Paying for a home on rented ground
You buy the home at Side O’ Lake and rent the site under it, so it’s paid for with cash or a home-only loan, not a house mortgage. Before you apply anywhere, ask the lender whether it finances a seasonal home in a land-lease community.
- Get the listThe homes for sale and their asking prices, by note or email.
- Ask lendersThe questions below, before any application.
- Two approvalsThe community approves every buyer, cash included; a lender approves the loan.
Cash, or a home-only loan
Because you own the home but not the land, a loan for it is usually a personal-property loan (often called a chattel loan), not a house mortgage. The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found these loans typically carry higher rates and shorter terms than mortgages, and are denied more often. (CFPB, May 2021.)
Some lenders only finance a home you live in full time, and Side O’ Lake is a summer community. That’s why the seasonal question comes first, before any application.
You can also pay cash. Either way, the community approves every buyer before the sale closes. That’s a separate step from any loan. The step-by-step guide puts both approvals in order, and what a summer here costs sets the price next to a cottage on the same lake.
Lenders to ask
Lenders that finance homes in communities include the ones below. We don’t quote rates or terms, and we don’t arrange loans. Check whether each one lends in Michigan and on a summer home.
- 21st Mortgage CorporationHome-only loans, including used homes in communities.
- Vanderbilt Mortgage and FinanceLoans for homes in land-lease communities.
- Triad Financial ServicesHomes on rented land and in communities.
- GreenState Credit UnionA credit union that lends on manufactured homes in several states, Michigan among them.
Listed for convenience, not as an endorsement. Side O’ Lake isn’t a lender. A free HUD-approved housing counselor can walk you through any loan offer: find one through the CFPB.
What to ask a lender
Ask these before you apply, and get the answers in writing. A lender that says no to the first two saves you an application.
- Do you lend on a home in a land-lease community, where the buyer rents the site?
- Do you finance a seasonal home, one that isn’t lived in full time?
- Do you lend in Michigan?
- Is this a home-only (personal-property) loan or a mortgage?
- Does the home’s age, size or condition change the answer?
- What are the APR, the term and the total of payments, in writing?
Run your own numbers
Every box starts empty. Put in a price from the current list, what you’d put down, and the APR and term a lender actually offers you. Ask us for the current lot rent.
Estimate only. This is not a loan offer, an approval, or advice. Your real APR, down payment and term depend on your credit, the lender and the home, and are subject to credit approval. Lot rent isn’t part of any loan payment.
Start with the list, then the loan.
Send a note for the homes for sale and their asking prices.
A note gets you directions and the current list of homes for sale. No application, no fee, no pressure.