How to Find Mobile Home Lenders

Posted by admin · Leave a Comment 

This seems like a contradiction, but it should make Manufactured Home loans a logical consideration among the possible lenders that are looking to emerge into a lucrative new niche market. Which leaves everyone in the Mobile Home community asking the question: Who will step up to the plate to be the leading Mobile Home Lender? It is possible that Warren Buffet will step up to the plate, but his big investments and movements lately have seemed incongruous. He may move to a low-stakes table, while the Manufactured Home financing market is overtaken by a new investment company willing to emerge into a new market starving for capital.

Lending standards in the Manufactured Home finance market have typically become restricted throughout periods of economic hardship. This is expected, but still unwelcome. The tight standards that lending institutions are now maintaining for Manufactured Home loans can be compared to a agriculturist who drains all the nutrients from his dirt as quickly as possible. The farmer then blames at the grocer for his losses, instead of realizing that he himself is truly responsible for poisoning the well. The banks have been taking advantage of the relaxed laws for nearly half a decade, while profiting from allowing irresponsible lending to occur, then securitizing the loan and selling it off. Now the hens have come home to roost, and the banks are acting irresponsibly in the opposite direction, on the side of over caution. Manufactured Home lending institutions are using any excuse to reject completely sound loans.

Mobile Home finance California agents are now in the position of not knowing who the new primary lender will be in the Manufactured Home finance industry after the dust settles. In recent news the fed has banned Taylor, Bean and Whitaker from providing any future loans backed by by the federal government. HUD believes Taylor failed to submit a necessary financial report, which amounted to fraud concerns. Taylor was also ordered to cease in issuing MBS for Ginnie Mae. This firm was the former premier source of funds for manufactured homes, they lent nearly $1.45 billion of all Manufactured Home investments in 2007, which were insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase Bank, and Countrywide are the remaining large mobile housing lenders, but these companies aren’t as active as they used to be in the Mobile Home loan market. This small amount of lenders will likely lead to downsized competition, yieldning a high demand and therefore, higher interest rates passed on to the consumer. In this scenario, the lenders have the upper hand and will probably only issue a limited number of loan programs available to refinance or finance a Mobile Home in America.

Mobile Homes have been the first step towards homeownership for lowincome and retired Americans for quite awhile. Mobile Home loan brokers are discovering it more and more challenging to find new sources of mobile home funding from a group of lenders that has shrunk during the past several years. Manufactured houses, which are factory-built in parts and then put together at a land site, are significantly less expensive than traditional homes. According to the Commerce Department, the average price for a Mobile Home in 2008 was $65K, much lower than the average price of $292K for a site-built home.

Strangely, Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway revealed recently that in this current housing/banking crisis, their Mobile Home customers are foreclosing less and making their loan payments more. Berkshire subsidiary Clayton Homes’ delinquency rates for mobile home loans have also been stable during these times of turmoil: the delinquency rate was 3.26% in 2004; it was at 3.5% in 2008; and now it’s 3.82% here in 2009. However, the delinquency rate in the traditional housing market is higher, around 6.4%. Annual credit losses are running steady at a reasonable 1.5% of the loan portfolio. It is worth mentioning, however, that Clayton does not securitize their loans. This means the loans remain on their books, so they are much more conservative in their loan approval process.

What is Your Best Mobile Home Loan Option?

Posted by admin · Leave a Comment 

While searching for a California mobile home loan, there is a determining decision to make before even beginning to consider your options. You need to decide whether you will be looking for a loan with a fixed, adjustable or variable interest rate. In order to determine, you need to know the differences between these types of interest, and know the pros and cons of the two mortgage types.

1) Adjustable/Variable Mortgage Rates

An adjustable rate home loan implies that the monthly payments will deviate along with the interest rate variation that the market dictates. Thus, if the interest rate rises on the market, you will be paying a higher installment because the portion of the payment that’s made of interests will increase.

When you complete a loan application, this type of mortgage will offer a decreased interest rate. With time the interest rate may growth or it may go down even more. As the amount you will pay depends on the variations of the market, this kind of loan is for those who are used to planning, foreseeing coming situations and preparing for them.

