How to Find Mobile Home Lenders

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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?

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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.

When Mobile Home Park Residents Buy Their Lots

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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

Strange Mortgage Indexes Continue The Housing Market Hold-Down

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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

How do I look up what my mobile home is worth?

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In order to determine this value you must first identify what you actually have.

Do you have a manufactured home,mobile home or modular home. It sounds like you have either a manufactured or an RV/mobile home. What year was it made? Prior to 76 the value drops off the map as there is no available financing for it outside of creating a note on it and selling the note.

Read More . . .

Why to Avert a Foreclosure on your Mobile Home

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Mobile Home owners often fail to see that the consequences of a foreclosure are very unlike those of a Manufactured Home short-sale. A short sale might be one great alternative deserving serious consideration.

Now is the Time to Buy Your First Mobile Home

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There are many reasons to buy your first home now, and purchasing a manufactured home can be more affordable than renting an apartment. The first reason to buy a mobile home is low mortgage rates. If you have good credit, and a down payment, you can get into a manufactured home for less than renting in most cities. Another reason to consider buying a mobile home right now is the state of the market. Prices on homes are hitting the bottom of the curve, many economists predict. So, if you buy now, there is a good chance that the property and home will increase in value over the next few years. Of course, it is always a good idea to invest in a home rather than rent because your money is going towards purchasing an asset.

Mobile home financing is difficult to come by compared to a year ago, but there are still options available. We can tell you in a short phone conversation how likely you are going to be approved, and at what rate. You’ve got nothing to lose by calling to find out if buying a manufactured home is a smart idea. Getting financing can be scary, but with seasoned mobile home loan experts behind you there is nothing to worry about.

Lenders Profit as Mortgage Market Changes

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An Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) spokesperson said that several independent mortgage companies made extreme changes in their loan product offerings. This includes an increase in writing FHA loans, a category which increased to 45 percent of loans in 2008 from 10 percent the year before. Lenders reported that they closed an average of 56.6 percent of all loan applications.

The Fed has been providing liquidity to the mortgage market in their purchase of Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS). Between August 13 and August 19, the Federal Reserve purchased a gross total of $26.640 billion agency MBS.

The Fed purchased an average of $5.00 billion per day, up from last week’s $4.08 billion per day. This doubled the average daily originator selling, illustrating that the Fed continues to provide a generous supply of liquidity to mortgage bankers looking to hedge their pipelines of committed and uncommitted loans.

We can only hope that the evolving mortgage market swings back to more responsible lending practices, especially in the mobile home market. Manufactured homes ar very difficult to finance and refinance currently, which is a sobering fact among the retired and elderly in America, because they are the majority of Americans being targeted as “risky” by lenders.

Banks were irresponsible with loose lending practices such as “stated income,” but now they are too tight in their lending procedures. Now, there are so few programs, that the entire mobile home mortgage market is at a standstill. With their retirement only a fraction of what it used to be, retired Americans cannot even pull equity out of their manufactured homes. This is because their homes have dropped in value, and lenders look for any reason to decline their loan application.

The moral of the story is that banks were too loose, now their too tight. And America is left asking: WILL LENDERS EVER GET IT RIGHT?

Mortgage Rates Hit 6-Week Low

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“The market is finally turning the corner after a severe three-year slump” said BMO analyst Sal Guatieri before the release. Many are expecting the fourth consecutive monthly increase in home sales. This increase would be the longest string increased home sales in five years.

Average rates for a 30-year mortgage fell to a 6-week low at 5.15%, which is increasing demand for purchases, refinancing, and new mortgages to all advance. The manufactured home market generally follows the housing market trends, but has also been known to stray.

Keep a tight watch on your mobile home financing and refinancing options by coming to our blog, and also feel free to call us at (800) 882-1999 if you have any specific questions about financing or refinancing your manufactured home. We’ve been doing this for 28 years, so we kinda know what we’re talking about.

Home Appraisers on the Hot Seat

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Appraisals are supposed to shield manufactured home buyers from paying too much and lenders from overestimating the value of their collateral. If appraisals come in too high, mobile home buyers may overpay, making defaults more likely. If they are too low, it becomes hard to sell or refinance the manufactured home. Many real-estate agents and builders say that the pendulum has swung too far toward caution, and that undervalued appraisals threaten to prevent or prolong any recovery in the housing market.

In addition, to make a living in these difficult times, appraisers are driving longer distances to handle more assignments. This raises the qurestion: Does the appraiser even know enough about the mobile home parks to accurately assess the value of the manufactured homes. This has implications for both home buyers and owners, because if the home is undervalued they will havea very difficult time refinancing their manufactured home loan.