Manufactured Homes and Mobile Homes – Whats the Difference?

Manufactured Homes are single family dwellings built in a factory after June 15, 1976, in accordance with federal construction standards. According to the Institute for Building Technology and Safety, Manufactured homes are “built as single-family dwellings with units of at least 320 square feet on a permanent chassis”. The placement of Fasssauna mieten each unit on a permanent chassis is done to ensure lifetime transportability of the home. Manufactured homes are constructed in units or sections and qualify as being called Manufactured Homes because of their compliance with the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards that were put into effect June 15, 1976. A Manufactured Home Owner may look for the documentation on their Manufactured Home that ensures that their Manufactured Home was built with these standards by locating the Certification Label and/or Data Plate on their Manufactured Home.

According to IBTS, “The data plate includes the manufacturer’s certification that the home is designed in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s construction and safety standards in effect on the date the home was manufactured. HUD Standards include Body and Frame Requirements, Thermal Protection, Plumbing, Electrical, Fire Safety, and other aspects of the home. The data plate includes the date of manufacture, name and address of the manufacturing plant, manufacturer’s serial number and model, a list of certification labels applied to the home, major equipment, roof load, heating/cooling and wind zone information.” The data plate can typically be found near the Manufactured Home’s main electrical panel or the master bedroom closet door, utility or laundry room door, inside a kitchen cabinet or on the backside of a cabinet door. The Certification Label also contains important information about the Manufactured Home. “The Certification Label is permanently affixed to the exterior of each transportable section” and also serves as the manufacturer’s certification that the home sections were built in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Construction and Safety Standards. All transportable sections of Manufactured Homes built in the U.S. after June 15, 1976 should contain both the Data Plate and Certification Label.

Mobile Homes are defined as homes that were constructed prior to June 15, 1976. In fact, it wasn’t until 1982 when both Federal and California laws were amended to replace the term “Mobile Home” with “Manufactured Home”. The name Mobile Home is still commonly used because of the volume of homes that were built prior to the constructions standards of 1976 and law changes of 1982. A Mobile Home Owner can determine the year their home was built by locating the Data Plate or Certification Label as mentioned above, or by locating their Certificate of Title and Registration Card that was issued by The Department of Housing at the time of purchase.

Manufactured Home Or Modular Home Subdivisions – Are They For Me?

A manufactured home subdivision is a residential community of individually owned subdivision lots where the dwellings consist of manufactured homes that are recognized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under the same standards as a traditional site built home. In the past, manufactured homes were usually found in either rental parks or lots bought by the purchaser separately from the home. In a manufactured home subdivision, the home and property are purchased together in the same transaction just like a traditional stick built home. A modular home subdivision is a community of homes built in a separate remote facility in sections and transported to the subdivision site to be assembled. The subdivider either installs or ground-sets the home to the land in the case of a manufactured home or assembles the sections and “builds” the home on the property in the case of a modular home.

Today’s buyers are now seeing both manufactured and modular homes as an affordable but stylish alternative to conventional stick built homes. Developers are considering them more in their subdivision planning and financial institutions are making it easier to provide financing for them. Changes in how the land and dwelling is purchased in a package deal and how most lenders are treating the financing the same as conventional real estate financing gives buyers more options when purchasing a home.

In addition to the new stylish looks and amenities offered in today’s manufactured and modular homes, another attraction is that many of the subdivisions offer special facilities such as those offered in site-built residential communities with home owners associations. There are often common areas that include recreation facilities, swimming pools, a clubhouse or even golf courses. Because they are a fully platted subdivision, they are replete with curbs, gutters and paved roads.

There are Differences between Manufactured Homes, Mobile Homes and Modular Homes.

• A manufactured home is built entirely in the factory. This type of home is traditionally less expensive than a site built or a modular home and includes transport to the site and installation (ground setting). Manufactured homes used to be called mobile homes or trailers but today’s manufactured homes don’t resemble the old mobiles of the past. They are still built on a non-removable steel chassis and are transported to the site on their own wheels. A double-wide or multi-sectioned home is joined together once it reaches the property on which it will be set. A manufactured home may or may not be placed on a permanent foundation but inspectors must approve any work at the site just as they would a stick built home. Most traditional subdivisions do not allow manufactured homes.
• A mobile home is a term used for manufactured homes built prior to June 15, 1976 when the HUD code went into effect (sometimes called a “Pre-HUD Mobile”).
• A modular home is divided into multiple modules or sections which are manufactured in a remote facility, meeting state or local codes where the home will be located, and then delivered to their intended site of use for assembly. The sections are transported to the building site on trucks where local contractors take over and join the sections together, “building” the home. Local inspectors must approve all work and ensure it is up to code. Modular homes are generally less expensive than site-built stick homes but not always. Once built, they tend to last as long and appreciate in value much the same as a standard site built home. The term modular home is sometimes confused with a manufactured home and they may be restricted from regular residential subdivision zoning.

Manufactured and modular home subdivision developments are gaining popularity in areas traditionally used for retirement living or second home purchases. Developers are finding that these homes can be a more efficient and affordable alternative to traditional onsite construction. Subdivision development projects are able to be completed faster for less money, giving subdividers and developers a larger return on their investment in a shorter frame of time than a traditional stick built subdivision.

Financing for the buyer of a manufactured home is usually a conventional home mortgage. The home is financed and purchased as real property with the home and land financed together. The title to the home is surrendered to the local Sauna mieten Department of Motor Vehicles and an affidavit is recorded, thereby “affixing” it to the land. The home becomes real property instead of personal property and will be taxed accordingly. Lending institutions recognize that the construction loan draw process for a modular home is dramatically shorter due to the shorter construction cycle and reduced inspections, making construction loans typically less costly.

As in any other real estate purchase, buyers should always do their due diligence before making the decision to purchase in a manufactured or modular home subdivision so they fully understand the costs and fees involved, what services may or may not be available and exactly what restrictions on the land may be in place.