The paths at a glance
Answer the three questions and your most relevant path appears here.
Home-only (chattel) financing
Usually the most relevant path when the home sits in a community on leased land.
The loan finances the home itself as personal property; the homesite is rented from the community, and space rent is paid separately from the loan payment. Two approvals run in parallel — the lender’s and the community’s own resident approval — and both must finish before move-in.
Worth having handy:
- The community’s name and current monthly space rent
- Home year, make, and number of sections
- Serial number or HUD label, if you can find it
- Whether you’re buying from a dealer or a private seller
Financing on land you already own
Usually the most relevant path when the parcel is already yours — bought, inherited, or paid off.
A home placed on (or already attached to) your own land may be financed together with the real property. If the land has equity, it may be able to count toward the down payment instead of cash — the arrangement called land-in-lieu. Title, foundation or affixture records, utilities, and access join the file.
Worth having handy:
- Parcel or deed information, even if incomplete
- Whether the home is already on the land or still to be placed
- Any liens or unpaid taxes on the land
- Well, septic, and road-access details for rural parcels
Buying the home and land together
Usually the most relevant path when one transaction covers both the home and the parcel.
Home and land finance as one real-estate transaction — an existing home already installed on the lot, or a project that combines buying land, site work, and a new home. Expect more moving pieces than a community purchase: land title, an appraisal of home and land together, and escrow.
Worth having handy:
- The property address and asking price
- Whether the home is already installed or the project is new
- Home year, make, and sections (for an existing home)
- Any site work still needed — foundation, utilities, permits
Refinancing a home you already own
The path to explore for a different term or payment, an eligible payoff, or a loan that no longer fits.
A refinance replaces your current loan with a new one. Community homes refinance as the home itself; homes affixed to owned land may involve real-property and title records. Whether refinancing helps depends on your current loan, the home, equity, and current program guidelines — a short conversation usually answers it.
Worth having handy:
- A current loan statement or approximate payoff
- Your current rate, payment, and remaining term
- Whether the land is leased or owned
- Your main goal — payment, term, or an eligible payoff
Not sure about the land yet?
Completely normal — the land question is the one most buyers haven’t met before.
Whether the homesite is leased or owned is the fork that decides everything else, and listings don’t always say. Two minutes with the process guide will make the difference clear, or skip straight to a conversation — identifying the right path from a listing is something we do daily.
Worth having handy:
- The listing or address, if you have one
- Anything you know about the community or parcel
Outside California or Arizona
We want to be straight with you: we can’t be your lender.
Santiago Financial, Inc. finances manufactured and mobile homes located in California and Arizona only. For a home in another state, look for a lender that specializes in manufactured housing there — and take our buyer resources with you; the questions to ask about titles, space rent, and community approval travel well.
