Although the never-ending debate over whether it’s best to buy a manufactured home or rent a piece of property has been going on for decades, buying is becoming more and more attractive. In fact, the top real estate agents and financial advisors have recently confirmed that purchasing a home is much better than renting one.
If you’re looking for the best way to buy a manufactured home, adding the following three tips to your to-do list can help you avoid some costly mistakes.
Consider Your Monthly Income
Many factors come into play when deciding whether it makes sense to buy a manufactured home. One of these factors is your monthly budget. Before deciding your housing future, it’s essential to figure out how much you can afford to spend on a house.
According to experts, a good rule of thumb is to keep all of your housing-related expenses, including bills, monthly mortgage payment, property taxes and homeowners insurance, at around 30% of your monthly gross income.
If you’re looking to cut your housing costs, the first option you should consider is a manufactured home. Because these homes are usually more affordable than site-built construction, you can significantly reduce your monthly mortgage payment. Additionally, modern manufactured homes are more energy efficient than other alternatives and provide certain tax benefits. These two points will also have a positive impact on your overall monthly budget.
It’s also important to begin saving for the down payment long before submitting your application for a manufactured home loan. After all, the amount you’re able to put down will help you strategically determine the loan size, interest rate, and monthly payment.
Get Approved for a Manufactured Home Loan
A conditional approval for a manufactured home loan is an important step in the home buying journey. Getting approved for a loan in advance can save you a lot of time and energy because you won’t waste your time looking at homes you cannot afford to purchase. Besides allowing you to narrow down your options, a loan approval shows sellers, realtors, and dealers that you’re a committed buyer. This can help you buy a manufactured home sooner.
But what does getting approved for a manufactured home loan mean? In a nutshell, it means that a lender has looked at your financial information and employment history, and is willing to offer you the loan amount you need in order to buy a manufactured home.
Don’t Do Anything That Can Negatively Affect Your Loan Application
Different factors can affect the manufactured home loan process and possibly get your application denied. Because manufactured home lenders want to see applicants who are creditworthy and can repay their loans, it’s essential to know that certain factors, including your credit score, employment history, the amount of down payment and debt-to-income ratio, can significantly affect your ability to qualify for a manufactured home loan.
To improve your chances of getting a manufactured home loan, under no circumstances should you apply for another loan, make any big purchases, close unused accounts, fail to pay bills on time, and change your job during the underwriting process. In order to offer you the best deal possible, lenders need to see that you’re reliable, so they always require a complete paper trail.
This blog post does not provide all the advice that you need in order to buy a manufactured home. For more information about the key steps you should take or the manufactured home loans that you can access in order to buy a manufactured home, please contact a manufactured home loan provider today! You will need a professional that is ready to offer you manufactured home financing tailored to your personal financial circumstances.