03/26/2026
MANUFACTURED HOMES
In light of a change to the MLS system, Ethos Real Estate West wanted to share some information:
- Manufactured homes are considered personal property when they are first bought from a dealer. They come with a title, just like a car or a truck would have a title.
- Inside a manufactured home park, the home stays titled. Meaning, it depreciates; like a car or truck goes down in value, so does any other personal property. It is NOT real estate here.
- Some people buy a new manufactured home in a manufactured home park with plans to move the home to land some day and give it a foundation and make it in to real estate (this involves turning the title back in to the state so it is no longer personal property). The problem with this is that the leading lending type for manufactured homes is FHA. FHA only allows for a home to be moved one time - from the dealer to the home site. If a home is moved more than once, FHA will not lend on it. Every time the home is moved, the structure undergoes stress and shortens the lifespan of the home.
- Maybe a person plans on not having a loan on it once they move it, which is great! But, when they go to sell it, a potential new buyer will have to find a non-FHA loan; which is possible, but definitely more difficult.
All this information is to let you know that Ethos Real Estate West has no intention of listing homes in manufactured home parks for sale for two main reasons: 1) they aren't real estate there. Those homes are considered personal property there. And 2) honestly we'd feel bad charging commission on a personal property item that is being perceived as something more.