Manufactured Home Loans in Condo Park Communities

Park communities represent the most popular setting for manufactured homes. For loan purposes, lenders generally require that the owner of the home also own the land upon which the home sits. Until recently the park also had to be classified as a owner-owned Subdivision or a Planned Unit Development in order for manufactured homes to qualify for FHA-insured loans.
Many mobilehome parks and manufactured home communities began as land lease developments but as residents desired a greater control over their living situation and costs associated with their residences, many parks converted to resident ownership. Most of these used the process of the condominium conversion. Unfortunately, because of the classification,this property type was ineligible for FHA-insured loans including Reverse Mortgages or HECM. Fortunately, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) granted authority to add individual manufactured housing units located in condominium projects to HUD for FHA nsurance but the process from Congressional authority to actual loan processing is still unraveling.
Recently with the issuance of Mortgagee Letter 2009-16 Manufactured Housing Policy Guidance http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/letters/mortgagee/, condo parks have now been eventually neglared eligible for FHA-insured financing. Or at least according to HUD they are now eligible! But one shouldn’t jump to fast! First, lenders have not yet announced they are ready to accept the product and thusfar there are no announced guidelines or underwriting procedures for handling these loans. Remember, even though FHA is accepting the product for insurance, FHA is not the actual funding source, only the insurance entity. Until there is clarity from the individual lenders how they will process the loans, everything remains at a standstill. Lenders may impose additional guidelines above and beyond what is required by HUD.
HUD’s announcement states that until they can send out updated condominium project approval guidelines for manufactured condominium projects, that the project approval is subject to the requirements found in HUD Manual 4150.1, Chapter 11. The Mortgagee Letter goes on to specify that their “Spot Loan Approval” process is not available (as outlined in Mortgagee Letter 1996-41) and that all manufactured housing condominium projects must obtain full approval by the applicable Home Ownership Center (HOC) for HUD that has authority over the geographical area where the project is located. Since none of the condo projects are on a HUD approved list, the approval process may take months.
Chapter 11 of the 4150.1 manual is approximately 32 pages long and encompasses everything from owner occupancy requirements, to common facility completion requirements; legal review of the condominium documents to phasing eligibility; review of the insurance of the project to management agreements and operating budgets and much more. Different things are required depending on the age of the project. In addition to the 4150.1 for condominium projects, the property also has to meet HUD’s guidelines for manufactured housing which, per HUD guidelines, includes:
# Must have a floor area of not less than 400 square feet.
# Must be classified and subject to taxation as real estate.
# Must be built on and remains on a permanent chassis.
# Must be above the 100 year return frequency flood elevation.
# Must be built after June 15, 1976.
# The foundation system must meet the guidelines published in the Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing, dated September 1996.
A certification attesting to compliance must be obtained from a licensed professional engineer.
# The manufactured home must not have been installed or occupied previously at any other site or location.
# Additions or structural modifications must not put the home at risk.
This is a time for borrowers to carefully explore their options and to find companies that specialize in the manufactured home loan process and will not move forward with appraisals, engineer’s certifications or other steps until all the stars align in favor of the homeowner and borrower. The Manufactured Home Lending Source website: www.themanufacturedhomelendingsource.comwill be an ongoing resource for update information for homeowners and realtors.