Shasta County guide · Updated September 13, 2026
About one in ten homes in the county is a manufactured home, and near Cottonwood it is one in five. They can be financed with the same FHA, conventional, VA and USDA loans as a site-built house, at the same rates, if the home and the land meet a short list of rules. Here is the list, and what to check before you write an offer.
The four rules
Every loan program checks the same four things. If the home passes, it is financed like any other house.
That is the date the federal HUD Code took effect. The red HUD certification label on each section, and the data plate inside (usually by the electrical panel or in a kitchen cabinet), prove it. A missing label can be replaced with a letter from IBTS; a home built before that date cannot be financed with FHA, conventional, VA or USDA.
The home must sit on a foundation built to HUD's Permanent Foundations Guide, certified by a California-licensed engineer, and be recorded as real property with the land. In California that is HCD form 433A, recorded with the county within five days of the certificate of occupancy; it cancels the DMV-style title and makes the home part of the land.
FHA, Fannie Mae and USDA all require that the home was transported directly from the factory or dealer to where it sits now. A home that was set up somewhere else and relocated is out, for every program. Pete's line on the sales ads: "never moved" is the phrase to look for, and the data plate and county records confirm it.
Four hundred square feet is the floor for FHA and USDA; conventional adds a 12-foot minimum width. Single-wides qualify for a primary residence purchase with FHA, conventional and USDA; second homes need a multi-section. And the loan is secured by the home and the land together, so a home on rented park space is a different product (below).
Program by program
Figures are the programs' own for 2026; the lender's overlay can be stricter.
| Program | Down payment | Home must be | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FHA (Title II) | 3.5% (580+ score); 10% at 500–579 | Post-1976, permanent foundation, never moved, ≥400 sq ft, real property at closing | The workhorse for manufactured homes around Redding. Single-wides fine for a primary residence. 2026 Shasta County limit $541,287. |
| Conventional, standard | 5% (95% LTV); DU approval required | Multi-width for a second home; single-wide primary only; ≥12 ft wide and 400 sq ft | Cash-out refinance capped at 65% LTV. Appraised on Form 1004C with two manufactured-home comparables. |
| Conventional, MH Advantage / CHOICEHome | 3% (97% LTV) | A newer home built to Fannie Mae's MH Advantage or Freddie Mac's CHOICEHome spec (sticker by the data plate): 4/12 roof pitch, eaves, porch or garage, masonry perimeter foundation | Priced like a site-built home and appraised against site-built comparables. Ask the dealer whether the model carries the sticker. |
| VA | 0% with full entitlement | Real estate under state law, permanent foundation, HUD-Code built; ≥400 sq ft single-wide or 700 sq ft double-wide | Standard 30-year VA terms when the home is titled as real property with the land. |
| USDA Guaranteed | 0%; income limit $124,900 (1–4 people) in Shasta County | New unit from a dealer, or since May 2025 an existing unit up to 20 years old, never moved, no additions except engineered decks or porches | Only outside the city of Redding: Anderson, Cottonwood, Shasta Lake, Palo Cedro, Bella Vista, Burney and the rest of the county qualify. |
Interest rates on these loans are the same as for a site-built home with the same program and credit profile; a small pricing adjustment applies on some conventional manufactured-home loans. That is a very different world from a chattel loan.
The other kind
If the home sits on a rented space in a mobile home park, or on land you don't own, it isn't real estate and a mortgage can't be placed on it. The financing is a chattel loan: a personal-property loan secured by the home alone, like a vehicle loan. About 42% of manufactured-home loans nationally are chattel, and they cost more: the CFPB found a median rate of 8.6% on chattel loans against 4.9% on manufactured-home mortgages in the same year, with shorter terms and fewer consumer protections.
Chattel loans come from specialty lenders, not from the FHA, conventional, VA or USDA programs a mortgage broker works with. We'll tell you straight away if a home you're looking at is a chattel case, and point you to who does them. Shasta County has dozens of parks, including several large ones in Redding and Shasta Lake, so it comes up often.
