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On June 15, 1976, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) instituted the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards – more commonly referred to as the “HUD Code.”
With these regulations, HUD defined the safety and quality standards required for construction of a manufactured home.
This was a pivotal moment for the manufactured home industry. Prior to the HUD Code, these homes were built with portability as a primary focus and were commonly referred to as “mobile homes” – hence the difference in terms.
You will often see the terms “mobile” and “manufactured” used interchangeably. But, according to the Manufactured Housing Institute, the HUD code draws a line of distinction between the two.
A mobile home refers to a home manufactured prior to the standards set by the HUD Code. Back then, the homes were built to voluntary industry standards enforced at the state level in 45 out of the 48 states in the continental U.S.
With the birth of the HUD Code, a manufactured home now refers to a factory-built home constructed to those federal standards.
The HUD Code regulates, among other things, energy-efficiency standards, durability, transportability and quality. It also sets standards for the performance of HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems.
While the difference in quality between today’s manufactured homes and pre-HUD Code mobile homes is evident, you may be wondering how the terms “mobile” and “manufactured” are so often confused.
One similarity that may be the biggest contributor to the confusion is titling.
Like the mobile homes built prior to HUD Code, modern manufactured homes also require a title. So what does that mean?
Requirements for titling vary by state, but generally a manufactured home requires a title much like an automobile. This is because a manufactured home is considered personal property.
As personal property, a manufactured home is typically taxed separately from the land on which it sits. Visit https://drivinglaws.aaa.com/ for more general information on state-specific laws regarding the titling of manufactured homes.
State laws determine the process for surrendering the manufactured home title when the home is permanently affixed to the land, becomes part of the real estate, and is no longer considered personal property separate from the land.
Like manufactured homes, modular homes are also constructed indoors, sheltered from the elements. But unlike manufactured homes, modular homes do not require a title. Since they are built to International Residential Code standards and not the HUD Code, ownership of modular homes is treated the same as site-built homes.
For more information from Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance Inc. about manufactured or modular homes, visit www.vmfhomeloan.com/first-time-buyers/.
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