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  December 2008
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Forbes.com on the future of manufactured housing

A recent article at Forbes.com looks beyond the current downturn:

When U.S. housing recovers, the leading homebuilders may not be the ones to benefit.

Instead:

Humble creators of manufactured housing. Not only are these low-end homes more in keeping with the spirit of the times than mutant McMansions, they look much better than the double-wides of yore and subsidy-happy Uncle Sam is about to include them under the aegis of its favored lending programs.

According to the article:

Starting in April [2009], the Federal Housing Administration is increasing loan limits to $70,000 from $46,000 when only the manufactured home -- and not the property beneath -- is being financed.

FHA loans are becoming hugely popular:

...because they are essentially the only low-downpayment loan offering available...There is no income ceiling or credit floor on an FHA insured loan. A borrower just needs to come up with a 3.0% downpayment and prove sufficient income to pay back the loan.

We previously covered the difference between manufactured (HUD code) and modular (regular code) homes.

Read the article for more details.

Subtitle: When U.S. Housing recovers, the leading homebuilders may not be the ones to benefit.
Author: Maurna Desmond
Publication: Forbes
Section: Markets / Housing
Length: 715 words
Date: November 20, 2008

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