As part of his efforts to ease housing costs, President Biden is proposing to facilitate financing of mobile homes:
Supporting production and availability of manufactured housing. The majority of people buying new manufactured homes rely on personal property financing (chattel lending) rather than conventional mortgages. This type of financing typically costs more than traditional mortgage financing due to higher interest rates and shorter loan terms. Freddie Mac has announced that it will complete a feasibility assessment for the requirements and processes necessary to support loan purchases of personal property manufactured housing loans. If FHFA approval is obtained, Freddie Mac will purchase these kinds of loans to assist with product design and support future loan purchase capabilities. Beyond personal property financing, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises), in their Duty to Serve Plans, also released revised purchase targets for manufactured housing loans, which will have the effect of fostering greater liquidity for manufactured housing and increasing delivery of manufactured homes. Finally, recognizing the cost and development time savings provided by manufactured housing, HUD is making it easier to finance new units and helping manufacturers update their designs to meet changing consumer demands. This includes working to increase the usability of FHA’s Title I loan program for Manufactured Housing, supporting greater securitization of Title I loans through Ginnie Mae’s platform, updating the HUD Code to allow manufacturers to modernize and expand their production lines, and helping manufacturers respond to supply chain issues.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/16/president-biden-announces-new-actions-to-ease-the-burden-of-housing-costs/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Mobile homes are a valid housing option. And opportunities for financing are more limited than a brick and motor structure so to speak. But the other big obstacle in this form of shelter is the ownership and operation of the park- or the land upon which the homes are parked. As metro areas grow the pressure to vacate the land and use it for other purposes increases. You never see new mobile home parks enter a city, so once they are gone, that’s it for that type of property.
It seems like it would be more acceptable to neighbors to allow small scale mobile home parks, perhaps a site with half a dozen homes. I suppose the management of the site, on such a small scale, would not be profitable. This is where a city would need to confer with its non-profits to see if there’s an interest in covering what can’t be successfully achieved in the market.
Home Economics 