Thanks to their affordable price points and quick times, there is a growing number of manufactured homes for sale in Portland. Individuals are increasingly turning to manufactured housing (sometimes called mobile homes) as a budget-friendly solution to building a new home. Like building a stick-built or other type of prefab home, the process for buying and building a manufactured home in Portland is not always the most clear.

To help you understand if buying a manufactured house in the Portland area is a good fit for your project, we have created a guide to address some of the most common pain points in the process. This includes local manufactured housing regulations, financing options, available brands, and an overview of the homes for sale.

Manufactured Homes for Sale in Portland

Portland Manufactured Housing Regulations

One of the first places you should begin your research for a manufactured house in Oregon is determining your lot’s eligibility to place a home upon. This is often determined by your city’s local zoning board.

As you check with your local building department, an important point of clarification is that you are building a HUD-certified manufactured home. While they often look similar to traditional or modular homes, manufactured houses are built to a different building code, one that is set by the UPotrland Manufactured Home on Individual Lot Requirements.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, rather than local building codes.

This is important to understand because not all lots are zoned for/allow owners to set a manufactured structure upon them. Therefore, we recommend we check with the building department for the jurisdiction you are in:

• Oregon Manufactured Housing Regulations

• Portland Manufactured Housing Permitting Process

• Portland Manufactured Home on Individual Lot Requirements

• Washington County Manufactured Housing Permitting Program

Financing a Manufactured Home in Portland

After completing the necessary due diligence on your lot’s suitability for a manufactured home, you must also begin to think about the important question of, “how will you pay for your manufactured home?” 

While the average manufactured home is nearly three to four times cheaper than a site-built home in Northern Oregon, manufactured houses in Portland have an average cost between $70 - $100 per square foot. When you calculate the final cost of building a new manufactured home (including services like site preparation, permitting, shipping, and installation) even the most affordable homes start to become expensive. For example, for a 1,300 square foot double-wide home in Portland, we estimate turn-key project costs to be around $150,000, not including land.

So how will you finance your home purchase? For most, paying cash is not a viable option. And much like zoning regulations, financing options for a manufactured home differ from those for other construction types. 

So while your home might not be eligible for a standard construction loan and mortgage, some loans that can be used to finance your project include:

• FHA Title I Loan

• Use: buy or refinance a manufactured home, developed lot on which to place a manufactured home, or the two, combined.

• Requirements: home must be the principal residence of the borrower & buyers can lease a lot as opposed to purchasing it. When the land/lot is leased, HUD requires the lessor to provide the manufactured homeowner with an initial lease term of 3 years.

• Max Loan Amount(s):

• Manufactured home only - $69,678

• Manufactured home lot - $23,226

• Manufactured home & lot - $92,904

• Max Loan Term:

• Manufactured home only (or on a single-section lot) - 20 years

• Lot only - 15 years

• Manufactured home on a multi-section lot - 25 years

• Requirements: Borrowers must meet the lender financing requirements (for criteria like credit score and LTV).

• FHA Title II Loan

• Use: Must be used to purchase a manufactured home and a building lot on which to place it.

• Max Loan Amount(s):

• Max Loan Term: Up to 30 years

• Requirements: The home must be at least 400 square feet, must be built and remain on a permanent chassis, and be the borrower’s primary residence. Borrowers must meet lending criteria related to LTV and credit score.

• Fannie Mae MH Advantage Program

• Description: Loan to cover the purchase of manufactured homes that meet certain building criteria. Typically, interest rates tend to be lower than other loan products

• Max Loan Term: 30 years

• Borrower Requirements: up to 97% LTV, minimum 620 credit score

• Home Requirements:  labeled as an MH Advantage eligible home, at least 600 square feet, be placed on owned, not leased, land

• Freddie Mac Home Possible Mortgage Program

• Description: Conventional financing for low and moderate income buyers of manufactured homes. Can be used for either primary or secondary residences.

• Max Loan Term: 30 years

• Requirements: A minimum of 5% down payment and buyers must meet lending criteria such as minimum credit scores and LTV amounts.

• Chattel Mortgage

• Description: A loan for a manufactured home or another piece of movable property such as machinery or car

• Max Loan Term: 20 years

• Borrower Requirements: Must meet borrower requirements (minimum credit score 575) & the home must remain on a permanent chassis.

Depending on your project and location, projects based in rural areas may also be able to receive a USDA-backed loan. This loan can be used to purchase a manufactured home in Portland. Similarly, eligible borrowers (i.e. veterans) may also be able to receive a VA loan for their home.

To find a HUD-approved lender in the Portland area, you can search the HUDs lender database. As many of these financing options have specialized requirements and eligibility criteria, both for borrowers and for the homes themselves, it can be helpful to work with a lender in the Portland area who is experienced in financing manufactured homes.

Manufactured Home Retailers in Portland

As one of the largest home markets for manufactured homes in the U.S, it is not surprising that you have several options in the greater Portland area to work with. These retail locations include both 3rd party sales centers as well as branded retailers (like a Fleetwood Homes sales location). Therefore, you can compare retail locations based on factors such as proximity to the project location, available homes and brands, prices, services offered, and past customers' experience.

In Portland, manufactured home distributors and sellers include:

As you compare sales centers that make sense for your project, a few questions you might want to ask include:

• What do their home warranties look like? How long are homes covered?

• What services are completed by the retailer vs. 3rd party contractors?

• In the event that you are placing your home on undeveloped land, can the retailer complete the necessary site work (land clearing, preparing utility connections, laying a foundation)? If they do not, can they recommend a qualified contractor?

• Can they help you create a fully custom manufactured home?

• If you can order a custom unit, what is the current waiting period for home shipment and installation?

Manufactured Home Brands for Sale in Portland

Champion Homes ● Clayton Homes ● Deer Valley Homes ● Fairmont Homes ● Fleetwood Homes ● Golden West Homes ● Hamilton Homebuilders ● Karsten Homes ● KIT Custom Homebuilders ● Marlette Homes ● Palm Harbor Homes ● Schult Homes ● Skyline Homes ● TRU ● Winston Homebuilders

Examples of Manufactured Homes for Sale

For more guides related to building a prefab home in Portland, see our coverage of

• Prefab Homes for Sale in Oregon

• Tiny Homes for Sale in Oregon

• Container Homes for Sale in Oregon

• Best Manufactured Homes in Oregon

• Guide to Building a Prefab Home in Portland

• Guide to Building ADUS in Portland, OR