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Why is a mobilehome not a mobilehome?

The general public, government agencies, the courts and many others in the industry still use the terms mobilehome and mobile home when they are actually referring to manufactured homes. Perhaps, because the term Recreational Vehicles (RV's) is now universally accepted as the generic term for self-contained travel homes and travel trailers, the term mobile home has become synonymous with manufactured home. In many cases, both terms are used to make sure the bases are covered and often they are used interchangeably. The most commonly used, descriptive term today is mobile/manufactured home, or MH.

Unfortunately, many people still use the terms trailer and trailer park, and of course the colorful term trailer trash, which is upsetting to residents living in a very well-designed and efficient home, including those residing in a five-star country club in their spacious three-bedroom, three-bath manufactured home with a gourmet kitchen facing a manicured golf course. Several trailers recently sold in Malibu on rented lots in the $2 million range.

Mobilehomes are in fact not really mobile at all. Practically, they cannot be hooked up to a vehicle and transported to a new location. Many years ago, before the advent of double- and triple-wide manufactured homes, and before the development of parks as communities for permanent living, travel trailers were classified as vehicles and were licensed and regulated by the State Department of Motor Vehicles. Manufactured homes were included presumably because they had to be mobile enough to be transported to their site, which became their permanent location.

Eventually, logic prevailed and this has all changed. In California, manufactured homes and their communities are now under jurisdiction of the State Housing and Community Development Department, as opposed to the Department of Motor Vehicles. In some cases, cities have taken over jurisdiction, treating manufactured homes under rules and regulations similar to those applied to traditional residential housing.

From legal and practical standpoints, it is important to know that a mobilehome cannot readily be moved to a new location, and, in the case of older mobile homes, they cannot be relocated at all because of government and park standards, rules and regulations. Mobilehome specifications adopted by the Federal Government, Housing and Urban Development Agency, in 1976 preclude homes built before that time from getting government-backed financing and also from qualifying to be installed at a new location (see HUD requirements below). The cost to move is prohibitive as well as the cost to finance a non-HUD-qualified home.

The mobilehome owner on a rented pad is pretty much subject to the dictates of the park owner. Unlike an apartment renter, the mobilehome owner cannot simply pack up and move to another location to avoid rent increases, forced conversion to condominium ownership, bad management and/or outrageous rules and regulations.

Being locked-in, mobilehome owners should have special consideration when it comes to property rights. They should have a say in such matters as whether or not the park should be converted to condominium ownership and/or under what conditions, and they should be protected from exorbitant rent increases.

General Eligibility Criteria For Manufactured Housing By HUD:

The home must be constructed in conformance with the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards as evidenced by the affixed certification label. This is the RED TAG that is on the rear of each section of the manufactured home. If the RED TAG is missing, the house is not eligible for Section 184 financing.
Only manufactured homes built after June 15, 1976 will bear that seal. Manufactured homes built before that date are ineligible for Section 184 financing.
The home must be classified and taxed as real estate (as applicable).
The mortgage must cover both the manufactured unit and its site, or the appropriate lease documents must be in place. The mortgage must have a term of no more than 30 years from the date amortization begins.
The manufactured home must not have been installed or occupied previously at any other site or location.
The finished grade elevation beneath the manufactured home or, if a basement is used, the lowest exterior grade adjacent to the perimeter enclosure, must be at or above the 100-year return frequency flood elevation.
The house must be permanently attached to the foundation system. Existing homes must be attached to the foundation system by either cable or rebar welded to the frame rail or similar fashion. The unit must be anchored to the footing (or pier).
The axles and tongue must be removed from the unit. The chassis must stay in place.
The house must have adequate skirting and insulation around the perimeter to prevent the crawl space area from freezing and allow proper ventilation of the crawl space. If the skirting is wood, the wood must be properly treated to prevent decay.

Mobile/Manufactured Home or Modular - Do You Know The Difference?

There is both a very common misconception and often disputed belief that Manufactured/Mobile homes are Modular Homes. They are not. While it is true that both have components built in a factory, that is pretty well where the similarities end. Unfortunately numerous individuals have purchased what they were told and believed to be a Modular home when it fact it was a Manufactured/Mobile Home. The terminology Manufactured/Mobile Home in the minds of many is a picture of trailers, poor living standards and locations. For this reason many attempt to inject the more desirable name of Modular Home instead. Few really understand what a Modular is.

These homes have axles, wheels, electric brakes, heavy steel tow bar/hitches and are towed by trucks designed for this purpose. The mobile is transported to its final location with special permits and escorts. Generally they are designated as double wides or triple wides. Each section is built on 2 large steel I beams for support with other components that differ from a conventional home. They have the electrical wiring, plumbing, finished walls, installed bathrooms and kitchens, heating systems and appliances already in place. Most are in 2 sections designed to be fastened together on location with plumbing and wiring and roof tied together after they are set on cement blocks or metal screw jacks. Some are triple wide and have a 3rd middle section which is also finished inside. Many of the major items, including appliances are manufactured exclusively for only the Mobile Home industry, e.g furnace, water heater and plumbing materials.

Contrary to belief and visual aspects they do not rest on a conventional foundation, they are supposed to be totally supported on the blocks or screw jacks. In recent years many jurisdictions require a perimeter wall that appears to be a foundation and is referred to as a foundation to enclose the area between the homes floor and the ground beneath it. It is not a foundation in the true sense as foundations are a support system for a structure. If in fact the Mobile Home was installed with the pressure of its exterior walls sitting on the so called foundation, it would create twisting, sagging and some degrees of collapse to the Manufactured/Mobile Home.

Manufactured/Mobile Homes are built according to regulations dictated by the Federal Housing and Urban Development and their eventual installation and any additions or remodeling are under these same controls. In California they are further regulated by the Department of Housing and Community Development. Garages, additional rooms, decks, etc. cannot be directly attached to a Mobile/Manufactured Home. In fact it is frequently done in some counties which do not follow Federal Regulations.