Mobile & Manufactured Home Loans in Bullhead City, AZ and the Colorado River Area
Local financing details: Manufactured Home Loans in Bullhead City, Arizona
Three questions matter more along the Colorado River than in most Arizona markets: who owns the ground under the home, how the home handles the heat, and whether you will live there all year or only in winter. Bullhead City’s average July high is 112°F. Homes here sit in land-lease communities, on individually owned lots and on desert acreage, and each of those is titled and financed differently.
The same questions apply in Fort Mohave and Mohave Valley, and with some differences in Kingman and Lake Havasu City. For how purchase and refinance loans work here, see manufactured home loans in Bullhead City.
Which side of the river, and which jurisdiction
Bullhead City faces Laughlin, Nevada across the river, and Needles, California is downriver. The state a home sits in decides how it is titled and who can finance it.
Santiago Financial, Inc. finances homes located in California and Arizona only, so a home in Laughlin or anywhere else in Nevada is outside what we can finance. A home in Needles is a California home, titled through the state’s housing department (HCD) and not through the MVD, Arizona’s Motor Vehicle Division.
On the Arizona side, the next question is whether the parcel is inside a city.
Where permit and flood questions start on the Arizona side
| Place | Status | Office to start with |
|---|---|---|
| Bullhead City | Incorporated city | City building and planning offices |
| Fort Mohave, Mohave Valley, Golden Valley | Unincorporated | Mohave County Development Services |
| Kingman | Incorporated city | City of Kingman |
| Lake Havasu City | Incorporated city | City of Lake Havasu City |
For a manufactured home, Bullhead City’s building permit page says an Arizona Department of Housing installation permit, a city zoning clearance and an electrical permit are typically required. In the unincorporated areas, Mohave County issues the permits, and its page says an approved septic system is required for all projects with plumbing.
Owned lot or community space
Both setups are found along the river. In a land-lease community you own the home and rent the space. On an owned lot you own both. South of Bullhead City, in Fort Mohave and Mohave Valley, owned lots and acreage are common.
An owned lot compared with a community space
| Question | Community space | Owned lot |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | The home | The home and the land |
| Monthly costs besides any loan | Space rent, utilities, insurance | Property taxes, utilities, insurance, upkeep of the lot |
| How the home is recorded | MVD title, one per section | MVD titles, or a recorded Affidavit of Affixture |
| Who else approves | The community, for residency | The city or county, if a home is placed or moved |
| Water and sewer | Usually arranged through the community | City service, or a well and septic system on rural parcels |
Space rent is paid every month on top of any loan payment. A community’s approval of you as a resident and a lender’s approval of the loan are separate reviews, and you need both.
On an owned lot, ask whether an Affidavit of Affixture has been recorded with the Mohave County Recorder. If it has, the home and land are one piece of real estate. If it has not, the home still carries an MVD title for each section, as ADOT’s mobile home ownership page describes, and it is personal property even though it sits on land the seller owns. Current MVD and county procedures should be confirmed. The difference shapes the loan, and Affidavit of Affixture in Arizona explains it.
Heat is the main thing the home has to handle
Bullhead City’s average high is about 108°F in June, 112°F in July and 110°F in August, and the average July low is close to 80°F, according to the Western Regional Climate Center’s station record. The air conditioner works through the night for months. Its condition is a bigger part of this purchase than it would be almost anywhere else.
A lender’s housing ratio compares the loan payment, taxes, insurance and any space rent with your income. The electric bill is usually not part of that ratio, so you have to count it. Put a summer month’s bill in your own budget beside those figures before you decide what you can carry. The summer heat checklist covers what to service and seal once the home is yours.
Flood zones along the river
Bullhead City averages about six inches of rain a year, and flood zones are mapped here all the same. The city’s floodplain page explains the zones on FEMA’s maps and links to them. For the unincorporated areas, the Mohave County Flood Control District has a flood map viewer you can search by address or parcel number.
Look the address up before you make an offer. FEMA notes that most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage, so flood coverage is a separate policy, and a lender may require it for a home in a mapped flood hazard area.
Seasonal or year-round: say so at the start
If you plan to spend winters here and summers somewhere cooler, that changes three things.
- Financing. Many loan programs require the home to be your primary residence. Tell the lender at the start how you will use the home, and ask whether financing is available for that use before you make an offer.
- Community rules. Communities set their own rules on age, on guests and on renting a home out. Read them before you apply for residency.
- Insurance and upkeep. A home closed up through a river summer still needs someone to check on it, and an insurer will want to know how the home is occupied. Buying as a snowbird in Arizona covers the seasonal questions.
Kingman and Lake Havasu City
Kingman, east of Bullhead City, sits about 2,800 feet higher and is noticeably cooler in summer. On rural parcels there and in Golden Valley, ask where the water comes from (a utility, a well or hauled water), whether the septic system has a county permit, and who maintains the road. Mohave County’s septic and well page covers the inspection report and Notice of Transfer filed when a property with a septic system changes owners.
Lake Havasu City, downriver, has summer heat much like Bullhead City’s, so the same cooling checks apply. Financing details for each are on the Kingman and Lake Havasu City pages.
This is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice. City, county and state procedures change, so confirm them with the offices linked above.
