Can I use a VA loan to buy a manufactured or mobile home, or does it have to be a traditional house?

Question

Accepted Answer

Short answer: yes, but the home has to be permanently fixed to a foundation and classified as real property, not something you could tow away. VA treats a manufactured or mobile home the same as a site-built house only once it's permanently attached to a foundation on land you own, or are buying together with the home. A home still sitting on wheels, or one you plan to place on a rented lot, generally won't qualify. The land underneath matters as much as the home itself. Buying a lot and a manufactured home together lets both get wrapped into the same VA loan. If you already own the land, the home alone can be financed on its own. Homes on leased lots, including many spaces inside manufactured home communities, typically fall outside what a VA loan will finance, since you don't own the real property the home sits on. The home still has to meet VA's minimum property requirements for safety, structural soundness, and sanitation, the same standard applied to any other VA purchase, on top of whatever foundation documentation your state and lender require. Not every VA-approved lender offers manufactured home financing. Some only do site-built homes, so it's worth asking a lender directly before you get attached to a specific property. Gene can tell you upfront whether a manufactured home purchase is something he can finance before you spend time touring that kind of property.