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Finding a way to offer these loans is not out of reach. Doing so can help members fulfill their dreams.
The housing shortage continues to plague the market. Many credit union members need affordable housing options, yet few exist. These members are stuck with increasing living expenses, a need to save for a down payment for a home, and housing prices that continue to climb. Buying a home often seems not just out of reach, but impossible.
This underserved part of your community is searching for options. By offering home loans for manufactured homes, your credit union can positively impact your membership and community with growth and stability.
According to the Manufactured Housing Institute, more than 22 million Americans live in manufactured homes, which make up more than 9% of the nation’s total housing stock. Those numbers are increasing rapidly among first-time homebuyers and others within your community.
Manufactured homes may be the only way low-to-moderate income members can afford to buy a home. According to MHI, the average sales price of a manufactured home is $84,400, which in most areas is considerably less than the average home price. With a lower down payment option and a lower overall price, purchasing a home doesn’t seem so out of reach to your members any longer.
Many lenders haven’t offered mortgages for manufactured homes in recent years. However, as this has become a more in-demand product, lenders are becoming more comfortable accepting a manufactured home as sustainable collateral for a loan.
The question now becomes whether you have the resources to provide this loan option. If you don't, finding a partner to help provide these loans is essential to thrive in today’s lending environment. It provides an affordable housing solution for your community and gives you another product offering your competition doesn’t offer. In the end, offering a home loan solution to better serve the underserved in your community is what people helping people is all about.
Keith Kasmire is VP/sales for CUESolutions provider CU Members Mortgage, Dallas. Since 1982, CU Members Mortgage has provided mortgage solutions to credit unions and CUSOs nationwide. Over these years, the company has collaborated with credit unions to create a refined program to assist credit unions of any size with any need. Your credit union can leverage a vast product list, retained servicing and leading-edge technology to increase income and build membership. CU Members Mortgage is an equal housing lender and a division of Colonial Savings, F.A. NMLS 401285.0.
