MMM

MMM = Mobile Home / Manufactured Home/ Modular Home

TLDR: The main thing to note with financing manufactured homes is that there are limited lender options.

Longer Read: Technically speaking, a mortgage is only available for real property, which MMM homes are not. For this reason, only a handful of lenders will lend money on these homes and only under specific criteria.

Any lender will seek security against the potential moving of the unit itself and requires to know, how the home is secured or attached to the ground - eg. such as on blocks, concrete footings, screw piles, etc.

Here are a few other things to consider:

Home Insurance: Since often the value is more in the land, it can be challenging to obtain adequate coverage for home insurance. In the event of a claim, it will be very important to ensure you have proper coverage. The coverage overview and lender conditions for insurance are reviewed at closing with the Lawyer or Notary so it is very important that they do a full review of the policy and confirm it meets the lender requirements prior to removing subjects.

Mortgage Insurance: The lenders who will finance them often use CMHC, so you will need to follow their qualifying guidelines (strict ratios). Sagen and CG (the other two mortgage insurers) may consider financing these properties on exception however we are finding that they prefer newer ones (<20 years old).

Appraisal: Most lenders will require an appraisal to confirm the following:

• Remaining economic life remaining (since they are often viewed as a depreciating asset)

• The CSA number (which determines which building code it was built under)

• That it is permanently affixed to the foundation

Be mindful of the drawbacks and plan to have a longer subject removal period