There is a common misconception that the Federal Housing Administration makes loans to purchase manufactured homes. The reality is the FHA only insures loans made by private lenders to qualified applicants to purchase home loans.

Approved FHA manufactured home loans must meet certain criteria and generally have a cap on the amount of the loan as well as the type of interest being charged.

Buyers looking for an FHA manufactured home loan find the loan guarantee amount capped at $69,678 for the home alone and the lot on which its sits is $23,226. If the loan is for the lot and the manufactured home, the ceiling is $92,904. This amount may be higher if the manufactured home is in an area designated a high-cost area.

There are stipulations that the interest is a fixed amount for a fixed period of time and the borrower must pass a credit check as well as show they have the means to make the monthly payments on any FHA manufactured home loans.

There is also a time limit on the loan of 20 years for a single home and 15 years on the loan for only the lot. A manufactured home located in a multi-section manufactured home with the lot is set at 25 years as the maximum loan life.

The FHA manufactured home loans are guaranteed by funds from the Title I program and must be made through an FHA approved lender. The loans are not government loans or grants and again, the FHA does not make loans directly, rather they guarantee the loans made by lenders to qualified lenders.

The home must also pass inspection and, as with Housing and Urban Development loan approvals, must have been manufactured in accordance with the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards and must have been built after 1976.