Frequently asked questions

A chattel loan finances the home as personal property, the way a vehicle is financed. It is separate from the land and typically comes with higher rates and shorter terms. A mortgage finances the home and land together as real estate, usually on longer fixed terms such as 30 years. Modera sets homes on permanent foundations and retires the title, so they can qualify for a mortgage instead of a chattel loan.

No. Modera Homes is a licensed manufactured home retail dealer, not a mortgage lender. We build every home to qualify for real mortgage financing, and we can connect you with lender partners who know manufactured homes. Loan approval, rates, and terms are set by the lender.

1. Get pre-qualified with a lender.
2. Choose land: a Modera lot or your own.
3. We check the fit: zoning, setbacks, septic, and access.
4. Pick a Cavco floor plan that fits.
5. Close on financing.
6. Permits and site work.
7. Delivery and set on a permanent foundation.
8. Inspections and title retirement.
9. Move in.

In South Carolina, manufactured homes must be installed by a contractor or installer licensed by the SC Manufactured Housing Board, part of SC LLR. Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson counties all require a licensed installer for the set-up permit. Modera coordinates licensed installation as part of every home.

Usually you need:

• a county manufactured home set-up permit
• a septic permit from SCDES, unless sewer is available
• electrical and utility permits
• a driveway permit for county or state roads

Counties also check zoning, floodplain, and setbacks first. Spartanburg County, for example, requires property taxes to be current before it issues a set-up permit. We handle the permit process as part of site work.

Each section of the home arrives by truck from the Cavco plant. The licensed installer places the sections on the prepared permanent foundation, joins them, and levels and anchors the home. Exterior finish work comes next: skirting or underpinning, porches or decks, and trim. Final utility connections and county inspections follow before move-in.

We can handle it. Modera coordinates the work most buyers need:

• clearing and grading
• foundation
• septic and utilities
• driveway
• underpinning
• decks
• HVAC
• permits

Each item on your quote is assigned to either Modera or you, so you know exactly what's included and what isn't.

After the home is set and connected, the county does its final inspection and issues approval for occupancy. Once that's done and your loan has closed, you get the keys. Timing varies by county inspection schedules.

Many people still say "mobile home," but technically that term covers factory-built homes made before June 15, 1976. That was the day the federal HUD Code took effect. Every home built to the HUD Code since then is a manufactured home, built to national standards for structure, fire safety, and energy. Set on a permanent foundation with the title retired, a manufactured home is real estate. It gets financed with a mortgage, taxed with the land, and owned like any other house. Every Modera home is a new HUD Code manufactured home.

Both are built in a factory. Manufactured homes are built to the federal HUD Code and carry a red HUD certification label on each section. Modular homes are built to the same state and local building codes as site-built homes. In South Carolina, manufactured homes also get a capped sales tax that modular homes don't.

The HUD Code is the federal construction and safety standard for manufactured homes (24 CFR Part 3280). It has been in effect since June 15, 1976. It covers design, structure, fire safety, plumbing, electrical, and energy efficiency. Every section of a HUD Code home carries a red certification label, and each home has a data plate inside. Lenders look for both.

A modern manufactured home on a permanent foundation, with normal maintenance, can last for decades, much like a site-built home. Its lifespan depends on how well it's installed, maintained, and protected from water. That's why Modera focuses on the foundation, site drainage, and licensed installation.

They can. Federal Housing Finance Agency price indexes show that manufactured homes titled as real property have appreciated at about the same long-run rate as site-built homes: from 2000 to 2024, prices rose about 212% and 213%. Location, land, condition, and how the home is titled all matter. A home on a leased lot is typically treated differently.

HUD sets wind zones for manufactured homes. All of Upstate South Carolina, including Greenville, Spartanburg, Cherokee, Oconee, Pickens, Anderson, and Laurens counties, is Wind Zone I. Only nine Lowcountry and coastal SC counties are Zone II. Every home is built and anchored to the wind rating for the place it's installed, and that rating is printed on the home's data plate.

