Manufactured Home Interest Rates | Loans 2025

How to get the best manufactured home loan rates

Manufactured home loan rates in 2025 are holding steady, offering real opportunities for first-time home buyers looking for affordable homeownership.

Whether you’re financing a single-wide, double-wide, or modular home, the home’s foundation and its classification as real or personal property both affect the mobile home interest rates you qualify for.

But with the right manufactured home loan, you can still find competitive mortgage rates in 2025.

In this article (Skip to...)

• Manufactured home interest rates
• How to get the best rates
• Mortgage loan options
• Qualification requirements
• Manufactured vs mobile
• FAQ

Manufactured home loan rates 2025

As of early 2025, manufactured home loan rates are starting around 6.75%, which is about the same as last year. For example, lenders like First Shore Federal have offered rates ranging from 6.75% to 9.00%. It’s not rock-bottom, but manufactured home rates remain competitive in today’s market.

While mobile home financing rates can be higher than standard home loans, knowing what affects your rate can help you find a deal that fits your budget.

Manufactured home mortgage rates vary based on several factors, including:

• Credit score
• Loan term and type (fixed rate or adjustable rate)
• Home size (single-wide, double-wide, etc.)
• Condition and age of the home
• Down payment amount
• Placement (permanent foundation vs. not)
• Whether the home is classified as real property or personal property

Some lenders offer promotional rates for first-time home buyers, but no matter your experience level, it pays to compare quotes. Manufactured home financing rates can vary more than you’d think.

How to get the best manufactured home loan rates

Getting a great rate on a manufactured home loan isn’t just about luck. It’s about strategy. Lenders look at a mix of financial, property, and loan details when setting your rate.

Here are five key steps to help you secure the best manufactured home loan rates.

1. Buy a home on a permanent foundation

Lenders tend to offer lower manufactured home mortgage rates when the home is installed on a permanent foundation. This setup makes the home more secure and less risky from a lending perspective. In many cases, it also allows the property to qualify for more favorable loan programs, including some government-backed options.

2. Make sure the home is classified as real property

A home classified as real property instead of personal property typically qualifies for lower interest rates and better loan terms. Real property status usually applies when the home is permanently affixed to land you own. Lenders treat it more like a traditional home, which opens the door to conventional or FHA loan programs.

3. Avoid older manufactured and mobile homes

Lenders care about the home’s age and condition. Newer homes usually qualify for better mobile home interest rates, while older or poorly maintained homes often have higher rates because they’re harder to resell and more likely to come with costly issues.

4. Improve your financial profile

If you want the lowest manufactured home loan rates in 2025, you’ll need to check a few financial boxes. A higher credit score, a larger down payment, and a shorter loan term all signal lower risk to the lender. Together, these factors can reduce your rate, lower your monthly payment, and increase your long-term savings.

5. Compare lenders and negotiate

Not all lenders price loan products in the same way. Manufactured home financing rates can vary widely, and so can fees like origination charges and closing costs. Get multiple quotes, ask about total costs rather than just the mobile home loan rates, and do not overlook credit unions or local lenders. They often have more flexible terms and fewer hidden fees.

What are manufactured home loans?

Manufactured home loans are mortgages used to finance factory-built homes that are permanently installed and built to HUD standards. These loans can often cover both the home and the land it sits on and are structured similarly to traditional mortgage loans.

They’re not the same as mobile home loans, which usually finance homes that aren’t fixed to land and are treated as personal property. As a result, manufactured home loan rates are generally lower than mobile home interest rates, but still higher than what you’d see with a standard site-built home loan.

7 mortgage loans for manufactured homes

If your manufactured home meets certain standards—like being permanently installed and classified as real property—you may qualify for traditional financing options backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or government agencies.

If it doesn’t, your options may be limited to chattel loans or other personal property financing, which typically come with higher mobile home financing rates and fewer protections for borrowers.

1. Conventional loans

Both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae provide manufactured home mortgage options aimed at making homeownership more affordable. You can start with just 3% down, but expect slightly higher interest rates because of the additional risk associated with these loans.

