired Veterans, and their spouses.

• The VA home loan benefits are some of the best available to Veterans and their spouses. Of all manufactured loan programs, the VA loan offers the highest loan to value, competitive interest rates and comes with no mortgage insurance at all. This is why more Veterans should take advantage of this program at every chance they can. 

• Sometimes Realtors will turn away this loan type, which means you’re working with the wrong realtor because they are the strongest of all government-backed home loan programs. Every program offered through the VA allows for 100% or higher in loan financing. Purchase, cash-out, consolidation, VA IRRRL streamline the VA Renovation Loan, which we offer now up to $50,000.00, whereas other lenders are still only providing $35,000 for structural rehab and interior renovations. Besides, we also offer the complete 100% OTC construction loan, buy your land and home in one loan, not three separate transactions. 

• The VA home loan comes with fewer reports required for manufactured homes, so it moves much faster, though we are wicked fast on all product types. You will even be able to access large tracts of land and have certain exceptions granted that you will not find in conventional, FHA, or USDA programs. The VA loan has no location or income restrictions, but it has certain DTI and loan amount restrictions based on the areas you buy in.

Our Most Popular Manufactured Home Loan Products & Details.

You most likely already have an idea of what loan program you need, want, or would like to have. But for those who are just learning about these program types, we want to explain them in more detail.

#1. Manufactured Purchase Loans

• A purchase loan is for buying a new primary residence, second home, or investment property. The types of purchase loans we offer are Conventional and government back programs like FHA, USDA & VA manufactured home loans.

• A standard purchase loan is most common for a property that is already built. However, they can be combined with a renovation or a construction loan program. Read more about these programs below.

#2. Manufactured Cash Out & Debt Consolidation Refinance

• A cash-out refi is a quick and straightforward loan. You choose to take cash equity out of your home for personal use, or you're consolidating credit cards or other loans. Thereby you are converting your equity and trading off for a lower monthly payment on all total debt. We have all Conventional, FHA, VA, Manufactured Cash Out Home Loans.

#3. Manufactured Streamline Refinance Loans

• A streamline is strictly for those looking to lower their interest rate or modify their loan term only. No cash-out, debt consolidation, or renovation is allowed with this program. We offer all Conventional, FHA, USDA, and VA streamline refinance manufactured loan types.

• There are streamline programs available for many loan product types. For conventional, it’s the Rate/Term refinance, FHA is called the FHA Streamline, and VA has the VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance, also known as the VA IRRRL Streamline Refi.

Generally, we want a minimum “middle of the 3” credit score On Manufactured Loans To Be Over A 640 FICO.

My middle credit score is above 640; what rate can I get?

Your rate will depend on many factors since rates change daily, sometimes multiple times a day; the quote you receive will most likely be different tomorrow. That is, of course, if you have not locked in your loan.

Borrowers with a 640 credit score may see a little higher rate than those with a 680, 720, and so on. The reason is that investors offer better rates the higher your score is. They do this because those with higher scores have proven lower credit risk than those with higher scores.

Many people who buy a loan with a lower credit score with a higher rate could raise their credit even if they took out a 100% loan six months to a year later. We are constantly working with our existing clients in cases where that happens and reviewing market conditions to offer an internal streamline refinance. 

The streamline refi is the most effective loan used to lower a borrower’s interest rate, and in most instances, it will not require a new appraisal because you are only reducing your interest rate or term. It is also possible to have a lower score, like the VA streamline refinance. This loan looks at your overall financial situation improves and does not rely on your credit report.

Do you loan against bad credit for Manufactured homes?

What is the lowest score you accept?

Can we lend lower than 640? 

In some cases, yes, we’ve done them as low as 600, but it’s tough and let’s explain why.

Typically when a borrower has a score under 640, a few things happen. 

#1. The interest rate we can offer becomes too high.

The pricing adjustments for lower scores and loan amounts become a high risk for the lender. And due to us offering some of the hottest government-backed lending programs, we stay away from dancing with any loan that targets what the government deems to be high costs.

#2. The borrower has limited to no credit, or their credit trade lines are not acceptable to our current underwriting guidelines.

It’s even true that some people can have a 640 credit score with limited trade lines that would not get approved, but it is essential to show our underwriters you can make payments on time and are at low risk for defaulting on your home loan.

#3. The borrower could be a few steps away from a much better credit score.

