source:
  type: guide
  id: fnma-sel-b5-2-05
  authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B5-2-05 — Manufactured Housing Legal Considerations
  description: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B5-2-05 — Manufactured Housing Legal Considerations.
  coverage_tier: operative
obligations:
- id: fnma-sel-b5-2-05-full
  canonical_id: fnma-sel-b5-2-05-full
  section: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B5-2-05 — Manufactured Housing Legal Considerations
  type: do
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - fnma
  - selling-guide
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-operative
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B5-2-05 — Manufactured Housing Legal Considerations
    source_class: fnma-guide
    source_url: https://singlefamily.fanniemae.com/media/document/pdf/selling-guide
    snapshot_id: 5f7b8b79da595d76
    fetched_at: '2026-05-25T14:09:57Z'
    content_hash: sha256:98cf85a02861bbe84914a0e339b327c8fc131869a8a573882007bbeea60c5701
    paragraph_quote: 'B5-2-05, Manufactured Housing Legal Considerations (12/10/2025)
      Introduction This topic contains information on manufactured housing legal considerations,
      including: Closing Instructions Published May 6, 2026 712 Post Closing Items
      and Conversion to Real Property Certiﬁcate of Title Title Issues and Lien Requirements
      Title Insurance Loan Documents The Security Instrument Aﬃdavit of Aﬃxture Background
      Information Regarding Titling for Manufactured Homes Background Information
      on States where Surrender of a Certiﬁcate of Title is not Permitted Uniform
      Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6 Policy Closing Instructions Closing instructions
      must advise closing agents to obtain the required documentation necessary to
      ensure that the manufactured home is attached to a permanent foundation system
      on the land, thus becoming part of the real property. If a closing agent is
      not available to perform this action, the lender can rely on the certiﬁcation
      of completion completed by the appraiser. In addition, where state law provides
      that a manufactured home may be exempt from certiﬁcate of title requirements
      (for instance, where a home is attached initially to a permanent foundation
      system), such closing instructions must instruct the closing agent to ensure
      that the manufactured home qualiﬁes for exemption from certiﬁcate of title requirements,
      including monitoring of property installation procedures and the related documentation,
      and to provide the lender with documentary evidence of that for retention in
      the loan ﬁle. Where state law allows for the elimination of the certiﬁcate of
      title, the closing instructions must instruct the closing agent to perform all
      necessary procedures to: assure that the certiﬁcate of title to the manufactured
      home is properly retired, and provide the lender with documentary evidence for
      retention in the loan ﬁle. Post Closing Items and Conversion to Real Property
      If there are post closing items related to conversion of the manufactured home
      from personal property to real property, the lender should consider use of a
      properly circumscribed power of attorney from the borrower that may be used
      to complete the post closing items. All post closing items must be documented
      in the loan ﬁle and, any relevant documents received after closing must be included
      in the loan ﬁle. Certiﬁcate of Title The table below provides conditional requirements
      pertaining to the manufactured home certiﬁcate of title. Published May 6, 2026
      713 If … Then … state law permits the manufactured home to become real property
      when it is immediately aﬃxed to the permanent foundation system, without issuance
      of a certiﬁcate of title, the lender must if the transaction involves the purchase
      of a new manufactured home obtain, and retain as part of the loan ﬁle, evidence
      that no certiﬁcate of title was issued. For example, if the lender obtains the
      manufacturer’s certiﬁcate of origin, this would be evidence, in most states,
      that no certiﬁcate of title could have been issued. a certiﬁcate of title has
      been issued, but state law provides for or permits surrender of the certiﬁcate
      of title, the lender must obtain, and retain as part of the loan ﬁle, evidence
      that the certiﬁcate has been surrendered. Such evidence includes: • the conﬁrmation
      required to be provided by the authority to which the certiﬁcate was surrendered,
      or • if no such conﬁrmation is obtainable: ⚬ a copy of the documents submitted
      in connection with the surrender, and ⚬ evidence that such documents were delivered
      to the appropriate authority. a certiﬁcate of title has been issued, but state
      law does not permit the manufactured home to become real property without issuance
      of a certiﬁcate of title and does not provide for surrender of the certiﬁcate
      of title, the lender must adhere to the following requirements: • The lien must
      be indicated on the certiﬁcate of title. • The certiﬁcate of title must be retained
      in the loan ﬁle. • The lender must assure that no other lien is indicated on
      the certiﬁcate of title. • Ownership of the manufactured home as shown on the
      certiﬁcate of title and ownership of the land (or of the leasehold estate, if
      applicable) as shown on the mortgage, deed of trust, or security deed must be
      identical (that is, the same individuals must sign both, each using the exact
      same name on both documents). Note: Given certain provisions of Mississippi
      law and the practice in the state, the requirements in the Published May 6,
      2026 714 last row of the above table apply to manufactured homes in Mississippi.
