What WA Manufactured Home Owners Have Been Waiting For Is Here!

Owners of manufactured homes seemingly face more issues and obstacles than owners of "traditional" single family homes.  There are an estimated 1,200 manufactured/mobile home communities around the state, but they all aren't considered equal in the eyes of state law.  That is ready to change after Governor Bob Ferguson signed a bill this morning.

House Bill 1191, a bipartisan bill sponsored by 8th District Rep. April Connors (R-Kennewick), will open up more avenues for manufactured homes that have been classified a certain way for years.  Not only will the classification change, but owners of those homes will also have more financial avenues open to them.

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Manufactured Homes Are Classified Differently?

Some are, yes.  In those roughly 1,200 communities are a little over 65,000 spaces.  Some of those reside in cooperatively owned communities.  The homes in those communities are currently treated as vehicles instead of a home.  Come October, those homes will be considered "real property" like single family and certain other manufactured homes.

Okay...What Will Change Other Than What They're Classified As?

With the change to real property, the home owners in cooperatively owned communities will now have access to other funding options.  They will be able to build equity (like the majority of homeowners) and have the ability to refinance their home.  You can't do that if the state says you live in a vehicle.  You can only apply for "chattel" loans, which carry higher interest rates.

The bill may also help with the housing shortage facing the state by encouraging the construction and sale of more manufactured homes, and the potential creation of more communities.  Representative Connors had this to say about the bill:

For too long, Washington residents living in manufactured homes—many of them first-time buyers or on fixed incomes—have been locked out of the financial tools that most homeowners take for granted...This bill will level the playing field.

The bill becomes law on October 15th (instead of the traditional 90 days after the end of session), now adding Washington to the dozens of other states that have already made this change..  It is expected to impact an estimated 1,700 manufactured homes across 30 cooperatively owned communities.  As those communities grow, more homes will become eligible under the law.