COLUMBIA -- A new law signed by Gov. Mark Sanford will allow manufactured home buyers in South Carolina to convert their homes into real property, which can qualify them for lower interest rates.

The law creates a statewide procedure for converting manufactured homes to real property.

"This new law allows people to 'retire' the title to a manufactured home," said Mark Dillard, executive director of the Manufactured Housing Institute of South Carolina. "That way, they can combine the home and the land into a regular mortgage."

Titles are documents issued with manufactured homes by the state, much like the title to a car. By retiring the title, the homebuyer can combine the land the home sits on, with the home as one property, which qualifies the property for a traditional mortgage.

"South Carolina law is now catching up with changes in the housing market," Dillard said. "Over 80 percent of manufactured homes sold in the state are multiple-section homes that go to the homesite and stay there."

The new law, which was sponsored by Reps. Jay Lucas of Hartsville, Bill Cotty of Richland County, and by Sen. Larry Martin of Pickens County, will make loans from national lenders such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae available to home buyers.

"Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are major players in the affordable housing market," Dillard said. "This new law will keep them active in our state."

The law also will have an impact on local governments because the converting the homes to real property will increase their values, according to the Manufactured Housing Institute.

"It will be easier to tax manufactured homes as real property, so homeowners will see an increase in the value of their home, and in turn, local governments should see healthier tax rolls," Dillard said.

The law could have far-reaching effects on property values. According to the 200 U.S. Census, more than 355,000 South Carolina families live in manufactured homes, with the average square footage of homes sold in 2001 of more than 1,500.