These types of mortgages also let you to apply for greater amounts and longer periods. This is why you need to be prepared to face many variations on the monthly payments. In any case, if something happens that prevents you to keep up with this system you can always refinance your home loan and opt for a fixed rate.

2) Fixed Interest Rates

For the whole period of the home loan you will consistently be paying the same interest rate with a fixed rate mortgage. The debt is paid in identical monthly installments. The main value you will get from this type of loan is that you will not need to worry about an increase on the monthly payments. Even if the rates charged for home loans vary in the market, you will be paying the same amount every month.

This is specially designed for home buyers that are not willing to allow monthly payments to alter after a period. Those who have a fixed income and prefer to be safe by knowing the amount of money they will be paying for the home loan for the years to come.

If you you have anxiety over the possibility of a changing mortgage payment, or you will not be able to make ends meet, then you should definitely go for a fixed rate home loan as it is the most predictable option.

In conclusion, the choice of which type of manufactured home home loan which best suits your needs must be answered according to your present financial situation, your expected income and your conservative or adventurous nature. You should also verify what experts are predicting will happen with the market in the upcoming years. Nevertheless, you should always have some savings and credit available for unexpected events. The Best way to avoid a fall is to stay away from the edge. Having enough savings can let you dismount advantage of decrease variable rates and save thousands of dollars while still being safe.

Helping Maryland Mobile Home Owners Move Their Houses

Posted by admin · Leave a Comment 

Many mobile home owners own their homes, but not the land they sit on. In this case they pay space rent and own their homes through what is called a chattel mortgage, unless they purchased the manufactured home with cash. The worst situation for any mobile home owner is to be forced to move their house. This process can cost from $10,000 – 15,000, and there is the problem of finding a new park to move the mobile home to.

The current law in Maryland says park owners must provide a relocation plan, but it is vague about what the plan must contain. There is a new proposal before the Assembly which fills in specifics, requiring the plan to include a timeline of the closure, a list of other parks in the area with vacancies, companies that specialize in moving mobile homes and other information.

A similar bill is expected to make it to the senate, which would be a major win for mobile home owners inside communities. Even when there is no threat of being forced off their lots, many manufactured home owners worry about the prospect.

When Mobile Home Park Residents Buy Their Lots

Posted by admin · Leave a Comment 

Surf and Sand Mobile Home Park Residents are offering their park owner, Ron Reed, $6.75 million for their sub-divisions of property. Tho cost per space breaks down to $92,500. This action was brought on by Reed’s request to subdivide the 73-space park, and thereby ending rent control.

The park owner attempted to close the park, but the council denied the closure request. Then Reed asked for a subdivision, which is a scary prospect for residents because they do not know what the lot price will be.

Attempting to pull together the capital to buy a mobile home park is no easy feat. The residents without he cash to purchase the lot outright must search for financing options. With the backlash of the banking crisis, many manufactured home loan programs have been shut down or put on hold. Unfortunately, this also means that refinancing a mobile home is also very difficult in todays economic climate.

For more information, read the full article in the Mercury News

Does having a Foreclosure Prevent Me From Buying Another House?

Posted by admin · Leave a Comment 

The good news is that just because you lost your home to foreclosure, this does not mean you’ll never be able to buy another. However, you will need to be smart about repairing your credit, because the foreclosure has definitely dropped your credit score into the “too low to get approved” area.

“A foreclosure will cause a credit score to drop sharply, typically by 200 to 300 points,” says Andrew Housser, co-CEO of Bills.com, “That would drop a score of 700 – considered a ‘good’ score – to as low as 400 – considered pretty terrible.”

Going through a foreclosure could effect your credit score for up to seven years, however, Housser adds “If you keep all of your other credit obligations in good standing, your FICO score can begin to rebound in as little as two years. The important thing to keep in mind is that a foreclosure is a single negative item. If you keep it isolated, it will be much less damaging to your FICO score than if you had a foreclosure in addition to defaulting on other credit obligations.”

It is also very important to remember that there are many Americans that have gone through the foreclosure process, much more than in ever before in our countries history. And even though a foreclosure on your record was the “kiss of death” 5 years ago, it is generally understood that the housing crisis was mostly caused by loose legislation and opportunistic banks. So, there could be a sympathetic eye given to foreclosure victims in years to come.

