What is the difference between POH and TOH mobile home parks?

TOH (tenant-owned home): resident owns the structure, park owns the pad — lot rent only. POH (park-owned home): park owns structure and rents the unit — higher gross rent but higher maintenance and habitability liability.

Do lenders prefer tenant-owned home parks?

Yes — institutional and agency lenders strongly prefer TOH because the park is a land-and-infrastructure asset, not a landlord of depreciating homes.

What POH ratio will Fannie and Freddie accept?

Fannie Mae MHC allows roughly up to 25% park-owned homes; Freddie Mac typically requires under 5% POH for agency eligibility — verify current seller/servicer guides.

Can bridge lenders finance heavy POH parks?

Yes — underwrite home rent separately, model higher turnover and CapEx, and plan POH-to-TOH conversion before agency refi.

Blog

POH vs TOH — How Lenders Underwrite Mobile Home Parks

Published July 16, 2026

By Jason Taken · Principal, Jaken Finance Group

Park-owned homes vs tenant-owned homes — how mobile home park lenders model income, opex, and agency eligibility on MHC acquisitions.

POH vs TOH is the first fork in mobile home park underwriting — and getting it wrong kills agency refi after bridge. Industry context: Manufactured Housing Institute · Hub: manufactured home community financing

Structure comparison

	TOH (tenant-owned home)	POH (park-owned home)
Park owns	Land + infrastructure	Land + homes
Primary income	Lot rent	Lot rent + home rent
Opex	Lower	Maintenance, turnover, habitability
Agency appetite	Strong	Limited — ratio caps
Investor role	Infrastructure landlord	Home landlord + park operator

How lenders model POH income

Separate line items on the pro forma:

Input	TOH treatment	POH treatment
Gross rent	Lot rent × occupied pads	Lot + home rent split
Vacancy	5%–10%	15%–25% on home rent
Maintenance	Roads, utilities	+$150–$400/home/mo
CapEx	Infrastructure	Home rehab between tenants
NOI margin	Higher	Compressed

Bridge lenders fund POH parks when conversion plan is credible — not when sponsor ignores home liability.

Agency ratio gates

Agency	POH tolerance (typical)	Implication
Freddie Mac MHC	Under 5% POH	Heavy POH = no Freddie exit
Fannie Mae MHC	Up to ~25% POH	Some legacy POH OK
Community bank	Case-by-case	Stabilized TOH preferred

Most sub-$3M mom-and-pop parks fail agency gates on day one — see MHP loans under $3M.

Value-add: POH-to-TOH conversion

Sell home to resident — installment sale or cash
Rent-to-own home to tenant — then transfer title
Remove abandoned POH — pad-only TOH lot

Conversion unlocks Freddie/Fannie MHC and higher exit cap rate on infrastructure-only income.

Playbook: bridge-to-agency MHP

Worked example — 40-pad park, 35% POH

Purchase: $920,000 · 14 POH units · 26 TOH pads

Metric	As-acquired	Post-conversion (18 mo)
POH count	14 (35%)	2 (5%)
Occupancy	74%	88%
NOI (annual)	$118K	$168K
Refi path	Community bank only	Freddie MHC eligible

Bridge: 68% LTV + $95K holdback for home disposition and roads.

State market guides

Risks

Home abandonment — removal cost $3K–$8K per unit
Habitability lawsuits — POH landlord liability
Agency surprise — refi denied at high POH ratio
Rent control — rare but caps lot-rent upside
Well/septic — limits agency regardless of TOH mix

Refi gate checklist (agency vs bank)

Before month 12 on bridge, confirm:

Occupancy % — 80%+ for Freddie target
POH ratio — under 5%–25% per agency
DSCR — 1.25x+ on trailing NOI
Utilities — city water/sewer or bank waiver
Loan size — $3M+ for Fannie/Freddie MHC

Miss one gate → community bank exit instead — still viable, model lower proceeds.

Nationwide MHC bridge: manufactured home community financing.

Submit scenario · (833) 264-7776

POH-heavy parks are financeable on bridge with a credible TOH conversion plan — without it, refi options narrow sharply.