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Manufactured Housing Glossary

23 terms, defined in plain English, with a note on why each one actually matters to a buyer, seller, or owner.

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Chattel loanalso: personal property loan, home-only loan: A loan secured by the home itself as personal property, rather than by real estate, the most common way manufactured homes are financed. Browse homes in communities

Data platealso: compliance certificate: A paper label inside the home listing its manufacturer, serial number, wind and thermal zones, and appliance details.
Dealeralso: retailer, manufactured home dealer: A licensed business that sells manufactured homes, usually new, and typically arranges delivery and setup. Find a dealer
Double-widealso: double-section: A manufactured home built as two sections, joined on site to form a home roughly 24 to 32 feet wide. Browse double-wide homes

HUD Codealso: Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards: The federal construction and safety standard that all manufactured homes built after June 15, 1976 must meet.
HUD labelalso: HUD tag, certification label: A red metal plate riveted to the outside of each section of a manufactured home, certifying it was built to the HUD Code.

Land leasealso: leased land, ground lease, leasehold: An arrangement where you own the home but rent the ground it sits on, paying monthly lot rent. Browse land-lease homes
Lot rentalso: space rent, ground rent, pad rent: The monthly amount paid to a community for the lot a manufactured home occupies.

Manufactured homealso: HUD-code home: A home built entirely in a factory to the federal HUD Code, transported to its site on a permanent steel chassis. Browse manufactured homes for sale
Manufactured-home communityalso: mobile home park, MH community, land-lease community: A development of lots designed for manufactured homes, where residents typically own their home and rent the lot. Browse homes in communities
Mobile homealso: trailer, pre-HUD home: Strictly, a factory-built home produced before June 15, 1976, when the federal HUD Code took effect. Browse homes built 1976 or later
Modular homealso: prefab home, system-built home: A factory-built home constructed in sections to the LOCAL building code, then assembled on a permanent foundation on site. Browse modular homes
Multi-sectionalso: triple-wide, triple-section: A manufactured home built in three or more sections, producing the largest factory-built floor plans. Browse multi-section homes

Personal propertyalso: chattel: Property that is not land or permanently attached to it. A manufactured home on a leased lot is normally personal property.

Real propertyalso: real estate, realty: Land and anything permanently affixed to it, including a manufactured home that has been properly converted. Browse homes that include land
Resident-owned communityalso: ROC, cooperative community, resident-owned park: A community owned collectively by the people who live in it, usually through a cooperative or homeowners association.

Serial numberalso: VIN, HUD serial number: The manufacturer's unique identifier for a manufactured home section, used on titles, loans, and insurance.
Setupalso: installation: The process of siting a manufactured home: foundation, leveling, joining sections, anchoring, and utility connections.
Single-widealso: single-section: A manufactured home built as one section, typically 14 to 18 feet wide and 60 to 80 feet long. Browse single-wide homes
Skirtingalso: underpinning: The material enclosing the gap between the bottom of a manufactured home and the ground.

Tie-downalso: anchor, anchoring system: Straps and ground anchors securing a manufactured home to the earth against wind uplift and sliding.
Titlealso: certificate of title: The ownership document for a manufactured home held as personal property, issued much like a vehicle title.
Transportalso: moving a manufactured home, relocation: Moving a manufactured home over the road, typically requiring permits, escorts, and a licensed transporter.