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Committee examines manufactured‑housing zoning, titling and mortgage access under H.757
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Summary
Experts from Pew, a credit union and state officials told the Senate committee that zoning overlays, titling rules and financing practices affect manufactured housing affordability; witnesses urged clearer titling rules and zoning reforms to broaden mortgage access.
On April 14 the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee took testimony on components of H.757 addressing manufactured housing, titling and limited‑equity cooperative structures.
Rachel Siegel, a senior officer at the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Housing Policy Initiative, told the committee manufactured housing must be treated carefully in state law because HUD‑code manufactured homes differ from modular or panelized factory‑built units that must conform to local building codes. Siegel said reforms in zoning and titling are key levers: treating manufactured homes the same as comparable single‑family units in zoning and making conversion to real‑estate titling easier allows borrowers to access mortgages with longer terms and stronger consumer protections.
"Real estate ownership is necessary in order for a person and a home to be eligible to apply for a mortgage," Siegel said, explaining that mortgages typically offer lower interest rates and longer repayment periods, while home‑only (chattel) loans have higher rates and shorter terms and fewer protections.
Cameron Lloyd (for the record) summarized Vermont law as permissive: if a buyer owns the land where a manufactured home will sit, it is financed as real estate; where the buyer does not own the land (for example, a home in a park), mortgage financing is possible but depends on the lender. Lenders therefore play a large role in whether owners receive mortgage treatment.
Rachel McLeod of Eastside Credit Union described operational practices: in 2025 manufactured‑home originations made up about 3% of her institution’s closed pipeline, roughly half financed on owned land and half in parks or cooperatives. McLeod said the credit union prefers warranty deeds when financing homes as real estate because existing mortgage processes and software and statutory conveyancing requirements are built around deeds; she said a prior proposal to allow a bill of sale in lieu of a deed was removed in committee and that retaining the paperwork standard reduces processing friction.
Committee members questioned whether requiring deeds raises closing costs and whether allowing bills of sale would reduce transaction costs for low‑price homes. Witnesses said deed conveyancing is standard for mortgage processing and protects buyers, while some senators said offering options might reduce upfront costs for buyers and sellers.
Finally, Lauren Hibbert of the Secretary of State’s office said section 7 of the bill would permit modifications to business‑entity organization to enable limited‑equity cooperatives to pursue loans and grants, and the office supports the change.
The committee did not vote on provisions and asked several witnesses to provide written testimony and follow‑up materials on titling policy and lender experiences.
