National hard money lenders manufactured new construction QUESTION

[Jacob Thorpe]

I wanted to ask the lenders who are doing business across all 50 states, what challenges have you encountered with lending in new construction when it comes to manufactured homes? What deals are you passing on? What deals make you excited? How can you read a deal as a slam dunk and what does that look like for you? Location? Numbers? 

Why are most lenders afraid of manufactured new construction? 

Why do most lenders shy away from property type: manufactured, during refinancing into DSCR?

I would like to learn more, as I am gearing up for a new construction project myself. I am debating if I should go manufactured or not. I was speaking with one lender, but he did not like the prefab I had chosen. The other prefabs out there make the deal almost undoable to the point that it'd be better to go with a stick build at those numbers. 

For this instance, the area has comps supporting manufactured. There is demand for it and demand in this area for affordable housing, in a tourist area where plenty of people have vacant, second/third homes for seasonal fishing and hunting. (wisconsin)

How can I best position myself in this deal where the lender is comfortable and we have a solid prefab, but also workable to where I can keep my sale price competitive and build costs down.

This lot is within spitting distance of the lake. Perfect lake view. Manufactured housing all around. Plenty of comps and market data to support second/third house claim. Plenty of houses in the 400k range that sit over 80DOM because low buyer demand, low buyer ability. People want affordable housing, with the amenities, but is manufactured really going to scare off most lenders? What troubles will come after construction and attempting to sell? 

Thank you

[Jacob Thorpe]

Quote from @Sam Abazari:

Hi Jacob, great questions. I'm a lending manager with 120 loan officers under me and 2 of my great friends and colleagues specialize in manufactured lending 

The reason most lenders don't do them is because:
1. They are not familiar with the product type
2. The outlet for the loan type in the secondaries market is limited
3. Demand for the product has been low historically
4. Not enough income for lenders compared to what else is out there for them

The biggest thing is the lot but other factors like the actual manufactured unit being quality and up to code helps a lot.  Access to water, electricity, etc is kind of non negotiable if you want access to most lenders.  If you want me to take a closer look on something I am happy to!

Hope this helps!

Thank you for the reply Sam, that is good to know.