Creative Structuring for Land-Owned Infill Housing (Factory-Built Homes)

[Denise Webster]

I’m working on a small infill housing scenario focused on delivering quickly for low–to–mid income buyers in the Albuquerque commuter market, and would appreciate input on creative structuring.

Two residential lots are already owned free and clear outside Albuquerque. The plan is to install factory-built homes on permanent foundations and sell them upon completion.

Deal snapshot:

• ARV: ~$265K per home

• Target loan: ~$170K per property (~65% ARV)

• Timeline: ~6 months

• Exit: retail sale (MLS)

• Structure: two separate first-lien positions

The homes will be permanently affixed and titled as real property.

The deal sits in a bit of a “gray area” in that it's:

--Not traditional construction (since it’s install vs build)

--Not typical manufactured housing (since it’s investor-owned, not owner-occupied)

--Rural location adds another layer of hesitation

--Even at reasonable leverage, a lot of lenders simply don’t engage.

Instead of continuing to push this through standard lending channels, I’m looking at more creative structures, such as:

--Splitting into two smaller loans vs one combined facility

--Interest reserve vs accrual structures

--Private lender / IRA capital

--Potential phased or repeatable model across multiple lots

For those who have navigated similar “in-between” deals:

A. What creative structures have you used to get deals like this funded?

B Have you found certain investor/lender types more receptive to factory-built or modular installs?

C. Would you approach this as debt only, or blend in equity/JV to improve execution?

D. Any strategies that helped overcome the “not quite construction, not quite MH” challenge?

I’m less interested in forcing this into a standard box and more focused on structuring it in a way that aligns with how capital actually flows for deals like this.

Appreciate any insight from those who’ve been through similar scenarios.

(Happy to share more details via DM if helpful.)

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