Mobile Home Park Financing
Lot rents, park-owned homes, well and septic, a two-hour drive from the nearest big bank. Manufactured housing communities need lenders who actually know the asset class.
Why park financing is a specialty
Manufactured housing communities are one of the strongest-performing asset classes in real estate — affordable-housing demand, minimal tenant turnover, and land-lease economics where residents own their homes and rent the pad. Investors know this, which is why parks are fiercely competed over. But the underwriting is unlike any other property type, and most banks either decline park loans outright or bury them in conditions.
The complications are specific: how many homes are park-owned versus tenant-owned, the condition and age of the housing stock, private utilities like wells, septic, and lagoons, road ownership and maintenance, density and non-conforming pads, and markets that are often rural by definition. Lenders who specialize in MHC evaluate all of it as routine. Lenders who don't will spend three months learning to say no.
Why park deals get stuck
What park lenders look for
How Denali approaches park deals
Denali Commercial Mortgage, founded in 2012 and based in Happy Valley, Oregon, in the Portland metro, works manufactured housing community acquisitions and refinances with lenders who underwrite parks as a primary asset class — not as an exception. Our team brings 40+ years of combined commercial lending and finance experience, including the rural and documentation-light files that define this niche.
We help you present the park the way an MHC lender reads it: pad income separated from home income, utilities disclosed and documented, and a realistic story on occupancy and rents. Stabilized parks route to permanent and conduit programs; value-add and turnaround parks route to bridge capital. Every transaction receives individual review, and terms are quoted per deal — request current terms for your scenario.
How It Works
- 1
Get Qualified
- 2
Consultation
- 3
Documents
- 4
Review
- 5
Term Sheet
- 6
Underwriting
- 7
Conditions
- 8
Closing
Common Questions
Do park-owned homes kill the financing?
No — but they change it. Lenders underwrite the lot rent as the durable income and treat park-owned home rental income more conservatively. A high park-owned percentage lowers leverage or requires a lender comfortable with the inventory. Many buyers use bridge financing to acquire, sell the homes to residents, then refinance on the cleaner lot-rent income.
The park is on well and septic. Is that financeable?
With the right lender, yes. Private utilities are common in this asset class. Expect the lender to require evidence the systems are functional and permitted — recent inspections, water tests, and pumping or maintenance records. Banks decline these by policy; MHC lenders underwrite them as routine.
How is occupancy counted on a park?
By occupied pads — homes in place paying lot rent — not by the number of homes that could theoretically be rented. Vacant pads, abandoned homes, and park-owned inventory are each treated differently. Getting the rent roll and pad map accurate before you apply saves weeks.
Can I cash out equity on a park I already own?
Yes. Stabilized parks with strong lot-rent history qualify for cash-out refinancing through permanent and conduit programs, sized on net operating income. Parks with heavy park-owned inventory or private utilities may fit bridge or small balance programs instead, sometimes with a path to better permanent debt after cleanup.
Tell us about your deal. We will tell you what fits.