Manufactured Home Owners are used to paying more for some reason, but they don’t have to.
Own the Land and Have a Permanent Foundation.
It’s a little pricier up front, but if you take into account the cost of rent and the higher rates offered for the home financing you may find that it’s actually less expensive to buy the property. There are Land + Home Packages out there and once you own the land and the property it’s very likely your property will appreciate instead of depreciate. You are probably in a Manufactured home because you are fiscally responsible and don’t want to get in over your head with an expensive home, it’s still possible to make this an investment though, and not a liability.
If you took the builder or seller’s preferred financing, you can refinance out of it.
I see this a lot, usually there were some upgrades involved and a nicer kitchen makes this seem worthwhile but I’ve seen the rates offered in these situations as high as 4% over the market rates. Get the benefit of the nicer kitchen or some other upgrade, but refinance out of that high rate within 6 months and you’ll save a large amount over the life of the loan.
Obtain a 15 year Term.
The risk on 15 year term is much lower and the rates are much more attractive. Many people who find themselves 3-4 years into a 30 year term with a rate of 7-9% are very please to find out that they can refinance into a 15 year term and keep the same payment. They keep making the same payment, but instead of paying another 26 years, they only have 15 years left. Don't let yourself get locked into a bad mortgage with a high rate. There are alternatives.
Yes, Manufactured home can qualify for HARP and Streamline loans.
If your loan was originally FHA, or if you were lucky enough to close on a conventional loan you may have been told “NO” by your current lender for these special programs. Many servicers will collect the payments on a manufactured home loan, but they won’t refinance them. Just because your current lender doesn’t do these refinance loans, doesn’t mean you don’t qualify for them. Not sure if you have a HARP Eligible Loan? Check it out yourself at http://knowyouroptions.com/home and https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/ check both databases to see if your home is listed there. If it is, you qualify for a HARP loan. If you have an FHA loan, just check your monthly statement and see if it’s listed as FHA. These options are designed to free up cash-flow for you.
Like any traditional mortgage, know your credit scores and have some money in the bank.
A couple of tips here-
If at all possible, keep the balance on your credit cards low. It’s better to spread the debt around. It’s better to have 4 cards all with 60% of the available credit used than it is to have 2 cards paid in full and 2 cards close to the max.
Keep money in savings and try not to transfer balances around. If reserves are needed underwriters like to see that the savings is stable and doesn’t fluctuate. If money is transferred in and out they may ask for a paper trail of the funds, meaning you’d have to show where any money transferred into your account originated.
If you’ve worked on your credit and disputed some items, wait until the disputes are resolved. Lenders want disputed items to be resolved before closing a loan and once the disputes are resolved the credit scores may change and impact the loan approval.
Owning a Manufactured Home doesn't have to equate to higher rates and prepayment penalties. The value and quality of these homes is improving and so are the financing opportunities. If you own the land and the home, the rates and costs are almost identical to a conventional single family home.
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