A fresh look at manufactured and modular homes.
As a long-time lender, I get a pretty close-up view of one of the biggest challenges facing buyers today:
Affordability.
People still want homes. They still want a place of their own, a yard, another bedroom, a first home, a smaller home, a place for Mom or Dad, or possibly buying a home near Mom or Dad—or simply something that fits their life without stretching their budget beyond reason.
The dream hasn’t disappeared.
But finding the home that fits both the dream and the budget has gotten harder.
That is why this topic has become so exciting to me.
Fairway has a terrific financing solution for manufactured and modular construction, and as I’ve started spending more time in this space—talking with manufacturers, learning how these homes are built and seeing some of the innovation firsthand—I’ve become more and more convinced that factory-built housing is going to be an important part of the affordability solution.
And I am so glad we get to be part of it.
This Is Not Your Mother’s Manufactured Housing
When I was little, I remember seeing sections of a house traveling down the freeway on separate trucks. One section would go by…and then another. (Do you remember seeing that?) That was probably my earliest picture of a manufactured home.
And yes, homes are still transported in sections today. That part hasn’t disappeared.
But the world of factory-built housing has come a LONG way since I was that little girl watching houses go down the freeway.
Today there are beautiful manufactured homes, modular homes, sophisticated factory-built systems, new materials, new designs and new technology. Some look so much like traditionally site-built homes that you might never guess how much of the construction happened somewhere else.
And I think that matters because factory-built housing still carries an old stigma for some people.
It deserves another look.
I recently had the opportunity to walk through a factory and see some of the innovation happening firsthand. I even watched parts of a home being created using 3-D printing technology.
That was a definite WOW moment for me.
Not because every factory-built home is 3-D printed—they certainly aren’t—but because it drove home something much bigger:
Housing is changing.
There are smart people working on better, faster and more efficient ways to build homes, and that innovation is happening right now. This isn’t some futuristic idea we may see ten years from now.
The future of housing is already unfolding. And the more I see, the more excited I get about what that could mean for buyers.
More Ways to Build Means More Ways to Solve Affordability
For most buyers, the home search begins with whatever is currently for sale. And of course, that will always be an important part of the market.
But factory-built housing gives us another possibility.
Instead of only asking, “What house can we find?” we can sometimes ask, “What home can we put together?”
Maybe we have a buyer who is struggling to find something affordable. A REALTOR® helps locate the right piece of land. A manufactured or modular home company helps identify the right home. The construction and site teams determine what needs to happen on the property. And then we structure the financing around the project.
That’s where this gets REALLY interesting to me.
Because suddenly we have another path.
Buyer + REALTOR® + lot + home + site work + financing.
We’re not simply waiting and hoping an affordable home appears.
We are creating another opportunity for homeownership!
And This Is Where Fairway’s Financing Gets Exciting
A great home and a great piece of land only get us so far.
At some point somebody has to answer the question: “How do we finance all of this?”
And that is one of the reasons I’m so grateful Fairway is embracing this space. We have one-time-close construction-to-permanent financing available for eligible manufactured and modular projects.
Depending on the borrower, property, loan program and project, that can potentially bring together the land, the home and eligible site improvements in one construction-to-permanent financing structure.
That is HUGE!
Because these projects can have a lot of moving pieces.
There’s the land. The home itself. The foundation and site work. Utilities and tie-ins. Delivery and set. The construction period. And eventually the permanent mortgage.
Having a financing structure designed to help coordinate those pieces can make an idea feel a whole lot more possible.
And I love that!
Because I don’t want a buyer—or a REALTOR®—to discover a fantastic manufactured or modular housing option and then hit a wall because no one knows how to finance it.
Bring it to me. Let’s look at it! It’s so exciting!
Sometimes the Biggest Solution Is the Team
One of the things I am learning to love about this part of housing is how collaborative it is.
The buyer doesn’t have to know everything. Neither does the REALTOR®. Neither does the home company. Each person brings a different piece.
- A great REALTOR® may know where to find land.
- The manufactured or modular company knows its homes.
- The site team understands what has to happen on the property.
- And we understand the financing!
When the right people come together around the buyer, that is when an idea can turn into a home.
So if you are a REALTOR® working with someone who keeps saying, “There’s just nothing affordable out there for me,” I want you to think beyond what is already listed.
Maybe there is a lot.
Maybe there is a manufactured or modular home that fits.
Maybe there is another path we haven’t explored yet.
Call me. Let’s put the pieces together!
And It’s Not Just Full-Size Homes! (Think ADUs!)
Another reason this space fascinates me is the growing conversation around ADUs.
- Maybe a family wants aging parents nearby.
- Maybe an adult child needs a more attainable place to live.
- Maybe someone already owns property that could accommodate another living space, subject of course to zoning, permitting and other local requirements.
Factory-built and modular construction can be part of those conversations, too.
That is what makes all of this so exciting!
We don’t need one single answer to the housing affordability problem.
We need more answers!
- More ways to build.
- More housing choices.
- More creative uses of land.
- More collaboration.
And financing that keeps up with all of it.
This Is Why I’m Excited!
Being in the mortgage space for a long time, and I’ve watched this industry change again and again.
Right now, I feel like we are watching another really important shift.
Manufacturers are innovating. Technology is changing. Builders are thinking differently. REALTORS® are finding opportunities. Buyers are becoming more open to alternatives.
And Fairway has financing that allows us to be part of the solution.
That is near and dear to me. Because my job isn’t simply to tell people what they can’t afford. My favorite part of this business has always been figuring out: What CAN we do?
If you are dreaming about a home and the traditional search isn’t getting you there, let’s broaden the conversation.
If you’re a REALTOR® with a buyer who needs another option, bring me into it.
If you have land, are looking at manufactured or modular homes, or are simply curious whether factory-built housing could work for you, I would love to explore it with you.
The affordability problem is real. But so are the solutions!
And I am incredibly excited to help put them together. 🏡💚
— SE