      (The other two options in this table do not apply.) Title Issues and Lien Requirements
      To be eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae: A manufactured home loan must be
      secured by a perfected lien (or liens) on real property consisting of the manufactured
      home and the borrower''s interest in the land. The manufactured home must be
      legally classiﬁed as real property under applicable state law, including relevant
      statutes, regulations, and judicial decisions. To assist lenders in originating
      manufactured home loans in various states, Fannie Mae publishes information
      on titling manufactured homes as real property. Note, this information does
      not constitute legal advice; lenders must consult their own legal counsel. See
      Titling Manufactured Housing. The following requirements are also applicable:
      The owner of the manufactured home must own the land on which the home is situated
      unless the manufactured home is located in a condo or PUD project subject to
      a ground lease approved by Fannie Mae''s Project Review Eligibility Service
      (PERS). The manufactured home must be attached to a permanent foundation on
      the land and comply with state and jurisdictional requirements for permanent
      aﬃxation. A mortgage, deed of trust, or security deed must be recorded in the
      land records and must identify the encumbered property as including both the
      home and the borrower''s interest in the land. If applicable state law so permits,
      any certiﬁcate of title to the manufactured home must be surrendered to the
      appropriate state government authority. If the certiﬁcate of title cannot be
      surrendered, the lender must indicate its lien on the certiﬁcate. Fannie Mae
      prefers that a loan on the manufactured home and the land on which it is situated
      be secured by a single lien. However, it is recognized that some state laws
      do not provide for a single lien on both the manufactured home and the land.
      Therefore, a loan documented by a lien on the borrower''s interest in the land
      evidenced by a mortgage, deed of trust or security deed and by a real property
      lien on the manufactured home evidenced on the certiﬁcate of title or other
      document is acceptable. Note: Loans in which there is a chattel lien on the
      home plus a real property lien on the land are unacceptable. Title Insurance
      The mortgage must be covered under a standard real property title insurance
      policy that insures that the manufactured home is part of the real property
      that secures the loan. American Land Title Association® (ALTA®) Endorsement
      7, 7.1, or 7.2 or any other endorsement required in the applicable jurisdiction
      for manufactured homes to be treated as real property must be included in the
      ﬁle. Published May 6, 2026 715 Loan Documents Fannie Mae prefers lenders to
      use the standard Fannie Mae Uniform Instruments (see Security Instruments).
      If the Uniform Instruments are not used, then the lender must adhere to the
      following requirements: A single note must be used evidencing all the debt related
      to the land and the home, and a mortgage, deed of trust, or Georgia security
      deed securing such indebtedness (plus the certiﬁcate of title if state law so
      requires). The note used must provide the nonstandard document warranties that
      are referenced in A2-2-03, Document Warranties. Loan documents are not acceptable
      if they: state that the home is personal property or contain other words to
      that eﬀect; state that the parties do not intend to attach the home to a permanent
      foundation system on the land, or contain statements inconsistent with that
      intention; unless required by law, provide that rights of holders in due course
      are waived, or with other words provide that an assignee note holder may be
      held liable for claims the borrower may have against other parties; or include
      consumer ﬁnance paper which combines the note and security instrument in a single
      document or a retail installment sales contract. The Security Instrument The
      security instrument must: state that the manufactured home is an improvement
      to the land and an immovable ﬁxture, or include similar language as may be required
      by applicable law to assure, to the greatest extent possible, that the manufactured
      home will be treated as real property under applicable state law. If applicable
      law provides speciﬁc obligatory wording, such wording must be used; and include
      a comprehensive description of the manufactured home and the land in the property
      description section. The description must include the serial or VIN number (or
      the serial number or VIN for each unit if the home is multi-width), make, model,
      size, and any other information that may be required by applicable law to deﬁnitively
      identify the home. Note: The serial number is located on the HUD Data Plate
      located on the interior of the home, usually near the electrical box. In addition,
      the serial number is generally cold-stamped on the frame front cross member
      of each transportable section. Some jurisdictions may not allow any information
