Defining Manufactured Home Terminology for Shoppers and Buyers of America’s Dream Home

The manufactured home salesperson will use terminology when interacting with a manufactured home shopper or buyer that the customer may not understand. Even people who write about manufactured homes and the manufactured housing industry (myself concluded) commonly use words and terminology within the manufactured housing industry that we assume other people would understand. Therefore, I have listed below some of the definitions for “mobile home speak.”

Appraisal – A professional estimate of the property value.

Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) – Issued by inspection official certifying that home is installed per regulatory requirements of the placement permit and can be safely occupied by the homeowner.

Chattel Mortgage – A method of financing a manufactured home as personal property without land included as lender collateral.

Delivery – Transportation of home to a predetermined location.

Earnest Money – A term commonly applied to the real estate sales agreement that acknowledges partial payment of the purchase price and binds the parties to the stated terms.

Escrow – A legal relationship between, a buyer, seller, and third party in which the third party holds money and/or papers until all conditions of a sales agreement have been fulfilled.

Factory – The establishment that constructs the home in accordance with HUD codes and under HUD inspection, in other words, the builder.

Floors – A term referring to the individual sections of a home. (A double wide is two floors; A triple wide is three floors).

Foundation – The permanent base under a home providing stability and disbursement of weight, usually made of concrete at the site, to meet state and local code requirements.

HUD – Housing and Urban development. The agency of the federal government responsible for national building code enforcement in manufactured housing.

HUD LABEL – A decal affixed to home certifying that home is built in compliance with the HUD code. Home cannot be transported from factory without being affixed

Land Package – A method of financing a manufactured home, land, and site improvements with one loan.

Letter of Commitment – A letter from a bank or other lender that agrees to loan a certain sum to buy a specific property on certain terms.

Lender – A financial institution which provides the borrowed funds to purchase a home or land/home.

Marriage Line – The area where multiple section homes are joined.

Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin (MSO) – A document prepared by factory that is used to create a chain of ownership which is then used to legally create a title to home when first purchased by a customer.

Options – Features and amenities added to the home, at the buyer’s discretion, for comfort, convenience or ambiance.

Percolate – A measure of the ability of the land to absorb water in determining provisions for a sanitation system and drainfield.

Permits – City or County authorization to install homes, sewage disposal systems, electrical connections, outbuildings, etc.

Personal property – Cars, furniture, and other transitory property are personal property. A manufactured home is considered personal property unless the owner eliminates the home’s title and permanently affixes it to land owned by the owner of the home.

Piers – Columns of concrete blocks or metal stands spaced intermittently beneath a home for support.

Pit Set – see residential set.

Plot Plan – Detailed scale drawing showing locations of home, outbuildings, septic systems, as well as setbacks and dimensions. Usually required to obtain permits.

Real Property – A term usually applied to real estate-land and homes and other structures permanently affixed to land.

Retailer – A company licensed and bonded with the appropriate local and state authorities, holding an agreement with factory builders to sell homes.

Residential set – Sometimes referred to as pit set or low profile. Requires excavation of site prior to construction of foundation.

Septic Design – A plan drawn by a licensed septic contractor and approved by the local health department that shows the type and location of a septic tank and drainfield on a piece of property.

Set Backs – Distances buildings must be located from property lines, as required by code or zoning regulations.

Set-Up – Final stages of the construction of home which must be completed on site, i.e. join sections together, complete roofing, finish taped and textured surfaces, paint exterior trim and install carpeting.

Skirting – Materials used to enclose the foundation and crawl space beneath a home. This parameter may be concrete block, pressure treated wood, matching wood siding or other building products depending on the application needs and zoning codes.

Site – Property location or address of the home.

Site Improvements – Construction necessary to prepare for the home and to complete it after home is set up, such as excavation, foundation, garage, well, septic, driveways, sidewalks, electrical poles,etc. Clearly each situation will vary.

Tape and Texture – The enclosing of seams on the interior walls of a home that has been sheetrocked, and applying material applied to the sheetrock to give a traditional surface suitable for painting.

There are three additional terms that I neglected to list in the alphabetical sequence above that might prove helpful:

Mobile Home – A manufactured home built before 1980

Manufactured Home – A mobile home built after 1980.

America’s Dream Home – See manufactured home.