I would not be doing you any favors without some advice on how to re-build your credit score, so here it is:

  • Keep all other credit obligations upstanding
  • Work with a credit counselor
  • Educate yourself on credit rebuilding strategies
  • Think carefully about co-signing on any new loans

Since your credit has taken a hit, keep your cash flow high. Almost all cases of bad credit are an emergency, whether it be medical bills, foreclosure, loss of employment, or a family emergency. If your credit score has dropped from a foreclosure, then it is extremely important to have cash reserves in case of another emergency. Even if it means selling off some of your luxury items, or making some major lifestyle changes, remember that you no longer have the credit options that you had before. And if an emergency happens, you will need to have cash available to prevent a wrench from being thrown in your credit rebuild  endeavors.

Prop. 60 and 90 are Good for Seniors in Mobile Homes

Posted by admin · Leave a Comment 

California’s Proposition 60 offers tax relief by preventing property reassessment when a senior citizen (55 +) sells their current home and buys a new home worth the same or less. One problem with Prop. 60 is that the tax relief is nullified if a senior buys a home in another county. However, with Prop. 90 a senior citizen will enjoy the tax relief even if their new home is in another county, as long as they move to a participating county.

It is important to know that there is an application process to qualify for the tax relief, it is not automatic. Within three years, the application must be submitted. The counties that are currently participating in Prop. 90 are: Alameda, El Dorado, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Ventura.

The 5 Essentials for Manufactured Home Financing

Posted by admin · 1 Comment 

CMHI has formed a list of 5 important prerequisites to obtaining mobile and manufactured home financing. To satisfy the five essentials for real property lending on manufactured housing:

I. The home is installed on a state approved permanent foundation system.
II. The home is, in fact, converted to a fixture upon the underlying real estate.
III. The home is architecturally compatible with homes in the immediate neighborhood. This includes exterior elevations, garages, decks, porches and, where appropriate, landscaping.
IV. The interior amenities and quality level meet or exceed those found in homes in the immediate neighborhood.
V. The appraisal fairly and accurately establishes the value based on existing or new construction in the immediate neighborhood.

Home-Prices Remain Stable

Posted by admin · Leave a Comment 

Only 21% of house listings on the market as of February 1st had one or more price drop. This is lower than previous levels, and is a good sign that housing prices are beginning to hit a bottom. The next question home owners are asking is: How long will this bottom last, and how quickly will home prices rise?

House price reductions topped out at 26% at the end of last year, which likely relates to the timing of the November tax-credit deadline (which was extended). California homes were among the steadiest in the country. San Jose had just 12% of listings cut, and Oakland had 13%. The highest on the list was Jacksonville, FL at 36%. This good news brings on the expectations in manufacturing jobs for home builders.

Home Buyer Tax Credit Coming to an End

Posted by admin · Leave a Comment 

In late 2009, home builders missed sales because they didn’t have enough houses to satisfy a spike in demand from home buyers looking to take advantage of a federal tax credit for first-time buyers before they expired on November 30.  So this year home builders are ramping up speculative construction to attract last-minute home buyers who want to tap a soon-to-expire tax credit. The current credit, which offers first-time buyers up to $8,000 and repeat purchasers up to $6,500, applies only to deals signed by April 30 and closed by June 30. Even though the tax credit has been extended into 2010, there is still no word on if it will be extended again.

Strange Mortgage Indexes Continue The Housing Market Hold-Down

Posted by admin · Leave a Comment 

Many homeowners with variable mortgages have watched their monthly payments increase or stay high even as they have dropped for others. Why is this? The answer points toward the obscure indexes used to calculate those payments moving in unexpected ways. These indexes behave in strange ways, which have controlled monthly payments on more than $100 billion of variable mortgages, means that many homeowners are paying as much as 25% more than homeowners with similar loans. The higher payments, which can total $269 a month on a $250,000 loan, come as many homeowners are struggling to avoid default.

Few homeowners have heard of or understand these indexes, which have acronyms like Cosi, Codi and Cofi, along with the better-known Libor. And few know how they are calculated or what they mean for borrowers. The mortgage loans are pegged to the indexes because the loans, unliked fixed-rate loans, adjust to changing market moves. Learn More