Straight answers
How do you finance a modular or prefab home in Canada?
Like a house, because that is what it is. A modular or prefab home certified to CSA A277 and set on a permanent foundation is real property, so it follows the conventional mortgage path, and government-backed mortgage insurance for factory-built homes applies. That is the whole reason the certification pathway matters: it decides whether a lender sees a house or a vehicle.
01 — The longer answer
Real property versus personal property lending
The contrast is with a home on wheels, which is personal property and finances through RV-style or chattel lending instead. Same size home, completely different lending product, decided by how it is built and certified rather than how it looks.
For a backyard build there is a third route worth knowing: most owners fund a laneway home or garden suite from their existing home equity, and CMHC-supported refinancing options exist specifically for homeowners adding a secondary suite.
Prefab, modular and panelized all describe off-site construction methods rather than certifications, so none of those words on their own tell a lender anything. The certification does.
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