What is the Difference Between a Manufactured Home and a Mobile Home?

The only distinction between a mobile home and a prefabricated home is the date they were constructed. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), any factory-built house before June 15, 1976 is considered a mobile home, and one built after June 15, 1976 is considered a prefabricated house. Both prefabricated and mobile homes are factory-built structures that can be made semi-permanent with ties, but they are not the same thing. At Preferred Homes, we offer modern, custom-built homes that look and function like traditionally built homes, but with more affordable costs and a variety of advantages.

Our homes are designed to meet the updated standards set by HUD in 1976. If you're interested in an energy-efficient prefab home, our team of experts can help you with the design, construction, transportation and installation of your home. In the 1950s, “trailers” began to have a bad public reputation, so the industry decided to rename them and call them mobile homes instead. After the passage of the Housing Act in 1980, any “mobile” housing built after 1976 began to be referred to as prefabricated houses in federal legislation and literature. When it comes to comparing prefabricated and modular homes, another factor that can differentiate them is the type of base that is normally used for each one.

Prefabricated houses are subject to a federal code established by HUD and have the ability to move. Modular homes are built within the building's facilities and then transported to the site of origin. If you're planning to finance your home purchase, there's another key difference between modular and prefab homes that you might want to consider. Some lenders don't finance the purchase of prefabricated homes because the land on which they sit is generally rented and the house itself can be moved. However, some lenders, such as Cascade, offer loans for manufactured homes similar to loans for site-built homes and other real estate.

When needed, qualified manufactured home moving companies can prepare your home for a move and safely relocate a manufactured home to a new location. A mobile home remodel can transform the interior of an older mobile home, but it probably won't yet meet these updated standards.