      in the property description section of the security instrument other than what
      is customary for other real property transactions. If this is the case, then
      an addendum may be used, which must be attached to the security instrument and
      included in the loan ﬁle. Aﬃdavit of Aﬃxture Published May 6, 2026 716 The borrower(s)
      must sign an Aﬃdavit of Aﬃxture (which must be in the form prescribed by applicable
      law, if any) that acknowledges their intent for the manufactured home to be
      permanently part of the real property that secures the mortgage free of any
      personal property security interest. If the manufactured home was previously
      converted from personal property to real property in accordance with applicable
      law, the Aﬃdavit is not required by Fannie Mae unless applicable law requires
      a new Aﬃdavit. Where applicable law does not require an Aﬃdavit to be recorded,
      it is preferable that an Aﬃdavit be recorded. Note: If state law requires a
      Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) ﬁling in order to perfect a security interest
      in a manufactured home, the lender must make such ﬁling in any and all appropriate
      locations. Background Information Regarding Titling for Manufactured Homes Titling
      is complex and further complicated by the lack of a federal standard. Consequently,
      all states devise their own laws resulting in diverse approaches to manufactured
      home titling and lien perfection. The variety of approaches is particularly
      challenging for lenders originating manufactured home loans in more than one
      state. Laws of some states do not clearly provide for a single lien on the manufactured
      home, together with the land on which it is situated, but instead, for example,
      require that the lien on the manufactured home be evidenced by notation on the
      certiﬁcate of title. While the laws of some states establish a procedure for
      surrender of the certiﬁcate of title when the manufactured home has become so
      permanently aﬃxed to the land that it has become real property, the laws of
      other states do not allow for the elimination of the certiﬁcate of title to
      a manufactured home regardless of the degree of aﬃxation of the home to the
      land. In these states, the lien on the land (evidenced by the mortgage, deed
      of trust or security deed) may be legally distinct from the lien on the manufactured
      home (evidenced on the certiﬁcate of title), though both are liens on real property.
      In this instance, the manufactured home is often treated as an “immovable ﬁxture”
      (personal property that has become so permanently attached to the land that
      it has become real property). Research on state laws aﬀecting manufactured housing
      liens indicates, more speciﬁcally, that in order to document a lien on a manufactured
      home that is real property, state laws take several approaches: surrendering
      the certiﬁcate of title when the manufactured home is permanently aﬃxed to the
      land; statutory, regulatory, or judicial authority for recognizing a manufactured
      home as part of the real property, without surrender of the certiﬁcate of title.
      A few states also require UCC ﬁlings; or recognizing the manufactured home as
      real property without issuing a certiﬁcate of title when the unit is aﬃxed to
      the land. Most states permitting manufactured homes to be treated as real property
      without ﬁrst being titled as personal property also have procedures for issuing
      a certiﬁcate of title and then surrendering it. Background Information on States
      where Surrender of a Certiﬁcate of Title is not Permitted State law that does
      not provide for surrender of the certiﬁcate of title may pose some additional
      risk to the lender and Fannie Mae. Under the UCC, as adopted in almost every
      state, a lien evidenced on any outstanding certiﬁcate of title will have priority
      over a lien on real property to which the manufactured home is aﬃxed, which
      is evidenced by a Published May 6, 2026 717 mortgage, deed of trust, or security
      deed. However, Fannie Mae believes that if a lender follows procedures tailored
      to take advantage of all protection oﬀered under existing state law—including
      taking steps to assure that no certiﬁcate of title still exists that bears evidence
      of any lien securing any other loan—suﬃcient legal protection is aﬀorded. Uniform
      Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6 Policy Lenders using UAD 3.6 must follow the requirements
      in the UAD 3.6 Policy Supplement . Recent Related Announcements The table below
      provides references to recently issued Announcements that are related to this
      topic. Announcements Issue Date Announcement SEL-2025-10 December 10, 2025 Announcement
      SEL-2024-07 November 06, 2024 Announcement SEL-2024-03 May 01, 2024 Announcement
      SEL-2023-08 September 06, 2023 Chapter B5-3, Construction and Energy Financing
      Introduction This chapter describes the policies and requirements for construction
      and energy ﬁnancing transactions. Section B5-3.1, Conversion of Construction-to-Permanent
      Financing Published May 6, 2026 718'
  judgment: false
