The Difference Between Mobile and Manufactured Homes

Sometimes consumers get the terms �mobile home� and �manufactured home� confused or even use them interchangeably. Yet they�re not the same at all but they do share a bit of history. Mobile homes were originally introduced in the 1930s and were extremely popular. People would hook up a mobile home, which literally was advertised as a home on wheels, and travel. Soon though, due to their increasing popularity, mobile homes became bigger and added amenities such as hookups for water and electricity. They became so large and equipped so travelers could actually live in them as their permanent residence if they decided to. When financing a mobile home, it was identical to financing an automobile with installment payments every month.

In the 1970s, the industry began to change as the perception of a �mobile home� wasn�t all that attractive so the quality of construction and amenities began to change.  Building codes were implemented and the industry attempted to officially change the term mobile to manufactured. Still however, the terms do get confused and interchanged. And in 1976, the Department of Housing and Urban Development established strict standards that manufactured homes would follow. These new standards included:

• Design
• Durability 
• HVAC, electrical and plumbing
• Energy efficiency
• General quality
• Safety

Today, a manufactured home is constructed at the factory and transported to the location where the unit will be sold or sent directly to the location where the home will be permanently located. There are no wheels on a manufactured home and the home is attached to its foundation. A manufactured home is not mobile as such but can be transported to a new location. A manufactured home is constructed as a single wide, double wide and triple wide and can be customized by the new owners or purchase from an existing set of plans or even select a home from a dealer.

Consumers finance a manufactured home with a mortgage, not with an installment loan. Buyers hold title upon purchase and continue to make monthly payments until the mortgage is paid in full or the home is sold.

For more information or questions about mortgage loans,

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