Sacramento Home Mortgage Loans | The Chris Kennedy Team
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Sacramento Housing Blog

Sacramento Housing Blog

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Why Buying a Home is the Best Investment

Welcome to The Chris Kennedy Team Mortgage Blog

Honest, local, easy-to-understand mortgage guidance for buyers and homeowners across Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, and Yolo Counties.

Hi — I'm Chris Kennedy. For years, I've helped first-time buyers, veterans, families upsizing into their forever homes, and seasoned investors navigate one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives: getting a mortgage in the greater Sacramento area.

This blog exists for one simple reason. Most mortgage advice online is generic, confusing, or written by people who've never closed a loan in Sacramento, Roseville, Folsom, El Dorado Hills, or Davis. I wanted to change that.

Every post on this site is written for you — the buyer, homeowner, or veteran trying to make sense of mortgages in a real Northern California market. Real numbers. Real neighborhoods. Real programs that actually work here.

What you'll find on this blog

Whether you're brand new to homebuying or you've owned for decades, you'll find practical, local guidance on every part of the mortgage process. The articles below cover:

For first-time buyers — How to qualify, how much you really need to put down, how to use CalHFA assistance, and how to stop waiting and start owning.

For veterans, active-duty service members, and surviving spouses — Everything you need to know about putting your VA home loan benefit to work in Sacramento, Roseville, Folsom, and beyond. Zero down. No PMI. The benefit you earned.

For move-up buyers and luxury buyers — Jumbo loan strategies for higher-priced markets like El Dorado Hills, Granite Bay, Serrano, and Bass Lake — including how to qualify, what reserves you'll need, and how to compete in luxury bidding wars.

For investors and wealth-builders — How to use FHA multi-family loans (yes, with just 3.5% down) to "house hack" your first investment property, plus the long-term wealth-building strategy that real estate quietly delivers better than almost any other investment.

For buyers in rural and semi-rural areas — A breakdown of USDA loans across Placer, El Dorado, and Yolo counties, where surprisingly large portions of the region qualify for $0-down financing.

For credit-building buyers — How FHA loans help buyers with imperfect credit get into Sacramento-area homes, plus practical credit improvement strategies that actually move the needle.

Why this blog is different

Three things set this content apart:

It's local. Every article names real neighborhoods, real Sacramento-area home prices, and real programs available in Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, and Yolo counties — not vague national advice.

It's honest. I tell you what works, what doesn't, what the catches are, and when a loan isn't right for you. No high-pressure pitches. No fine print buried at the bottom.

It's actionable. Every post is built so that by the end, you know what to do next — whether that's running numbers, checking eligibility, or starting a conversation.

A little about me

I've spent my career helping Sacramento-area families navigate mortgages — through every kind of market, every kind of loan, and every kind of buyer situation. I've helped:

  • First-time buyers close with $0–$5,000 out of pocket using FHA + CalHFA strategies

  • Veterans buy in Sacramento, Roseville, Folsom, and El Dorado Hills with zero down

  • Move-up families step into luxury markets using jumbo financing

  • Investors build long-term wealth through smart house-hacking and refinance strategies

  • Self-employed borrowers other lenders turned away find creative solutions

My team and I serve the entire greater Sacramento region, including:

  • Sacramento County — Sacramento, Elk Grove, Folsom, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, Antelope, Natomas

  • Placer County — Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, Auburn, Loomis, Granite Bay

  • El Dorado County — El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park, Placerville, Diamond Springs, Pollock Pines

  • Yolo County — Davis, Woodland, West Sacramento, Winters, Esparto

If you're buying anywhere in Northern California, there's a good chance we can help.

Start exploring

Scroll down to find articles tailored to your situation. If you're not sure where to begin, here are three good starting points:

Ready to talk?

Reading is great — but a 15-minute conversation will tell you more about what's possible for your specific situation than any article ever could. No pressure, no obligation, no salesy follow-up calls.

Chris Kennedy | The Chris Kennedy Team NMLS# 971546 Mortgage Lender serving Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, and Yolo Counties www.thechriskennedyteam.com

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The Chris Kennedy Team specializes in FHA, VA, USDA, conventional, jumbo, and CalHFA loans throughout Sacramento, Roseville, Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Granite Bay, Davis, Woodland, Auburn, Lincoln, Rocklin, Cameron Park, and the surrounding Northern California region. Browse the articles below to learn more — or reach out anytime.

Manufactured Home Loans in Citrus Heights, CA

Citrus Heights has a good amount of manufactured and mobile home stock, especially in some of the more established, affordable pockets of the city. If you're looking at one of these, the financing conversation is different from a standard stick-built home purchase, and a lot of buyers don't realize it until they're already talking to a lender.

The two totally different loan types

Chattel loan (personal property loan). This treats the manufactured home like a vehicle, as personal property rather than real estate, even if it sits on land. You don't need to own the land underneath it, which is common in mobile home parks. Chattel loans generally come with higher interest rates, shorter terms, and smaller loan amounts than a real estate mortgage, because the lender's collateral is a depreciating structure, not land.

Real property loan (a regular mortgage). This is available when the manufactured home is permanently affixed to a foundation, on land you own (not leased park space), and titled as real property instead of personal property, among other requirements. When a manufactured home qualifies this way, it can often be financed with FHA (Title II), VA, USDA, or conventional financing, generally with better rates and terms than a chattel loan.

What usually determines which one you get

Do you own the land, or is the home in a leased-lot mobile home park? Land ownership is a major factor.

Is the home permanently affixed to a foundation that meets engineering standards, or is it still on a removable chassis/wheels?

Has the home's title been converted from personal property to real property with the county? This is a real, sometimes overlooked legal step, not just a paperwork formality.

What year was the home built? Older manufactured homes, particularly those built before June 1976, generally don't qualify for FHA, VA, or conventional financing at all, because they predate the HUD Code construction standards.

Why this matters before you fall in love with a specific home

I've seen buyers find a manufactured home they love in Citrus Heights, only to discover during the loan process that it's on leased land, or the foundation doesn't meet the standard, or the title was never converted to real property. Any of those can push you from a low-rate mortgage into a much more expensive chattel loan, or into a home that simply won't finance with certain programs at all. Find this out before you write an offer, not during your loan process.

What to ask before you make an offer

Ask the seller or listing agent directly whether the home is titled as real property or personal property. Ask whether the land is owned outright or leased. Ask for the HUD data plate and certification label information, which shows the build date and compliance status. Bring all of this to your lender before you write an offer, so you know which financing path you're actually working with.

FAQ

Can I get an FHA loan on a mobile home in a rented lot? Generally no. FHA Title II financing for manufactured homes typically requires the home to be on land you own and permanently affixed as real property.

Are chattel loan rates always higher than a regular mortgage? Typically yes, chattel loans tend to carry higher rates and shorter terms than real estate-secured mortgages, though exact pricing depends on the lender and your qualifying factors.

Can an older manufactured home ever be financed with a standard mortgage program? Homes built before June 1976 generally don't meet HUD Code standards required for FHA, VA, or conventional financing. Confirm the specific build date and eligibility with your lender before assuming either way.

This is general educational information, not a guarantee of loan approval or specific loan terms. Manufactured home financing eligibility depends on the individual property, its titling status, and current program guidelines. If you're looking at a manufactured or mobile home in Citrus Heights, let's confirm what you're actually working with before you make an offer.

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