Manufactured Home Refinance

Because most lenders consider factory built houses the same as more conventionally stick built houses doing a manufactured home refinance is much the same. If you own or are thinking of purchasing a manufactured home this is good news. Why you need to refinance is up to you but the more popular reasons include lowering your interest rate and getting a lower monthly payment or consolidating debt.

Refinancing works by paying off your current home loan with a new loan that has more favorable terms for your financial situation. The way this is accomplished is through a lower interest rate that lowers the monthly payment which in turn frees up extra cash for other needs. Or you can continue to keep making your current payment and pay the new loan off faster.

Because you are interested in purchasing a manufactured home you do need to do some research into the laws and building codes for your state and county because they may differ from that of a stick built home. This may or may not affect how your loan is processed and the terms of the financing but a good lender will know these details an be able to instruct as to how they may affect your loan refinance.

Closing costs for a factory-built home refinance are treated the same way as for a regular mortgage. You can pay these costs at the closing or choose to have them rolled into your loan to keep your out of pocket expenses to a minimum. Just be aware that rolling the closing costs into the loan will increase your monthly payment but the amount is normally marginal at best.

You can also pay points, which is in essence buying down the interest rate to a more manageable level. Points do have to be paid at the time of closing so you would need to have the amount needed on hand. The value of a point is dependent on the total loan amount and works something like this; the majority of lenders place a value of 1 percent of the loan amount per point. So a $100,000 loan would require a $1,000 payment to lower the interest rate 1%. Points are usually a good idea only if you plan on being in the home for a long period of time.

Refinancing a manufactured home is quite similar to that of a traditional home. There may be a few differences but for the most part the process is the same. Any good lender will point out any differences and should be willing to help guide you through the process.