Introduction
Factory-Produced housing comprises residential structures transported to building sites. There are three generally accepted categories of FACTORY-PRODUCED housing, each of which has distinguishable characteristics and meets a unique set of criteria. The three categories are MANUFACTURED, MODULAR and PANELIZED.
Manufactured housing, sometimes referred to as mobile homes, are prefabricated housing units that are put together in standardized sections. It is a large house trailer with a permanent steel chassis (undercarrage with axles) that that can be connected to utilities and can be parked in one place and used as permanent housing. Manufactured homes are usually affixed to a concrete foundation and connected to utilities. Although they may not be as mobile as the word implies, they may be removed from such attachments and hauled to a new location. They are like real property when the units are attached to the earth’s surface, and like personal property when they are detached and moved. The courts generally consider a mobile home as a fixture and thus treat it as real property.
Modular housing also referred to a prefabricated housing is constructed of manufactured components, assembled partly at the site, rather than totally on the site. It is a concept in home construction aimed at producing housing more economically and faster through prefabricating processes. Unlike manufactured housing, modular housing looks like and is sometimes hard to distinguish from a house that is built entirely on site.
Panelized housing consists of or characterized by prefabricated wall, floor, and roof sections that are shipped to and assembled at the building site.
Super Good Cents / ENERGY STAR homes
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is assisting with the promotion of Super Good Cents/ ENERGY STAR energy-efficient manufactured homes. Super Good Cents homes are heated with electricity and are certified by the State Energy Offices where they are manufactured: Idaho, Washington, Oregon, or California.
Manufactured homes have minimum efficiency standards based on the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) code, which is divided into climate regions. Site built homes are subject to state and local building energy codes, which can differ in each state or local municipality. Energy-efficiency levels for Super Good Cents manufactured homes exceed the national HUD code by 40%. The average 1,700 square-foot Super Good Cents manufactured home is 10% more efficient than a comparable Oregon site-built home built to current energy codes.
The Program Standards for Northwestern Energy Efficient Manufactured (NEEM) Home Program can be found by Clicking Here. A list of Builders and Retailers.
Financing Options for Manufactured Homes1
MODULAR HOMES can be financed using the same loan programs as stick-built homes. MANUFACTURED HOMES must be built after 1976 and must be de-titled, to be eligible for financing.
Veteran’s Administration (VA)
- 100% loan-to-value available
- Home can be new or used
- Required to be on a permanent foundation
- Foundation inspection is required
- Can be used in conjunction with Montana Board of Housing (MBOH) programs if borrower is a first time homebuyer and borrower’s household income is under $56,000 for 1-2 people or $64,000 for 3 or more people and purchase price is under $172,632 for existing homes (purchase price can go up to $204,432 for new construction, but loan limit is then $172,632)
Montana Rural Development (RD)
- 100% loan-to-value available
- Property must be outside the city limits of Bozeman
- No loan limit
- Income limit is based on family size
- Home must be new or have a current Rural Development loan on it
- Foundation inspection is required
- Can be used in conjunction with MBOH programs if borrower is a first time homebuyer and borrower’s household income is under $56,000 for 1-2 people or $64,000 for 3 or more people and purchase price is under $172,632 for existing homes (purchase price can go up to $204,432 for new construction, but loan limit is then$172,632)
Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
- Can have a gifted down payment
- 97.75% loan-to-value available
- $172,632 loan amount limit (for a single family home)
- Home can be new or used, but it can only have been moved once (still in original location)
- Required to be on a permanent foundation
- Foundation inspection required
- Can be used in conjunction with MBOH programs if borrower is a first time homebuyer and borrower’s household income is under $56,000 for 1-2 people or $64,000 for 3 or more people and purchase price is under $172,632 for existing homes (purchase price can go up to $204,432 for new construction, but loan limit is then$172,632)
Conventional
- 90% maximum loan-to-value on 30-year terms; 95% on 20-year loan terms
- No purchase price, loan amount, or income limit
- Home can be new or used (no limit on the number of times the home can be moved)
- Not required to be on a permanent foundation (but must be on some kind of a foundation and on land purchased by the borrower) **Please call Chick Hoenig, Sr. Mortgage Consultant, License #000072, Intermountain Mortgage @ 406-522-8800 for specific details**
- No foundation inspection required
- Can be used in conjunction with MBOH programs in borrower is a first time homebuyer and borrower household income is under $56,000 for 1-2 people or $64,400 for 3 or more people and purchase price is under $204,432
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1 - This information was provided by and included here with the permission of Intermountain Mortgage, Bozeman, MT, Chic Hoenig, Sr. Mortage Consultant, License #000072, phone: 406-522-8800
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