Need a home?
Here’s how buying one works.
Every home at Watkins MHC is owned by the household living in it, so getting a home is part of moving here. There are three ways to do it, and one honest conversation about money.
Three ways to get a home here
Where your home comes from.
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Move a home you own
Already own a manufactured home? You can move it onto a lot here if it meets park rules and state requirements. A Minnesota-licensed installer sets it (Minn. Stat. 327B.041 (opens in a new tab)).
Before you book a mover: call or text us with the home’s size, year and condition, so there are no surprises on moving day.
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Buy a home that’s already here
Residents have the right to sell their homes in place. You buy the home from its owner and apply to live here like anyone else. Under Minnesota law, the sale isn’t final until the park approves you as a resident, and the seller must give you a written safety disclosure about the home before the sale.
Ask us whether any residents are selling right now.
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Buy from a retailer
Manufactured-home retailers sell new and pre-owned homes, and can arrange delivery and setup on your lot. Manufactured homes built since June 15, 1976 are built to the federal HUD Code. Source: CFPB (opens in a new tab)
Talk to us before you sign with a retailer, so we can go over what the park needs from the home and which lot it’s headed to.
For sale now
Homes for sale here now
Homes for sale inside the community, posted by the office with photos of the home itself. Ask about one and we’ll set up a time to see it.
Paying for the home
A loan for a home on rented land is its own thing.
Watkins MHC doesn’t make loans, set loan terms or decide who gets approved. If you’re borrowing to buy a home here, that approval comes from a lender. Here’s what’s worth knowing before you call one.
Most homes on rented lots use a personal-property loan
Because you own the home but not the land under it, the home is usually financed like personal property. These are often called chattel loans. Compared with a house mortgage, rates are usually higher, terms are shorter, and there are fewer protections if payments stop: a lender can repossess the home instead of going through foreclosure. Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Manufactured Housing Finance (2021) (opens in a new tab)
Many mortgage lenders don’t make these loans at all. Ask specifically for a manufactured-home loan for a home on leased land.
Lenders that finance homes in communities
These national lenders make loans for manufactured homes in land-lease communities. Listed for reference only. It isn’t a complete list or a recommendation, and each lender makes its own decisions. Local banks and credit unions may lend too, so ask yours.
- 21st Mortgage Corporation (opens in a new tab)
- Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance (opens in a new tab)
- Triad Financial Services (opens in a new tab)
- Cascade Financial Services (opens in a new tab)
FHA Title I
The federal Title I program insures loans for manufactured homes, including homes on rented lots. For a leased lot, HUD requires the lease to have an initial term of at least three years and to give at least 180 days’ written notice before it ends. Ask us whether the current Watkins MHC lot lease meets those terms before you apply for this type of loan. Few lenders offer Title I, so expect to look. Source: HUD, Financing Manufactured Homes (Title I) (opens in a new tab)
Why a regular house mortgage usually doesn’t fit
Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s manufactured-home programs require the home to be titled as real estate. In Minnesota, a home can only be converted to real property when it sits on land the owner holds, so a home on a rented lot stays personal property. Sources: Fannie Mae (opens in a new tab), Minn. Stat. 168A.141 (opens in a new tab)
If your credit isn’t perfect
Plenty of people who finance manufactured homes don’t have perfect credit. In federal data for 2019, the median borrower for this kind of loan had a credit score of 676. Approval isn’t automatic, though: about half of these loan applications were denied that year. If a lender says no, ask why, and try one that specializes in manufactured homes. Source: CFPB, 2019 HMDA data (opens in a new tab)
A free, HUD-approved housing counselor can help you get ready. Find a housing counselor (opens in a new tab).
Paying cash
If you’re buying a home outright, the steps are the same, minus the loan.
How it works
From first visit to moving day.
Moving a home here and buying one here follow the same road. The only fork is where the home comes from.
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Step 1: Come see it
Call, text or send the visit form. Walk the streets, look at the lots and ask about rules for homes, pets and parking before you commit to anything.
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Step 2: Pick your path to a home
Move a home you already own, buy one from a resident who’s selling here, or buy one from a manufactured-home retailer and have it delivered.
Tell us about the home before you buy or move it, so we can go over what the park needs from it.
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Step 3: Line up the money, if you need a loan
A home loan comes from a lender, not from us. Lenders that finance homes on rented lots are a specific group, so start early.
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Step 4: Apply to live here
This is the residency application, separate from any loan. Minnesota requires the park to give you its written screening criteria and a state notice about your rights.
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Step 5: Sign the lot lease
Read the lease and park rules, and keep a copy. Minnesota caps a park’s security deposit at two months’ rent and bans entrance fees.
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Step 6: Set the home
In Minnesota, a licensed manufactured-home installer sets the home. Book the move and setup with us before the installer’s date.
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Step 7: Move in
Then, at tax time, check whether you qualify for Minnesota’s Homestead Credit Refund on Form M1PR.
Approval one
To live here
Comes from Watkins MHC. It’s the residency application, judged on written screening criteria that are the same for everyone.
Residency applicationApproval two
For a home loan
Comes from a lender, only if you’re borrowing to buy the home. We don’t make loans or decide them.
Home loans, explainedWant the steps on paper? Print this page and bring it to your visit.
What a month costs
Lot rent here vs. rent in St. Cloud.
Lot rent is only part of what owning a home costs. It’s still the biggest difference you’ll notice, so here it is next to what St. Cloud renters pay.
The apartment figures are area averages and may include some utilities. The lot rent doesn’t include your home, its insurance, your utilities or upkeep. Add your own numbers below to see a fuller picture.