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Comprehensive Master Glossary of Manufactured Housing Terminology

The vocabulary used throughout the library, from AMR meters to zoning verification letters.

  • AMR (Automated Meter Reading): digital utility submeters that wirelessly transmit water or electric consumption data directly to billing software.
  • Chattel loan: a personal property loan used to finance a manufactured home independently of the land it sits on.
  • Grandfathered (legal non-conforming): a zoning designation allowing an existing property to keep operating legally even where current zoning would prohibit new construction.
  • HUD Code: the federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards enacted in 1976 governing structural integrity, fire safety, and energy efficiency.
  • Infill: sourcing, delivering, and setting manufactured homes onto vacant developed pads to reach full occupancy.
  • Land-lease model: a framework where the investor owns the land and infrastructure while the tenant owns the dwelling and pays monthly ground rent.
  • Lot / pad rent: the monthly ground lease fee paid by a resident to occupy a site and connect to community utilities.
  • Master meter: a single utility meter where the park owner is billed for total community consumption rather than individual residents.
  • Phase I ESA: an environmental site assessment reviewing historical land use to verify the absence of hazardous contamination.
  • POH (park-owned home): a manufactured home owned by the operator and leased to a tenant as a rental unit.
  • Submetering: installing individual utility meters at each pad to measure and bill exact resident consumption.
  • TOH (tenant-owned home): a home owned by the resident — the lowest-overhead, most stable operational model for park owners.
  • Wrap note (wrap-around mortgage): a financing structure where a seller finances a property for a buyer while keeping their existing underlying mortgage intact.
  • Zoning Verification Letter (ZVL): an official municipal document confirming a property's legal zoning status and home replacement rights.

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