Park Models

[Dejae]

Does anyone know if park models can be bought with no money down VA benefits?

Deeded property and not deeded properties.

[Chalkie]

2 hours ago, Dejae said:

Does anyone know if park models can be bought with no money down VA benefits?

Deeded property and not deeded properties.

No, it can't. The short answer is "Any dwelling, mobile or not, which lacks a permanent foundation would not be approved for a VA loan."

I found the answer to this question in this article.

[Dejae]

well it does have a foundation. They are prefabs and are attached to concrete. There are not MH, 5th wheels or even mobile homes. But in some locations you don't own he property. You are just buying the prefab and in some places you are buying the property. I think that is the difference between deeded and non deeded.

[mptjelgin]

26 minutes ago, Dejae said:

well it does have a foundation. They are prefabs and are attached to concrete. There are not MH, 5th wheels or even mobile homes. 

It depends. Many park models are never attached to concrete or any other permanent foundation. In Texas they are titled as mobile homes (essentially vehicles) unless they are permanently attached to a foundation. We own a lot in a "resort" than has a number of park model homes. Many have had their wheels and axles removed, are on concrete block foundations, are tied down and underpinned, but are still considered (titled and taxed) mobile homes. Others have had rooms added on with foundation slabs and have become permanently built in, and those are treated as real property.

I don't know if other states follow the same practice. 

[Yarome]

From my understanding, a VA loan is not as restrictive so much as the lender, but certain requirements still have to be met. A "permanent foundation" is true... to an extent. It has to be "affixed" to a permanent foundation. Ie., a mobile home can qualify under a VA loan even though it is manufactured elsewhere and then "affixed" later... and is still easily moveable. Then again... not "all" mobile homes would qualify. They still have to have a HUD sticker showing that it meets all HUD codes and regulations.

Even though a mobile home may be approved under the VA loan "umbrella" many lenders will still not offer VA loans on them due to the extreme depreciation. It is, ultimately, the lenders decision as to what types of loans they will or will not offer.

For the VA... in addition to passing the "permanent foundation" test is meeting the criteria that it must be "classified and taxed as real property" as well as conform with building code and zoning requirements for real estate. [from chap. 10 of the VA lenders guidebook]

I'm not sure where a park model would fall in there, but it wouldn't suprise me if they fell somewhere in the category of a mobile homes distant 3rd cousin. Lender perceptions also factored.... slim to not, IMHO.

Never hurts to ask, though. 

[RV_]

Judi,

Why not get a used mobile home already on property? Down here in NW Louisiana some repos can be bought very inexpensively. Here is one example: https://shreveport.craigslist.org/reo/d/brand-new-3-br-mobile-home/6394066641.html

Just go to the city Craigslist where you want to end up and you may do even better.

We have a manufactured home that meets all code and was approved for a VA loan until we could sell some shares as we usually don't buy a new dwelling of any kind until we move. Ours has 6 inch framing top, sides, and bottom as well as the extra insulation in the attic. It also has 5/8" regular Sheetrock, top grade crown and trim, carpet and flooring. It also has real granite counters as well as top shelf doors, sinks, and bathroom fixtures. Outside it has decks and hardy board siding with the siding going to the ground and an asphalt shingle roof with turbines for summer. It is sitting on concrete with the straps bolted to the concrete.

What I found was that our old single wide which was on the 5 acre property when we bought it way back in 2003 was also legal for the loan despite no concrete as long as it was "immobilized." The real issue is if your lending institution will make a loan on it. If they will likely they will also do it with the GI bill loan. I still take issue with USAA not insuring us directly, and like an RV making us go to Foremost or some such.

The reason for the above is for you to first talk to some lenders and then decide if you want a VA loan or not. in my case we would get the same interest with either but that was before I went back to work for five years of fun and great earnings.

I am not saying you will find the loophole you need but first you have to have a lender willing to lend on whatever it is you are buying. When we did the loan on this one to get it done we had to let them use the land as well. That was irritating because the land is worth more than what we paid for the new home. So I imagine you will also have to own the land, not a lease or other lot type of RV deal. Our place is nicer than most older, and many new regular homes, and it cost us about what a Mercedes costs for a mid level car in the $80s. We had to pay it off because I hate paying interest at any rates. Same with our vehicles, all bought cash up front. Homes the same except when the old one hasn't sold yet. Thus our short term loans and experience with "unique" situations. If we weren't in tornado alley I would drop the homeowner's insurance and insure myself. I really hate the insurance rip off too. $900 a year is too much in my opinion. But if the odds came out against me it would be a really bad mistake until we are living in Denver area next year having sold our land here.