Freddie Mac: Manufactured Home Loans

Freddie Mac’s manufactured home loan program, part of its “Duty to Serve” plan, provides fixed-rate mortgages for manufactured homes. Key features of this program include:

• Real Property Loans: The manufactured home must be classified as real property, meaning it must be permanently affixed to the land that the borrower owns
• MH Advantage: MH Advantage is a mortgage program for manufactured homes that meet specific construction requirements, including being built on a permanent chassis and having a minimum of 400 square feet. Homes that qualify for MH Advantage can receive financing similar to that for site-built homes, with potentially lower down payments and longer loan terms

Fannie Mae: MH Advantage and HomeReady

Fannie Mae offers two main programs:

1. MH Advantage: Similar to Freddie Mac’s program of the same name, Fannie Mae’s MH Advantage program provides fixed-rate mortgages for properties that have specific features, such as being a minimum of 12 feet in width with at least 600 square feet. Advantages can include down payments as low as 3%, interest rates closer to those of site-built homes, and potentially longer loan terms.
2. HomeReady: The HomeReady program is designed to help low- to moderate-income buyers with limited cash for a down payment to purchase a home. It covers manufactured homes, offering reduced mortgage insurance costs, interest rate reductions, and other benefits to eligible borrowers.

Remember that while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac create these programs, you’ll work with a bank or participating lender during the actual loan application process. It’s always important to shop around and compare different lenders and programs to see which best fits your needs and financial situation.

2. FHA loans

When it comes to manufactured home mortgages, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) provides two main loan options: Title I and Title II loans. These loan programs offer borrower-friendly terms, making them appealing choices, especially for first-time home buyers.

Title I Manufactured Home Loans

A Title I loan allows you to finance the purchase of a manufactured home only, not the land it will sit on. There are a few key requirements:

• The home must serve as your primary residence.
• Before being placed in a rental community, it has to meet certain FHA construction standards.
• Utility connections (water, electric, etc.) must be established.

These loans tend to have relatively short repayment periods, maxing out around 20 years, and loan limits on the lower end.

Title II Manufactured Home Loans

You can purchase both the manufactured home and the land it will permanently occupy as real property with a Title II loan. However, you must own or purchase the land; you cannot rent a lot in a manufactured home community.

• Only manufactured homes built in accordance with HUD codes effective after June 15, 1976 qualify for Title II.
• The manufactured home must also meet FHA requirements for permanent foundations and be legally classified as real property.

If your manufactured home ticks those boxes, a Title II loan could be a great option. The relaxed FHA credit history qualifications make it easier to get approved with a modest down payment. And the interest rates can be lower than for other types of manufactured home mortgages.

3. VA loans

If you qualify, you can use a VA loan to purchase a manufactured home and the land it sits on without making a down payment or paying for mortgage insurance.

Because the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs guarantees these loans for veterans, active-duty service members, and qualifying surviving spouses, they have some of the lowest fees and most competitive rates available.

If you want to purchase a manufactured home with a VA loan, you must not only buy the land it will sit on but also ensure that it is affixed to a permanent foundation and meets HUD guidelines.

4. USDA loans

Rural homebuyers looking to finance a manufactured home or home-and-land package may qualify for the USDA’s Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP).

• Those with low incomes at or below 80% of their area median income can potentially get a USDA Direct Loan.
• Moderate-income buyers earning up to 115% of the local median income level may qualify for the USDA Guaranteed Loan option through an approved private lender.

A major advantage of USDA Rural Housing loans is that they do not require a down payment. However, to buy a manufactured home with a USDA loan, you’ll need to meet these requirements:

• The manufactured home must be brand new construction
• The home must be permanently affixed to an approved foundation.
• It must meet HUD’s construction codes implemented after 1976.
• The property’s total square footage must be at least 400 square feet.

Like all USDA loans, eligibility is only available in rural and suburban areas identified on the agency’s maps. Applicants must also demonstrate that their household income falls within the program’s limits.

5. Chattel loans

Borrowers can use a type of financing called a chattel loan to purchase personal property such as vehicles, watercraft, and mobile homes. Compared to a traditional mortgage, these loans tend to have easier approval requirements but come with some tradeoffs:

• Shorter repayment periods
• Lower maximum loan amounts
• Higher interest rates, often several percentage points above typical mortgage rates

Because the financed property itself serves as collateral, defaulting on a chattel loan can put you at risk of having that asset seized to satisfy the remaining debt. This presents an elevated risk compared to traditional manufactured home mortgages.

Chattel loans often result in higher monthly payments compared to mortgages due to their combination of higher rates and shorter loan terms, despite the application process being more streamlined. Before opting for a chattel loan to purchase a manufactured home, borrowers should carefully consider the costs and risks.

6. Personal loans

If your manufactured home isn’t permanently affixed or doesn’t meet standard loan requirements, a personal loan may be an option worth considering.

• Loan approval is based solely on your creditworthiness and ability to repay, not the home itself.
• So even older, lower-value homes can potentially be financed this way.
• And funding can be very quick, sometimes within a week.

