FHA Title I Loans for Manufactured Homes: Limits, Terms, and Who Qualifies
Use this page to screen a Title I loan before you compare lender quotes. It gives the federal caps, terms and leased-lot rules for a manufactured home titled as personal property. HUD's manufactured-home partner page describes Title I as FHA insurance for loans made by approved private lenders; HUD does not lend the money directly. It is designed for a principal residence, not a flip or rental.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financing advice. Title, lease, and lending rules vary by state and lender.
The Title I limits and maximum terms
HUD Title I Letter 488, dated March 18, 2024, sets these nationwide loan limits for FHA case numbers assigned on or after March 29, 2024. Each is a program cap, not a lender approval or a home-price estimate. The maximum terms below are from 24 CFR 201.11, current in the United States on September 29, 2026.
Program maximums, not a lender approval or a home-price estimate
| Deal configuration | Title I maximum loan | Maximum term | First screening answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home only, single-section | $105,532 | 20 years, 32 days | May fit a titled-as-personal-property home on a leased lot, subject to the lease and lender approval. |
| Home only, multi-section | $193,719 | 20 years, 32 days | Same home-only structure, with the higher multi-section cap. |
| Home and lot, single-unit | $148,909 | 20 years, 32 days | Compare if you are buying both the home and land. |
| Home and lot, multi-unit | $237,096 | 25 years, 32 days | The longer term is for a multi-module manufactured home and lot in combination. |
| Lot only | $43,377 | 15 years, 32 days | Fits financing land for a home you will place and occupy within six months. |
For a single-section home, start with the home-only cap of $105,532. For a multi-section home, start with $193,719. The cap only answers whether the amount you want to finance fits the program. It does not establish that the home's price, appraisal, condition, title, lease, or your application qualifies.
What a leased-lot agreement must provide
HUD's United States manufactured-home program page, accessed September 29, 2026, says a Title I lease must have an initial term of at least three years. For a homeowner who must move because a manufactured-home community is closing, 12 U.S.C. 1703(b)(11), current in the United States on September 29, 2026, requires at least 180 days' written notice before the current term expires. Get the proposed lease before applying and ask the lender whether it meets the Title I requirement.
Who Title I is designed for
For a purchase or home-and-lot Title I loan, 24 CFR 201.21, current in the United States on September 29, 2026, requires you to occupy the home as your principal residence. For a lot-only loan, you must place and occupy the home as your principal residence within six months after the loan date. The applicable Title I products also require the borrower to become the owner of the financed property; if the home is realty, ownership must be fee simple.
Those federal rules do not replace a lender's underwriting or property review. Ask a Title I lender about the specific home's title, HUD-label documentation, condition, installation, and the records it needs.
Title I, Title II, and a standard chattel loan
For a home titled as personal property, Title I is the FHA route to ask a lender about. A non-FHA chattel loan can also finance the home as personal property. For a wider comparison of a chattel loan with a real-property mortgage, see Chattel Loan vs. Real-Property Mortgage.
FHA Title II is a different mortgage program. The 2024 Title II forward-mortgage ceiling for a one-unit property in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands was $1,724,725. That was a Title II figure, not a Title I manufactured-housing limit. Letter 488 publishes one nationwide Title I set of limits, so do not add a higher Title I amount because you live in Alaska, Hawaii, or Guam.
Which kind of loan fits my deal?
- Is the home on a leased lot? Start with home-only Title I screening. Obtain the actual lease before applying. Check the three-year lease term and, if a community closure would require you to move, the 180-day written-notice provision.
- Do you own or are you buying the land? Compare home-and-lot Title I with a real-property mortgage path. Land ownership alone does not determine the loan type; title and state-law treatment matter.
- Is it new or used? Do not assume either category always qualifies. Ask the Title I lender whether the specific home, title, HUD-label documentation, condition, and installation meet its requirements.
- Is it single- or multi-section? Use the corresponding Letter 488 cap. The multi-section difference is $88,187 for home-only financing and $88,187 for home-and-lot financing.
- Are you planning to live in it? If no, stop. The cited Title I purchase and combination-loan eligibility rule requires principal-residence occupancy.
- Do you live in Alaska, Hawaii, or Guam? Do not add a Title I amount. Use the nationwide Title I cap; the higher special-area figures are for Title II forward mortgages.
Before you apply
Before paying a deposit, collect the title, HUD-label and data-plate records, proposed lease, and loan worksheet. Use The HUD Tag: How to Verify a Manufactured Home Before You Buy It to check the home records, and Is This Mobile Home's Title Clean? to check title status. Then ask the lender to confirm the loan structure and documents for your particular home.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financing advice. Title, lease, and lending rules vary by state and lender.