Many Cavco floor plans offer factory options: layouts, finishes, porches, and energy upgrades. Options vary by model and plant. Tell us what matters to you, and we'll show you what's available on the plans that fit your land and budget.

A single wide is one section, usually about 12 to 16 feet wide. A double wide is two sections joined on site, typically 24 to 32 feet wide, with room for larger, more house-like floor plans. A triple wide adds a third section. Today these are known as single-section and multi-section manufactured homes. Any of them, set on a permanent foundation with the title retired, can be financed and owned as a real home.

When it's set on a permanent foundation, with the title retired and joined to the land, yes. In South Carolina it then counts as real property. It's financed with a mortgage, taxed with the land, and bought and sold like a site-built home. That is how every Modera home is set up. A home on wheels in a leased lot is a different situation, and that's where the old "mobile home" reputation comes from.

National data puts the average new double wide in South Carolina at about $162,000, including set-up but not land or site work (U.S. Census Manufactured Housing Survey, 2025). Your total depends on the floor plan, land, septic or sewer, foundation, and site work. Modera's land-home packages show the full price for a home on its lot, plus an estimated monthly payment.

We sell new manufactured homes, which is the modern, HUD Code term for what many people still call mobile homes. That includes single wide and double wide Cavco floor plans across Greenville, Spartanburg, Cherokee, Oconee, Pickens, Anderson, and Laurens counties. Every home is set on a permanent foundation and structured for a real mortgage. Browse land-home packages that are ready now, or bring your own land.

In most cases, yes, but zoning decides. Each county, and some cities, controls where manufactured homes are allowed. They also set minimum size, setbacks, and road frontage. HOA covenants or deed restrictions can also limit them. Send us your address or TMS number and we'll check zoning, septic potential, and fit before you spend anything.

If public sewer isn't available, yes. SC's Department of Environmental Services (SCDES, formerly DHEC) evaluates the soil before it issues a septic permit. You apply with a plat or deed and pay a fee. Above the Fall Line, which includes the Upstate, the evaluation uses backhoe pits, and the area must be cleared first. An approved permit to construct is valid for five years.

Generally, no. SCDES won't issue a septic permit where public sewer is accessible to the property, so you'd connect to sewer instead. Tap fees and connection costs then become part of your site-work budget.

Only if the covenants allow it. Many subdivisions and HOAs restrict or prohibit manufactured homes, and some set minimum size or foundation and skirting standards. Check the recorded restrictions before you buy land. We can review them with you as part of the fit check.

Yes. Modera has lots across the Upstate that are ready for a home, and our land-home packages pair a specific lot with a home that fits it. If you're looking at land elsewhere, send it to us and we'll check zoning, septic, and fit before you buy.

In SC, you retire the home's title. You must own the land, and the home must be permanently affixed with the wheels, axles, and hitch removed. The steps are:

1. File a Manufactured Home Affidavit for the Retirement of Title Certificate with the county Register of Deeds.
2. Submit the recorded affidavit, the original title, and the latest tax receipt to SCDMV.

The home is then taxed and financed as real property with the land. Modera handles this for every home.

Once the title is retired, the home is assessed with the land as real property by the county assessor, just like a site-built home. If it's your primary residence, apply for the 4% owner-occupied assessment ratio with your county.

Not without paperwork. The home first has to be legally separated from the land by filing a severance affidavit (SC Code §56-19-550). Moving a retired-title home without one is a misdemeanor. Homes on permanent foundations are meant to stay put, which is part of what lets them be financed as real estate.

Yes. Upstate Agent, LLC d/b/a Modera Homes holds SC Manufactured Housing Retail Dealer License No. 35976, issued through the SC Manufactured Housing Board (SC LLR).

We serve Greenville, Spartanburg, Cherokee, Oconee, Pickens, Anderson, and Laurens counties in Upstate South Carolina, from our base in the Greenville area.

Per square foot, a new manufactured home typically costs about half as much as a comparable site-built home (U.S. Census, 2024). Factory building controls material and labor costs, and construction moves faster. The total cost still depends on the land, site work, and foundation. Our land-home packages show a full price and an estimated payment, so you can compare them directly.