Do You Know What You Have? Mobile, Manufactured or Modular?

Think of a modular home as a hand-framed stick built home constructed in a controlled factory environment.  It is built off site and trucked to your lot. Modular homes can be one or multiple stories, and can have two or multiple sections.  They are built to modern building codes and are placed frequently on permanent foundations such as slabs or basements.  Although typically delivered onsite on a steel trailer or truck, they are not built on a steel frame like a manufactured or mobile home.

 Manufactured Homes are homes built to HUD Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (HUD Code) and built after 1976. These Homes will Require a HUD Foundation Certification prior to closing for most loans. They are also frequently called mobile homes by mistake. However, they are built far better, have a certification stamp or plate and are built with a permanent chassis.  Manufactured homes are have exterior certification labels and an interior data plate where Mobile and Modular homes do not.  Manufactured homes are built upon a permanent steel frame and are built in deliverable sections. Homes can come in widths varying from one to four sections wide, however a typical home is two sections wide and commonly referred as a 'double wide.' This term has added to the confusion between the differences between Manufactured and Mobile homes by many, since it is used to refer to both types of home.

 Mobile homes are pre-1976 homes that are built with no federal or state standard, are on a frame with wheels, and are frequently only tied down to the earth without a permanent foundation. They can vary in style, length, and tend to have one or two sections. Often called 'trailers' due to the fact that they were originally built with similar techniques as recreational vehicles and campers, these homes have minimal structural strength. They do not hold up under long term use without constant maintenance.

 Homes built prior to June 15, 1976, even with modifications, do not meet the HUD standards and cannot be accepted as compliant with the HUD Code. FHA does not insure mortgages on manufactured homes built prior to June 15, 1976. Most other mortgage insurance firms follow FHA’s policy.