Rates are still low when it comes to home financing, and you may be wondering if you can refinance your manufactured home to get a lower interest rate or lower your monthly payment. You can also use the money you get out of refinancing your home to pay for emergencies (such as maintenance), career retraining, college funds, and the like, but be very careful and never refinance just to pay for luxury items.
You may think of a manufactured home as different from traditional housing, but fortunately the banks still see them very similarly. As long as you own your own land, a manufactured home can appreciate the same way a stick-built house can, and you can refinance it much the same way as you can a regular house. (It is also possible to refinance a park-model home.)
How does refinancing a manufactured home work?
To refinance means that you take out a new loan, which pays off your previous loan, and sometimes leaves a bit extra left over. The best reason to refinance is to get a better interest rate (something that is usually possible when rates have gone down or your FICO score has gone up or if you had to take out a funky loan originally in order to quality) and owe less money each month. Also, you can refinance to a shorter term payment schedule (i.e. a 15 year fixed instead of a 30 year fixed) if you're making more money than when you purchased the home and you can now afford a higher payment and would like to own your manufactured home free and clear sooner.
Keep in mind that either way you go, you will need to pay closing costs all over again when you refinance, so make sure the end result is worth that expense.
The rules governing manufactured home refinancing vary from state to state
It is possible to refinance both park manufactures homes and models on private land, but because these are not "normal" houses, the financing rules change depending on the state you live in. To really get the lowdown, you should visit a lender in your neck of the woods. It's not a bad idea to speak with multiple lenders to see who can give you the best rates and seems to have your best interests at heart.
Articles to read before you consider refinancing:
Refinancing That Makes Your Poorer
When to Refinance, When to Sit Tight
Manufactured Home Refinance with FHA Loans
Thnx for the info
Posted by: manufacturedhomerefinance | October 27, 2008 at 06:58 AM