MH Appraisals

[Donna DeAngelis]

I am interested in purchasing a MH and purchasing land to put it on at the same time. I have found TWO parcels of land, side by side, with approximate acreage of 5.3 acres. I found a Fleetwood MH and are dealing with a mortgage company that simply cannot find a comparable setup to rate an appraisal on. They stated that since they cannot find a comp, they cannot estimate the value and, thereby, holding up our funding. How do we get around this? Is it possible for them to appraise the value of the house then separately appraise the value of the land and then combine the two? I have only dealt with one mortgage company at this time. Can you recommend a mortgage company that can work more easily with me? We've been going around with this snafu for about 2 1/2 months and I just want to buy my home! So, I need HELP!

Thanks.

Donna DeAngelis

[rmurray]

First I would be talking to the dealer...They usually know appraisors that specialize in manufactured homes and have comparables all over the area...if they exist...

If there are NO comparables in a market area..appraisors are allowed to go out of the area to a similar market and develope an appraisal with explaination...Now..this is for areas with no manufactured home comps...not areas with manufactured home comps that are actually too low for your use....Also if there are 2 comps only in the area..the appraisor is allowed to use 1 stick built home....

The lender can resist all of this if they like...If so ..you might need to find a different lender..In that case I would deal with an originator in the local area..He will know the appraisors in the area and be able to take care of the details..

There are loans that do what you have suggested...Appraise the land and the home separately...They are usually offered through the dealer from Chase, Origen or Triad...These are traditional manufactured home lenders..rates will be a little higher and downpayments could be a little higher..

One more thing you can do...call all of the local appraisors in the area..tell them what you are doing and how much you need see if they think it is possible..if so talk to the lender about switching appraisors..

Your dealer should be doing most of this...Good Luck