Here our property tax is under $100 a year. Big difference in selling price and assesed.

[Dejae]

Well the few we were looking at are actually called modular homes. They are prefabricated in a factory and brought in in 2 pieces, attached and then finished inside. They ARE permanent. They are not a mobile home. They don't even call these park models, they call them resort homes, some call them full on casitas.

RV that looks like a double wide. So I am assuming you bought your mobile home already on just a piece of property or is it a part of something else?

Not sure what you were meaning with this..... We have a manufactured home that meets all code and was approved for a VA loan until we could sell some shares as we usually don't buy a new dwelling of any kind until we move.

[mptjelgin]

In the title of the thread and again in the first post you asked about Park Models. Park Models are specialty RV's, typically 8' - 13' wide, with floor area not exceeding 400 square feet. 

A multi-section modular home is not a Park Model. It may be located in a park, but if you refer to them as Park Models in discussion with lenders, insurance companies, or the VA you will introduce confusion. 

[Chalkie]

10 hours ago, Dejae said:

Well the few we were looking at are actually called modular homes. They are prefabricated in a factory and brought in in 2 pieces, attached and then finished inside. They ARE permanent. 

^^^ I agree and in fact it confused me which is why I gave you the answer I did originally.

I found this article which may assist you with the terminologies you may need when dealing with a lender. 

[RV_]

Judi,

Sorry for the confusion. We were full timing for seven years and then in 2003 came off the road to care for our last remaining parents in their late 70s. Our oldest and grandkids were here too. So we found a 5 acre property that had a single wide on it. We expected to be here just a few years but when it looked like it would be another ten we decided to get out of the 16X80 single wide mobile home, and get a decently finished out 1800 sq ft double wide, with house materials and specs. It had to go where the old one was, and we didn't want to pull out invested monies so we did a short term loan that was paid off later. That was how we found it qualified for the VA loan.

But the point is that they did not just attach the new home to the loan but the property as well, and that I didn't like but it was temporary so we went with it. So we had to build up enough to pay the $83k balance off with the cash we had and six months of adding to it we built back. We also had some cash come in so we were able to replenish our liquid accounts and then some.

We just closed on selling the other inherited five acres and are liquidating our tractors and all the stuff with which we filled our workshop and second steel building. Then sometime in spring we will sell this to our neighbor as promised as he wants to build a ten acre family compound and mine is the only property adjacent he will ever be able to buy. Small acreages like our remaining one sell here on the first day of listing. We had the last sale bid up 5k more than asking, and they paid cash and all closing costs.

Does that clear it up? Because of the inherited assets we can buy cash up in Colorado too despite the higher prices because I am getting too old to do all the maintenance of a property. We will settle for a smaller acre or so, we'll see. I can't do apartments or town house types of living as we don't want to know our neighbors that intimately. Heck, I'd rather not know my neighbors at all past a nod hello and a mention of the weather. I spent my whole life as an AF brat then my own military career moving, and lived in large and small cities and towns. Like any happy New Yorker, I prefer my friends to live elsewhere and we meet when we choose. My family and my own company is all I need. I like spending time with myself. And I sure want no part of all the divisive foolishness going around like the plague. I have a few good friends and no doubt will make more. RVing was great but the wife prefers a place to nest and redecorate non stop. It's OK, we decided to spend our kids inheritance and not be the richest corpses in the graveyard. Our kids are doing fine. Our retirement and medical is pretty assured, and our nurse children asked to be closer to them so when we get old they don't have to keep making trips and that is reasonable. We can do some more ski action in own back yard there. I taught at the USAF Academy from 1978-1981 and we loved Colorado Springs, the surrounding areas, and the people.  Maybe we will get a bigger RV as now we have downsized to a Scamp fiver that is raised to sit flat when hooked up to my Ram diesel 2500 long bed crew cab. It is a 2014 deluxe model with the ash wood interior. The appliances were used on only one trip by the original owners we bought it from. Still making the plan and all is on the table. If either of us gets sick we want to be where we are happy. So we move now with 46 years together, and we both agree we need out of the South - bless their souls.