Santiago Financial Inc: Expanding Horizons from California to Arizona
In October 2023, Santiago Financial, Inc. announced that it had begun lending in Arizona. Until then the company, founded in 1975, had financed manufactured and mobile homes only in California. It now lends in both states, anywhere in either one, from its office in Tustin, California.
What the announcement said
The announcement was short. It said the company was bringing its California experience in mobile and manufactured home loans to Arizona, for buyers and for owners looking to refinance, and it named the places below.
The same news went out on Instagram on October 13 that year: see the announcement on Instagram. The longer story of the company is in our history and the Tustin office.
The Arizona places the announcement named
The list covered 16 places, from the Phoenix area to the high country and the Colorado River.
Places named in the announcement, by region
| Region | Places named |
|---|---|
| Phoenix and the East Valley | Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Apache Junction |
| West Valley | Glendale, Peoria, Sun City, Surprise |
| Central and northern Arizona | Prescott, Dewey, Sedona, Flagstaff |
| Colorado River | Bullhead City |
| Southern Arizona | Tucson |
Most of those places now have a city guide on this site, and the Arizona page linked in the note above lists every one. A place does not need to be on that list, or to have a page, to be in the service area. Santiago Financial lends in all 15 Arizona counties, and financing a home anywhere in California or Arizona explains what changes for small towns and rural land. A home in any other state cannot be financed.
The spread matters for the home itself. Snow on the roof, heating and winter access are questions in Flagstaff that rarely come up in Phoenix. The data plate, the paper sheet fixed inside every manufactured home, lists the wind, roof-load and thermal zones the home was designed for, which is one reason a file starts with where the home sits.
The loans are the same and the state paperwork is different
The financing did not change at the state line: purchase, refinance and land-and-home loans for manufactured and mobile homes, in land-lease communities, where you own the home and rent the space, and on owned land. All of it is subject to credit approval, and not all applicants or properties qualify.
What changed is the paperwork behind the home, because each state keeps its own records.
Home records in California and Arizona
| Record | California | Arizona |
|---|---|---|
| Agency that titles the home | HCD, the Department of Housing and Community Development | The MVD, the Motor Vehicle Division of ADOT |
| Record for a home permanently attached to land its owner owns | HCD Form 433A, which reports installation on a foundation system and is recorded with the county when applicable | Affidavit of Affixture, recorded with the county |
| Explained in | California HCD title basics | Arizona title basics |
One difference is worth knowing before you shop in Arizona. The state generally issues a separate title for each section of a home, so a double-wide can come with two, and each has to be transferred correctly.
Both agencies publish their own guidance: HCD registration and titling and ADOT MVD mobile home ownership. This is general information, not legal advice, and current procedures should be confirmed with the agency.
If you are looking at a home in Arizona, tell a specialist where it sits and whether the land is leased or owned: contact us.
