Refinancing a manufactured
home in Michigan.
On a site-built house, conventional is usually the flexible option for pulling cash out. On a manufactured home it is the most restrictive of the four, by 15 percentage points. If you are planning around an 80 percent number, the plan may not survive the appraisal.
Yes, you can refinance a manufactured home in Michigan if it sits on land you own, was built on or after June 15, 1976, is on a permanent foundation, and is titled as real property. Cash-out limits differ sharply by program. VA permits up to 100 percent of appraised value, FHA up to 80 percent, and conventional caps at 65 percent. USDA offers no cash-out and can only refinance an existing USDA loan.
The number most people plan around is wrong
Almost everyone walks into a cash-out conversation with 80 percent in their head. That is the conventional ceiling on a site-built house, and it is the number every calculator and article uses.
It does not apply to a manufactured home. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cap a manufactured home cash-out refinance at 65 percent of appraised value. Fannie Mae drops to 60 percent on an adjustable rate loan.
On a home appraising at 200,000 dollars, that is the difference between a 160,000 dollar ceiling and a 130,000 dollar one. If you owe 120,000, the 80 percent assumption suggests 40,000 available and the real conventional number is closer to 10,000 before costs.
Where this matters most. Debt consolidation. People plan the payoff list around available equity, then find out the equity they can actually reach is a fraction of what they budgeted. Run the real number first.
FHA and VA do not apply the penalty
Here is the part almost nobody tells manufactured homeowners.
FHA does not reduce its cash-out ceiling for manufactured homes. FHA cash-out stays at 80 percent of appraised value, the same as it is on a site-built house.
VA goes further. VA guidelines permit a cash-out refinance up to 100 percent of the appraised value, including the financed funding fee, for eligible Veterans and service members. Individual lenders commonly cap below that, often around 90 percent, so the practical number depends on who is doing the loan.
So the ranking on a manufactured home cash-out runs VA, then FHA, then conventional. That is exactly backwards from the site-built instinct, and it is the single most useful thing to know before you start planning.
There is a tradeoff. FHA carries mortgage insurance that generally stays for the life of the loan, so a higher ceiling is not automatically the better deal. That is a math question, not a rule, and it depends on how long you keep the loan.
The 20 year term limit changed in 2026
Until recently, conventional cash-out on a manufactured home carried a second penalty beyond the lower LTV: the loan term was capped at 20 years. A 20 year amortization could produce a higher payment than the loan being replaced, even at a lower rate, which defeated the purpose for a lot of borrowers.
Freddie Mac changed that. Guide Bulletin 2026-4, issued April 1, 2026, increased the maximum mortgage term for cash-out transactions secured by manufactured homes from 20 years to 30 years for loans receiving an Accept risk class through Loan Product Advisor. Loan Product Advisor was updated to support the change on April 12, 2026.
The 20 year limit still applies to files that come back with a Caution risk class, so the term you get depends on how the loan runs rather than on the property alone.
If someone quoted you a 20 year cash-out term on a manufactured home before spring 2026, that quote is out of date. Worth asking again.
Single-wide changes the answer again
If the home is a single-section, conventional cash-out is not available at all. Fannie Mae does not permit cash-out on a single-width manufactured home, and a single-wide cash-out is not eligible for sale to Freddie Mac.
FHA and VA both allow it. So on a single-wide, the conversation skips conventional entirely.
Rate and term refinancing is a different story. A single-wide can be refinanced conventionally for a rate or term change. It is specifically cash-out that is closed off.
Refinance options by program
What each one can and cannot do on a manufactured home.
| Program | Rate and Term | Cash-Out | Streamlined Option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional | Up to 95% LTV | 65%, multi-wide only | None |
| FHA | Available | Up to 80% | FHA Streamline, if current loan is FHA |
| VA | Available | Up to 100%, lenders often cap lower | VA IRRRL, if current loan is VA |
| USDA | Only if current loan is USDA | Not offered | Streamlined Assist, if current loan is USDA |
Summary only, current as of publication. Agency guidelines change and individual lenders may cap below agency maximums. Freddie Mac permits a 30 year term on manufactured home cash-out for Accept risk class loans as of April 2026; Caution risk class remains limited to 20 years. We confirm against current guides on every file.
What has to be true before you can refinance
Same property gates as a purchase. If any of these fail, the refinance stops regardless of your credit or equity.
The home is on land you own
A mortgage is a lien against real estate. A manufactured home in a park or on leased land is personal property on somebody else's land and cannot be refinanced with a mortgage. We do not finance those under any program.
It was built on or after June 15, 1976
The HUD Code date. Homes built before it are mobile homes and are not eligible for any standard mortgage program, purchase or refinance. Check the data plate or HUD certification label.
It is titled as real property
If the home still carries a certificate of title, an affidavit of affixture has to be filed with the state and recorded with the county register of deeds before closing. That is two steps on somebody else's timeline, so start it early.
The foundation meets HUD standards
For FHA to FHA refinances, an existing engineer certification can generally be reused if nothing about the foundation or structure has been modified since. Changing loan types, or any alteration, means a current certification.
The appraisal supports the value
Manufactured homes require Form 1004C or 70B, and at least two comparable sales must be manufactured homes. In rural Northern Michigan that can be the hardest condition to satisfy, and it is the one that most often changes the outcome late.
Common questions
Program details
Each program's manufactured home requirements, in full.
Find out what is actually reachable.
Tell us what program you are in now, whether the home is single or multi-section, and roughly what it is worth. We will give you the real ceiling before you plan around the wrong one.
Equal Housing Lender. All loans subject to credit approval and underwriting. Program eligibility, rates, terms, and loan-to-value limits are subject to change without notice. This is not a commitment to lend. Figures described here reflect Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac selling guides including Freddie Mac Guide Bulletin 2026-4 dated April 1, 2026, HUD Handbook 4000.1, VA program guidelines, and USDA HB-1-3555, and are provided for general education. Individual lenders may apply loan-to-value caps and other requirements below agency maximums, and VA cash-out above 90 percent is commonly restricted by lender policy. Payment and value examples are illustrative only. Kirby and Angie do not refinance manufactured homes located in mobile home parks or on leased land. Angie Anderson NMLS #1999286 | Kirby Slocum NMLS #680817 | Union Home Mortgage NMLS #2229229. Licensed in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.
