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Wow, I’d say that’s a pretty good foundation!
What do you suppose made it that good? Well, like all things technological, great progress has been made in the design, specifications, and installation of mobile homes.
However, often times problems can arise when pre-owned manufactured homes are on the market and are trying to meet current up-to date-construction specifications, like for an FHA-insured Loan.
The problem of which I speak isn’t typically a major construction project, nor is it a financial deal breaker. It’s getting the broker, buyer, seller and sometimes the certified installer to understand the requirements for the FHA permanent foundation for manufactured homes. This is a problem that ADP & Associates, Inc. can help with, so I’m not complaining.
The updating of the foundation to a “permanent foundation,” which has it’s basis in “Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing,” Authors: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Release Date: September 1996 (384 pages), gives us manufactured home foundations that are built to resist the 100-year storm event as defined by the American Society of Civil Engineers Wind Velocity Map on a State Wide Basis. From this, the forces to resist for sliding and overturning of the home are computed. Now it stands to reason, a more robust foundation is required in hurricane-prone locations than one located in a less hostile environment.
However, please note that we don’t design for tornadoes. The majority of the home buying public would not pay for a tornado-proof residence designed for tornado force winds. 175 miles per hour winds? I don’t think so.
The good news is that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), after years of research and feedback from engineers and representatives of the manufactured home industry, has approved the State installation programs in place for many States. How many? I don’t know. I just know that HUD has approved the State installation programs for the States that we service, which include Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Indiana, Tennessee, Texas, Mississippi, West Virginia and Ohio.
What that means is that licensed installers can retrofit a pre-owned manufactured home foundation to the same standards that they install new foundations on a State by State basis. No big mystery here – they’re not re-inventing the wheel.
However, there is one tiny exception. No States that I know of require structurally reinforced skirting. HUD came out with this requirement in 2009. (See U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Mortgagee Letter 2009-16). We inform the installer of the structural skirting techniques and requirements if he doesn’t already know them.
So what makes an FHA manufactured home foundation resist pick up trucks crashing into them? Why a properly installed and inspected manufactured home foundation, of course.
If you have questions about manufactured home permanent foundations or are in need of a mobile home foundation inspection, please feel free to contact us for more information. Or, feel free to continue the conversation below.