Most Permanent Foundations are not Permanent Foundations…

Do you own a manufactured home that you are trying to sell or re-finance? Or maybe you are interested in purchasing a manufactured home using a mortgage lender?

If so, you have probably noticed there are additional criteria required to purchase a new or existing manufactured home. Mortgages are available for the purchase of new or existing manufactured homes, however, they often require a foundation certification to ensure the foundation is HUD compliant.  Most mortgages written by a lender, especially for manufactured homes, are likely to be insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), a division of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As a condition of providing insurance, the design must comply with very specific FHA guidelines. For existing homes, the lender will likely require a a properly licensed professional certify that the foundation meets the FHA requirements. The HUD Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing, publication number HUD-007487 is the basis for the FHA requirements.

A permanent foundation is one that is “constructed of durable materials (concrete, mortared masonry, treated wood) and be site built”. Since the manufactured home isn’t site built, it’s important that the foundation be certified. HUD states that the foundation of a manufactured home must “have attachment points to anchor and stabilize the manufactured home to transfer all loads to underlying soil or rock.

The only way for the lender to verify that the above criteria is met for each individual manufactured home is to have the foundation inspected and that each specific foundation. meets the HUD Requirements and Guidelines prior to closing the loan.

Make sure your closing isn’t delayed and that some one who does the work to make manufactured homes complaint does NOT do your inspection. We routinely certify manufactured homes in Greenville, SC and Charleston, SC that others deny because they are looking to do work. We do make repairs to make the home complaint and have no interest in saying the home is not compliant when in fact it is.