Financing

There are multiple financing options available. The most common question is, “Can I finance 100% of my home?” No…There are no 100% financing options for mobile or manufactured homes. Most lenders will require a 10% (of the purchase price) down payment for newer multi-sectional manufactured homes and good credit scores, or a 20% down payment for older multi-sectional manufactured homes; single wide homes sometimes require a 30% down payment. There are now a couple of 5% down lenders that have more strict credit guidelines and require higher credit scores. The interest rates are usually higher. There are also first time homebuyer options that help with financing a mobile home or a residential home.

The process usually takes 30 days or less to get preapproved and fund your loan; provided you are in contract on a home and comply with all necessary requests for documentation, park approval if buying in a mobile home park, etc.

The difference between getting prequalified and preapproved is vast. A preapproval means that you have given the lender all of your tax returns, W-2s, pay stubs and have completed and signed a formal application and various authorization forms so that the lender may pull your credit. Once the lender has gone through the process of assessing your credit, they will tell you how much you can spend on your home purchase. A prequalification means that you have only verbally communicated with a lender about what you earn and have in debt and they give you a very preliminary guess at what you can afford.

If you are trading out your existing home and replacing it with a new one and have significant equity in your existing home or have it paid off, you may not have to put any money down – not even for loan or escrow fees!

In addition to your mortgage payment you may incur other costs, which include your space rent, homeowner dues, taxes and insurance.

Insurance

If you have a loan with a bank, they will require that you pay the full year of insurance in the close of escrow process. You must maintain insurance throughout the life of the loan. Insurance values on homes vary on size, location and age of home. You can also get earthquake insurance added to your policy for additional costs.

Taxes

Taxes vary on homes. Some older homes only pay registration to the Housing and Community Development Agency and some are on the local property tax rolls. The best place to get tax information on mobile homes is at the County Assessor’s office at 831-454-2510 or you can go to the following web site: http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/tax/mobpam.htm