The age of a mobile home is probably the biggest factor in a mobile home mortgage. If the home is old, outdated, or in poor condition, the lender may not approve the loan. Lenders have various requirements for how old a mobile home can be before the loan will automatically be rejected. Another factor the underwriter will review is whether the home qualifies as real property and not as personal property. Personal property is viewed more in line with a vehicle loan and lenders will not provide home mortgage loans on vehicles. A borrower may instead get a loan on the property that a mobile home may be located on (see the previous section on vacant lots). How the home is titled will often determine a mortgage loan on manufactured housing. Of course, the more substantial the home, the more likely to be considered for a mortgage. Finally, if the property is in a flood zone, it’s going to be much more difficult to get approved for a loan, if any lender will approve at all. That all being said, there are loan programs for mobile and manufactured home with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, and USDA. There are more requirements and steps to loan approval than there would be for a traditional home. In most cases when it comes to mobile home mortgages, the lender may require a shorter loan term. This is because mobile homes depreciate in value similarly as a car or recreational vehicle, whereas a single-family house will commonly go up in value. Since a mobile home can only go down in value, the lender will want the mortgage paid off sooner than a traditional home. Rural Properties: While the USDA provides very favorable loan terms for houses that are in rural areas, rural properties can still be challenging to finance. One of the main reasons it’s difficult is
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