If your credit score may fall under the 640 line, some credit repair could help you obtain a better rate. In many instances, you don’t have to go through a 3rd party credit repair company, as today’s lenders have tools to help you determine what moves you can make to improve your score. Do what is needed, and not only would you get a lower interest rate, you could qualify for a more substantial loan with better home options than if you settled for borrowing with worse credit.

The 5 Acceptable Income Types When Applying For A Manufactured Home Loan.

While we accept almost every income type when verifying and approving these loans, the two we won’t loan on are stated income loans or bank statement-only loans.

1. W2 Full Time & Part-Time Employees 

2. Self Employed

3. Active Military Income

4. Retirement, Pension, 401k regular disbursement income

5. Social Security or Disability income

It’s important to note that any change during employment status, such as getting fired or switching jobs, is grounds for denial or re-underwriting. You want to avoid any change in your job status while completing your loan, and if there is the slightest chance something might change, you need to speak to your loan officer immediately about this. 

Please do not assume that because you are getting a better offer that it will be approved. Changes like these scare underwriters and increase the amount of documentation you get; it could delay your closing, cost you a rate lock, or lose your purchase money escrow altogether. 

You will save thousands in lost time and money by being as upfront as possible with your loan officer.

The Truly Determined Borrower Ultimately Wants An Excellent Rate & Loan Program. At BuildBuyRefi, We Know We Offer Competitive, Low, Fixed-Rate Mortgages For Manufactured Homes that Rival Our Competition.

Why do other lenders and even my local bank offer rates, shorter terms, or require higher down payments?

That’s a great question!

Short answer because they aren’t the experts in these types of loans.

Longer answer…

The Top 3 Reasons Other Lenders Find It Hard To Compete With BuildBuyRefi In The Manufactured Market.

#1. We have The Most competitive Manufactured and Modular Loan products, rates & loan terms:

• Most lenders, brokers, and banks only have a few programs, certainly nothing near the vast array of manufactured loan products we have. Their rates are higher and loan terms shorter because they can’t touch the monthly volume we produce. They don’t offer high loan-to-value because they still view this property as the less desirable type, increasing their perceived risk.

#2. We’re seasoned veterans For All Manufactured & Modular Programs:

• Most are not seasoned veterans in the manufactured lending sphere, meaning the loan officer you worked with might never have closed one of these properties before, which is a dangerous mix. You need a banker that knows how to navigate these properties, and most of our bankers have 15-30 years of experience lending on these property types.

#3. We want your property type & Actively Seek To Help You:

• Your local bank or credit union may be acting like they are doing you a favor to keep you with them, but they don’t want this property type on their books. They may talk you into putting more money down or taking a higher rate, saying they are making an exception to the guidelines. In this case, their inability to be competitive or desire for your property type is costing you more just by staying loyal.

Just because a broker, bank, or lender offers a worse program doesn’t mean the property is terrible at all. They're unfortunately not the banks for you.

Why pay more when you can spend less? 

Why take longer to close your loan when you can close faster?

Why use a less experienced manufactured lender when you can use the most experienced?

The top 3 reasons to buy or refinance a manufactured home.

#1. Lower price than a stick-built home.

• Most manufactured homes flat-out cost less than a comparable stick-built home, and for that lower cost, you can get many upgraded features in your manufactured home that many buyers in higher stick-built neighborhoods don’t have in their homes. Imagine getting jetted tubs, stainless steel appliances, front and rear decks, skylights, and more bedrooms and bathrooms than a comparably sized stick-built home that is brand new versus 50 or 100 years old like many parts of the country.

#2. Quality is as good as or better than a stick-built home.

• Manufactured homes are built inside in controlled environments, meaning the structure isn't exposed to harsh elements like rain, high winds, snow, or hail during construction. Even though stick-built homes are treated with lumber designed to withstand the elements, there can be defects. So if you want the cleanest, most control-designed house on the market, you will find that modular and manufactured homes built inside a facility far beat their stick-built counterparts. Also, because these properties ship in sections, they must meet and exceed quality control testing that a standard stick-built home doesn’t go through.

#3. Possible to gain equity faster than with a stick-built home.

• It’s entirely possible that because you got such a great deal on the price of your home and where you are putting it on the land you will own. You could have equity starting from day one. Brand new manufactured homes placed on land you own do not depreciate, and when you combine the house and property, you create a new appraised value that, in most cases, is higher than the loans you took out for both.