Chattel loan
Also called: 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.
"Chattel" means movable personal property. A chattel loan is secured by the home alone, not by land, which is what makes it the standard product when a home sits on a leased lot in a community.
Chattel loans differ from mortgages in ways that materially change the monthly payment. Terms are typically shorter, often 15 to 23 years rather than 30, and interest rates are usually higher, because the lender's collateral is a movable asset that can depreciate. Closing is generally faster and cheaper, and the down payment requirement can be lower.
The practical consequence: a home financed with a chattel loan at a shorter term will have a higher monthly payment than the same price financed with a 30-year mortgage, even before lot rent. When you compare two homes, compare the monthly cost, not the asking price.
MHAuthority is not a lender and this is not a recommendation. Rates, terms, and eligibility vary by lender and by your own circumstances.
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Browse homes in communitiesSee also
- Personal property, Property that is not land or permanently attached to it. A manufactured home on a leased lot is normally personal property.
- Real property, Land and anything permanently affixed to it, including a manufactured home that has been properly converted.
- Land lease, An arrangement where you own the home but rent the ground it sits on, paying monthly lot rent.
- Lot rent, The monthly amount paid to a community for the lot a manufactured home occupies.