Unique properties
Manufactured, Mobile and Barndominium Loans
Pre-1976 mobile homes. No acreage limit. Barndominiums. The properties normal lenders will not touch, financed through programs built for exactly that.
Some properties are perfectly good homes and completely unfinanceable through normal channels. A 1972 double-wide on five acres. A metal-shell house someone built themselves. A home in the desert that no agency underwriter wants to comp.
These are not bad loans. They are just outside the box the agencies drew. That is what a broker is for.
Manufactured and mobile homes on owned land
| Home type | Single-wide or double-wide |
| Land | Must be owned, financed together with the home |
| Age of home | No age restriction. Pre-1976 accepted |
| Acreage | No limit |
| Maximum loan-to-value | 75%, covering home and land together |
| Purpose | Purchase or refinance, including cash-out |
| Income history | Only 12 months |
| Prepayment penalty | None |
The pre-1976 thing, explained
HUD's construction and safety standard for manufactured housing took effect on 15 June 1976. Homes built before that date are not HUD-code homes, and conventional, FHA and VA lending will generally not finance them.
That single line has stranded a lot of California owners. They have real equity in a home they cannot refinance and cannot easily sell, because no buyer can get a loan on it either.
There are programs with no age restriction. Pre-1976 is accepted. If you have been told your home is too old to finance, that answer came from the limits of whoever you asked, not from the market.
The 12-month income history
Half the usual two-year requirement. This matters for anyone who went self-employed recently and keeps failing the two-year test everywhere else. Self-employed home loans.
What 75% means for you
You need 25% down on a purchase, or you need to keep 25% equity on a refinance. That is real money, and it is the honest trade for a program that will lend on a property nobody else will.
Barndominiums
| Purpose | Purchase only |
| Loan amount | $50,000 to $1,200,000 |
| Maximum loan-to-value | 80% of value |
| Minimum credit score | 660 |
| Gift funds | Not allowed |
| Prepayment penalty | None |
Two constraints to plan around before you fall in love with the property:
No gift funds. Combined with 20% down, that means the money has to be genuinely yours and fully documented. Parents cannot bridge the gap.
Purchase only. There is no refinance and no cash-out on this program. If you already own a barndominium and want to pull equity out, that is a different conversation and I would need to shop it separately.
What I still need to check for your file
I will not guess at numbers I have not confirmed for your situation. Before quoting you, I confirm:
- Minimum credit score on the manufactured and mobile program
- Minimum and maximum loan amounts
- Whether your occupancy type is eligible, primary, second home or investment
- Reserve requirements
- Whether the program is available in your state
- For a barndominium, how the appraiser will classify and comp the property
What this page does not cover
Homes in a park on a land lease. If you do not own the land, this is usually a chattel loan against the home alone, priced more like a vehicle loan than a mortgage. Different product, different lenders. Ask me and I will tell you honestly whether I can help.
Tiny homes on wheels and RVs. Not real property, not a mortgage.
Tell me about the property
Address, year built, single or double-wide, acreage, and whether you own the land. That is enough for a real answer.
Questions people ask
Can you finance a mobile home built before 1976?
Yes. That is the single biggest reason people end up on this page. HUD's construction standard for manufactured housing took effect on 15 June 1976, and most conventional, FHA and VA lending will not finance a home built before that date. There are programs with no age restriction at all, and pre-1976 homes are accepted.
Does the home have to be on land I own?
For this program, yes. The home and the land are financed together as one loan. A home in a park on a land lease is a different kind of financing, usually a chattel loan, and it is not what this page covers.
Is there a limit on how much land?
No acreage limitation. That is unusual and it matters for rural parcels, where agency lending often balks at large lots because the comparable sales get difficult.
What is a barndominium and can you finance one?
It is a residence built inside or as part of a barn-style or metal building shell. Purchase financing is available, up to 80% of value, with a 660 minimum credit score. It is purchase only, so there is no refinance or cash-out option.
How much income history do you need?
On the manufactured and mobile program, only 12 months. That is half the usual requirement, which opens it up to people who recently went self-employed.