If you own the land, or are buying it with the home, a titled manufactured home can be converted: pull a building permit, install it on an engineered permanent foundation, and have the county record HCD form 433A after the certificate of occupancy. HCD then cancels the registration and the home becomes a fixture of the land, which is what every mortgage program needs. Pete has walked buyers through this on purchases where the seller never did it; it is the difference between a chattel rate and a mortgage rate.
Around Redding
Year built (1976 or later), "permanent foundation", "433A recorded" or "real property", and "never moved". If any is missing, ask before you fall in love with it.
Manufactured homes have fewer carriers. For much of 2023 the FAIR Plan was the only one writing them in the county; new carriers have come in since and a 2025 law requires replacement-cost coverage to be offered. Line it up early: the loan won't fund without a bound policy.
Cottonwood, Anderson, Shasta Lake, Palo Cedro, Bella Vista and the rural county are USDA-eligible, which means zero down on a qualifying manufactured home. The city of Redding itself is not.
The appraiser uses a manufactured-home form and needs at least two manufactured-home comparable sales, which can take longer to find in a rural area. Build a week into the timeline.
Manufactured home questions
Answers reflect the program rules as of September 2026.
Yes, and it is the most common way they are financed here. The home must have been built on or after June 15, 1976 with its HUD label, sit on an engineer-certified permanent foundation, be classified as real property with the land, be at least 400 square feet, and never have been moved from its first site. The minimum down payment is 3.5%.
The home went from the factory or the dealer's lot straight to the land it sits on now, and has stayed there. A home that was installed somewhere else first and later relocated is not eligible for FHA, conventional or USDA financing, no matter how well it was re-set. The data plate, the county permit history and the 433A record show it.
Yes, as a primary residence, with FHA, conventional (up to 95% LTV) and USDA. VA requires at least 400 square feet for a single-wide. Second homes need a multi-section home. Conventional also requires the home to be at least 12 feet wide.
Not when it is financed as real property. FHA, VA and USDA price a manufactured home the same as a site-built one; conventional loans carry a modest adjustment on standard manufactured homes and none on MH Advantage or CHOICEHome units. A chattel loan on a home in a park is a different product and typically runs several points higher.
Not with a mortgage. A home on rented space is personal property and needs a chattel loan from a specialty lender. If you own or are buying the land under it, the home can be converted to real property with a permanent foundation and a recorded HCD form 433A, after which it qualifies for a normal mortgage.
The California notice, recorded with the county, that a manufactured home has been installed on a permanent foundation on a specific parcel. The building department records it within five days of the certificate of occupancy; HCD then cancels the home's registration and it becomes part of the real property. Ask for a copy of the recorded 433A on any home you're considering.
Yes. New units from a dealer have always qualified, and since May 2025 existing units up to 20 years old qualify too, provided they were never moved and have no additions beyond engineered porches or decks. The property has to be in a USDA-eligible area, which in Shasta County means outside the city of Redding, and household income has to be under $124,900 for one to four people.
Zero with VA or USDA, 3% with a conventional MH Advantage or CHOICEHome home, 3.5% with FHA, and 5% with a standard conventional loan. Down payment assistance, including CalHFA, can be used on manufactured homes that meet the program's rules.
On a dedicated form (Fannie Mae 1004C for conventional; FHA has its own requirements) with at least two comparable sales that are also manufactured homes, a cost approach, and photos of the HUD label and data plate. MH Advantage and CHOICEHome units are compared against site-built homes as well.
Yes, though with fewer carriers than a site-built home. The FAIR Plan writes them, new carriers have entered since 2024, and a 2025 state law requires replacement-cost coverage to be offered. Get the quote on day one; see our fire insurance guide.
Figures checked September 13, 2026. Rules and rates change; call before relying on a number.
Talk it through
We'll check the four rules against the listing and county records before you spend a dollar on inspections. Call or text (530) 221-7700, or start a quote online.
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