The tradeoff is that personal loan rates are much higher than secured loans like mortgages, potentially as high as a credit card. And some lenders charge origination fees as high as 6% to 7%—higher than an average mortgage loan’s closing costs.

7. Tapping home equity

If you’re already a homeowner, you may be able to leverage your existing home equity to finance the purchase of a manufactured home, either as a second home or rental property.

Home equity is the portion of your property’s value that you’ve paid off. For example, if your home is worth $300,000 but you only owe $150,000 on the mortgage, you have $150,000 in equity built up.

You can access this equity through:

• Cash-out refinance: This replaces your current mortgage with a larger loan amount, allowing you to pocket the difference in cash. Cash-out refinancing makes sense if you need to reset your primary mortgage while also tapping equity.
• Home equity loan or home equity line of credit (HELOC): These second mortgages allow you to borrow against your equity while keeping your existing first mortgage intact. Home equity loans provide a lump sum, while HELOCs provide a revolving credit line.

Since these loans use your home’s value as collateral, the interest rates are typically competitive, especially with a solid credit history and sufficient home equity. However, they also create additional liens, putting your property at risk if you default.

How to qualify for manufactured home loans

Getting approved for a manufactured home loan means meeting standard borrower requirements like credit approval and down payment minimums—just like with a traditional mortgage loan.

But the property also needs to meet specific guidelines to qualify for manufactured home financing. Along with following HUD’s post-June 15, 1976 safety regulations, here are the other criteria a home must meet.

1. Home must be real property

Lenders require the home to be classified as real property, not personal property, to offer a mortgage. That means the home must be permanently attached to land that you own or are buying, not sitting on leased land or in a mobile home park.

If the home is taxed through the DMV, it’s considered personal property and won’t qualify for most manufactured home mortgage loans.

2. Home must meet size requirements

To qualify for most manufactured home loans, the home needs at least 400 square feet of living space. Most double-wide and modular homes easily meet this requirement. Some loan programs, like Fannie Mae’s, set the bar higher and require a minimum of 600 square feet.

3. Home must be on a permanent foundation

To be eligible for a conventional or government-backed loan, the home must be permanently installed on-site with an approved foundation. Whether the home is delivered in sections or pre-assembled, it needs to be securely fixed in place before any financial services providers can class it as real property.

Key differences: Manufactured homes vs mobile homes vs modular homes

The terms mobile, manufactured, and modular frequently get tossed around as if they’re synonymous. However, each type of home comes with its own unique characteristics and advantages. Here’s what you should know when evaluating mortgage loans for manufactured homes.

Manufactured homes

Since their inception, manufactured homes, formerly known as “mobile homes,” have evolved and improved. HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) has been regulating the construction and safety standards of these factory-built homes since 1976. Here are some key features:

• Built after 1976, adhering to the HUD Code for safety, construction, and efficiency standards.
• Constructed on non-removable steel chassis, transported in sections, and assembled on-site.
• Whether placed on leased land, privately-owned land, or purchased land, these homes offer affordability.
• May not qualify for traditional mortgages if additional requirements aren’t met.

Manufactured homes built to HUD’s safety standards usually have a “HUD tag” attached to them.

Mobile homes

Mobile homes, a term often used interchangeably with manufactured homes, refers to homes built before the HUD Code came into effect in 1976. This is when the National Manufactured Housing Construction and American Safety Standards Act was enacted to set new, more rigorous standards for the construction and safety of these types of factory-built homes.

Even though the words are often used interchangeably, knowing the difference between them is important when comparing loans for manufactured homes with mobile home loans.

• Constructed before June 15, 1976, prior to HUD’s manufactured housing standards implementation.
• Built on a movable chassis but often stay in one location long-term.
• Lower home purchase prices but lack regulated construction standards impacting quality.
• Located on leased or private land.

Modular homes

Modular homes, also known as prefabricated homes, are built in factories like manufactured and mobile homes. However, there are differences in their construction, regulation, and overall design.

• Factory-built modules are assembled on permanent foundations on-site.
• Must meet local and state building codes, like site-built homes.
• Customizable design, can be multi-story.
• Treated like site-built homes for financing and home price appreciation over time.
• Qualify for traditional mortgages.

FAQ: Manufactured home loan rates

Compare interest rates for manufactured home loans

If you’ve got a handle on your budget and know what kind of home you’re looking for, you’re already ahead of the game. The next step is simple—see what kind of manufactured home loan rates you qualify for.

Start by comparing offers from multiple lenders. You could find big differences in interest rates, terms, and costs. The more you shop, the better your chances of locking in a competitive rate that fits your goals.

Click below to check your options and get started with the pre-qualification process today.