Mobile Home Loan Calculator — Chattel Loan Payments
Calculate manufactured home chattel loan payments and total interest, plus FHA Title I loan limits — built for mobile home financing, not a standard mortgage.
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Full bio →Current Title I limit for a single-section manufactured home (home only): $105,532, max term 20 years.
Verify the current Title I limit at hud.gov — figures are indexed periodically, not fixed.
Monthly Payment = Principal × [r(1+r)ⁿ] ÷ [(1+r)ⁿ − 1], where r is the monthly interest rate and n is the number of monthly payments. This is a chattel loan calculator — it finances the manufactured/mobile home itself, not the land underneath it, which is why the default rate and term differ from a standard mortgage. Chattel loan rates typically run 7–12% (vs roughly 6–9% for a manufactured-home mortgage that includes land, and about 6.76% for a standard 30-year conventional mortgage as of Feb 2025) since there's no real-property collateral backing the loan. This is an estimate, not a loan offer — actual rates, terms, and fees vary by lender and credit profile.
Reference Values
Last verified:| Category | Range | What It Means | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard 30-year conventional mortgage ★ | ≈6.76% (Feb 2025 avg.) | Benchmark rate for a traditional site-built home mortgage — shown for comparison. Not applicable to manufactured/mobile homes financed without land. | ★ Best |
| Manufactured home mortgage (home + land) | ≈6–9% | Conventional or FHA Title II financing when the home is permanently affixed to owned land and titled as real property — lower rate than chattel because real-property collateral backs the loan. | Good |
| Chattel loan (home only, no land) | ≈7–12% | Financing for the manufactured home itself, titled as personal property (like a vehicle) rather than real estate — most common when the home sits on leased land, in a community, or on family land you don't own outright. | Okay |
| Chattel loan typical maximum term | 20–23 years | Chattel loans are commonly capped well below the 30-year terms available on standard mortgages — shorter terms mean higher monthly payments relative to loan size but less lifetime interest. | Okay |
| FHA Title I — single-section home only | $105,532 max loan / 20-yr max term | Home-only (chattel-style) FHA-insured loan limit for a single-section (single-wide) manufactured home, no land included. | Good |
| FHA Title I — multi-section home only | $193,719 max loan / 20-yr max term | Home-only FHA-insured loan limit for a multi-section (double-wide or larger) manufactured home, no land included. | Good |
| FHA Title I — combination, single-section (home + lot) | $148,909 max loan | FHA-insured limit when the loan covers both a single-section home and the lot it sits on. | Good |
| FHA Title I — combination, multi-section (home + lot) | $237,096 max loan | FHA-insured limit when the loan covers both a multi-section home and the lot it sits on. | Good |
Source: HUD.gov Title I Manufactured Home Loan program page; Federal Register Title I loan-limit indexing rule (limits now update periodically since Feb 2024, not frozen — verify the current figure at hud.gov before relying on it for an actual loan); Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (30-year conventional rate, Feb 2025); chattel and manufactured-home mortgage rate ranges aggregated from manufactured-home lender rate sheets (2026).
Worked Examples
Single-Section Home, Typical Chattel Loan
- Loan Amount
- $70,000
- Rate
- 9%
- Term
- 20 years
- Section Type
- Single-section
M = 70000 × [0.0075(1.0075)^240] ÷ [(1.0075)^240 − 1] = $629.81/mo. Total paid ≈$151,154 over 20 years, so total interest ≈$81,154 — more than the original loan amount, which is typical for a longer-term loan at a chattel-level rate.
Multi-Section Home, Longer Chattel Term
- Loan Amount
- $130,000
- Rate
- 8.5%
- Term
- 23 years
- Section Type
- Multi-section
23 years is near the top of the typical chattel term cap. Total paid ≈$296,400, total interest ≈$166,400 — the longer term keeps the payment manageable but adds a meaningful amount of lifetime interest versus a 20-year term.
Same $100,000, Chattel vs. Manufactured-Home Mortgage
- Loan Amount
- $100,000
- Chattel
- 9.5% / 20 years
- Mortgage (home + land)
- 7.0% / 30 years
Chattel: 100000 × [r(1+r)^240] ÷ [(1+r)^240−1] at r=0.0079167 = $932.13/mo, total interest ≈$123,711. Mortgage: same formula at r=0.0058333, n=360 = $665.30/mo, total interest ≈$139,509. The mortgage's lower rate gives a smaller monthly payment, but its longer 30-year term actually produces more total lifetime interest than the shorter, higher-rate chattel loan — a useful reminder that rate alone doesn't determine total cost.
FHA Title I Max Loan, Single-Section
- Loan Amount
- $105,532 (FHA Title I single-section limit)
- Rate
- 8%
- Term
- 20 years (Title I max)
M = 105532 × [0.006667(1.006667)^240] ÷ [(1.006667)^240−1] = $882.71/mo. Total paid ≈$211,851, total interest ≈$106,319 — right at the current FHA Title I home-only borrowing ceiling and its 20-year maximum term.
Small Short-Term Chattel Loan
- Loan Amount
- $40,000
- Rate
- 10%
- Term
- 15 years
M = 40000 × [0.008333(1.008333)^180] ÷ [(1.008333)^180−1] = $429.84/mo. Total paid ≈$77,372, total interest ≈$37,372 — a shorter term at a higher rate still keeps total interest below the loan amount, unlike the 20-year example above.
How to Use This Calculator
- 1
Enter the loan amount
The amount you're financing for the home itself — not including land, unless you're comparing against a combination FHA Title I limit.
- 2
Enter the interest rate
Chattel loans typically run 7–12%; check current rate quotes from manufactured-home lenders since rates vary by credit score and loan size.
- 3
Enter the loan term and home section type
Chattel terms are usually capped at 20–23 years. Choose single-section (single-wide) or multi-section (double-wide or larger) to see the matching FHA Title I reference limit.
- 4
Read your estimated payment
See your monthly payment, total interest over the life of the loan, and how your inputs compare to the FHA Title I home-only limit and term cap.
What Each Value Means
- Monthly Payment ($/month)
- The fixed monthly amount required to fully repay the loan (principal and interest) over the chosen term, using standard amortization math.
- Total Interest ($)
- The sum of all interest paid over the full loan term — the amount you pay the lender beyond the original loan amount.
- FHA Title I Limit ($)
- The maximum loan amount the FHA will insure for a home-only manufactured-home loan, which varies by single-section vs. multi-section home and is periodically re-indexed.