Lending
FHA Manufactured Home Loans in the Sacramento Region
FHA-insured loans for manufactured homes: Title II for home and land together, Title I for the home or lot.
Talk to Maggie directly: cell (916) 549-3131 (text or call) · maggie@loveyoursurroundings.coMaggie B. Hopkins, NMLS #349517 · Surroundings NMLS #2528307
What is an FHA manufactured home loan?
It's a loan on a manufactured home that the Federal Housing Administration insures. FHA doesn't lend the money. It insures the lender, which is why more lenders will make these loans. You still apply through a lender, and pricing varies from one to the next.
FHA has two separate programs for manufactured homes, called Title II and Title I. Which one fits depends on whether you're financing the home and land together, or the home or lot alone. As a mortgage broker, Maggie B. Hopkins compares lenders that offer each one. Our FHA loan page covers how FHA loans work in general.
What is the difference between FHA Title II and Title I?
- Title II is a regular FHA mortgage on the home and its land together, as real estate. HUD's Handbook 4000.1 (edition last revised November 9, 2021) says the home and site must exist together as real estate under state law.
- Title I covers three kinds of loans. HUD's Title I page (checked October 22, 2026) lists the home only, the lot only, or the home and lot together. The handbook says a Title I home can be personal property that keeps its vehicle-style title, or real property.
Title II is the path for a home on a permanent foundation on land you own or are buying. Title I can fit a home in a park or on a leased lot, or a lot you're buying for a home. Fewer lenders offer Title I, so it takes more shopping.
Which homes qualify for an FHA Title II loan?
HUD's Handbook 4000.1 lists the Title II rules. The home must:
- be designed as a one-family home, with at least 400 square feet of floor area,
- be built on or after June 15, 1976, to the federal HUD Code,
- be classified as real estate, though it need not be taxed as real estate,
- be built on and stay on a permanent chassis,
- sit on a permanent foundation that meets HUD's Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing,
- have come straight from the maker or the dealer to the site, and
- be your principal residence.
The handbook also says the ground under the home must be at or above the 100-year flood elevation. A home moved from another site doesn't qualify. In California, being real estate usually means the home was converted with form HCD 433A. Our mobile and manufactured home loan page explains that step.
What are the HUD label and the data plate, and why do they matter?
These two items prove what the home is, and the lender checks both.
- The HUD certification label. HUD's Handbook 4000.1 describes it as a red two-inch by four-inch aluminum plate on each section. It usually sits about a foot up from the floor and a foot in from the road side. It shows the home was built to the HUD Code. If a label is missing, the lender must get a label verification letter from the Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS).
- The data plate. The handbook says it's a paper document inside the home. It's often near the electric panel, in a utility room or in a kitchen cabinet. The appraiser reports the maker, serial number, model, date built and the wind, roof load and thermal zone maps.
Before you make an offer, take photos of both. That one step can tell us early whether FHA is a fit.
What does the permanent foundation requirement mean?
For Title II, the home must sit on a foundation built to HUD's Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing. HUD's Handbook 4000.1 says the lender must get a certification from a licensed engineer or architect in the home's state confirming the foundation meets that guide.
If the home already had an FHA loan, the lender may use the earlier foundation certification, as long as nothing has changed or been damaged since. Additions or alterations must be covered by the certification. If they aren't, the handbook calls for a state inspection or a structural engineer's sign-off.
Foundation work is a common hold-up in these loans. Getting the certification ordered early keeps your closing date on track.
When does FHA Title I fit?
Title I can help when a Title II mortgage won't work. HUD's Title I page (checked October 22, 2026) lists its uses:
- Home only. Buying or refinancing the home, not the land. This is the common case in a park.
- Lot only. Buying a lot to place a manufactured home on.
- Home and lot together. Both in one loan.
HUD's Title I page says you must plan to live in the home as your principal residence and have a suitable site, owned or leased. For a leased site in a community, HUD's Handbook 4000.1 says the lease must run at least three years and renew for terms of a year or more. It must also give at least 180 days' notice before the lease ends if the community closes.
Title I has its own loan limits, which HUD reviews each year. We confirm the current limits for your loan when we quote it.
How does FHA compare with conventional manufactured home financing?
Both can finance a manufactured home on its own land as real estate. The CFPB notes on its FHA loan page (last reviewed February 2, 2024) that FHA's standards to qualify are generally more flexible than for conventional loans. It adds that FHA's mortgage insurance cost is passed to the homeowner.
Conventional rules come from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide (topic B5-2-02, December 10, 2025) allows second homes only in multi-wide homes and doesn't allow investment properties. Its topic B2-3-02 (February 4, 2026) sets a minimum 12-foot width and 400 square feet.
Which costs less over the years you plan to own the home depends on your file and the home. We price both side by side. See our conventional loan page for more on that loan family.
How do you start an FHA manufactured home loan?
Fill out the loan options form. Tell us where the home is, whether the land is included and when it was built. Maggie will look at it and get back to you within 2 hours. You can also call Maggie's cell at (916) 549-3131.
Photos of the HUD labels, the data plate and any foundation paperwork help us check fit early. To test a monthly budget, try our mortgage calculator. For our other specialty loans, see USDA, construction and mobile home loans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does FHA finance mobile homes built before 1976?
No. HUD's Handbook 4000.1 says manufactured homes built before June 15, 1976 are not eligible for FHA-insured Title II financing. The home must be built to the HUD Code.
What's the difference between FHA Title I and Title II?
Title II is an FHA mortgage on the home and land together as real estate. Title I insures loans on the home only, a lot only, or both, and the home can be personal property.
What if the HUD label is missing from my home?
The lender must get a label verification letter from the Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS), per HUD's Handbook 4000.1. Tell us early so it doesn't hold up closing.
Do I need an engineer for an FHA manufactured home loan?
For Title II, yes. The lender needs a licensed engineer or architect to certify the foundation meets HUD's Permanent Foundations Guide, unless a valid earlier FHA certification can be used.
Can I use an FHA loan for a home in a mobile home park?
Possibly, through FHA Title I, if the lender offers it and the lease meets HUD's rules. Title II requires the home and land to be real estate together.
Can a home that was moved from another site get an FHA loan?
Not under Title II. HUD's Handbook 4000.1 requires the home to have come directly from the maker or dealer to the site.
Talk to Maggie directly: cell (916) 549-3131 (text or call) · maggie@loveyoursurroundings.coMaggie B. Hopkins, NMLS #349517 · Surroundings NMLS #2528307
Loans are arranged through Maggie B. Hopkins, NMLS #349517 · Surroundings NMLS #2528307. This is not a commitment to lend. All loans subject to credit approval and property qualification. Equal Housing Lender.
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