I recently opened my company and just rec’d my first order for a manufactured (mobile) home. I just want to make sure there are no unique requirements or guidelines when it comes to inspecting a mobile home.
Scott, have you taken this course yet? If not, you probably should.
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Thanks for the tip. I’ll definitely take the course before I head out to the subject
I recommend asking one of the agents to ensure the crawl space has an opening (if you cannot see it in the listing photos). Oftentimes the skirting has to be dismantled which can be a pain and may not be advisable in some circumstances. If we do not reassemble it back properly, we could get blamed for allowing pests (or the family pet) under the home.
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Once under the home, there shouldn’t be much to look at, except for piering and tie downs, because of the belly wrap, Any damage to the belly wrap should be reported. Also, lightly push up on the belly wrap as you travel under the home. If there are any leaks, you will be able to feel the liquid being held by the belly wrap.
Most likely there is no attic access.
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Good info here to read!
Mobile Home Tie-Downs, Anchors, Stabilizing systems: Defects commonly found in the stabilizing systems, cables, & tie downs for wind & storm damage resistance of mobile homes, doublewides, mutiwides, trailers
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Another thing to keep an eye on, some of these manufactures can be very creative in where they “hide” the water heater. Some may have access from the exterior, others hidden behind interior wall panels and so forth. I know many times I have spent 30 to 40 minutes just trying to find where they hid it.
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Your going to want to look for tiedowns under the structure (4 on each side), make sure axles have been removed. Alot of times the pressure tank is under there too. The hot water heater is going to be in hidden spot, will need to remove a wall panel to get to it, most of the time. I always include a pic of the HUD or manufacturers label. Plumbing vents do not need to be 2ft cause of clearance under bridges for transport, and make sure you look behind the siding in several places. often there is no vapor barrier, may see rot or mold. I like to take the skirting off in 3 places on each side then look around, gets more light under there. Run water then look for leaks on the slab.
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You’re in for a treat.
They typically have 10x the number of defects, more “MacGyver” fixes than you’d think was possible, and the crawlspaces are always a blast.
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Here is a 360 view of a manufactured home using my BC360. Will give you an idea of what is under there. Think a couple of other videos are there too.
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Here in Florida the current standard for tie downs is clipped to the frame every 3 to 5 ft. with an LDS system, although this is way beyond the SOP. In older homes you will often see them wrapped around the frame 6 to 10 ft spaced out. I have never seen a manufactured home with a chasis removed.
That’s how I did it back in the day.
Booked the job, took the class, was ready to go!
Kevin,
How did you calculate the number of tiedowns required? If there are no tiedowns, are there other acceptable ways to anchor a manufactured home? Do requirements vary from state to state or are they set by HUD?
Is a home inspector allowed to determine if the anchorage satisfies the requirements or do you need a Civil Engineering degree and current PE license to talk about that?
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This is far beyond the scope of a home inspection. This is what is called an engineering certification. I go out and collect the data for a structural engineer and have learned by working with him over the years what they are looking for. I am located in Florida, so I would imagine that the guidelines would be different than other states. Either way, when I am performing an inspection I only note whether tie-downs are attached or have significant corrosion. The way they are attached or number present is outside of our SOP and should be noted as such on the report. Here in Florida this doesn’t become an issue 7 times out of 10 because they are located in a park that is land leased property. It does come into play when it is real property and an engineering cert is required by the lender.
Justin, You are right on all of that.
Soil in Florida is typically sandy. Much different than many other regions. Load calculations will take into account the size of the home, height of the piers, local wind loads and soil type.
I wrote those questions to Kevin to get him to think through the reasons why his statement that 4 tiedowns per side are required, might not be correct information. Its complicated.
The engineer will run calculations and determine what is acceptable, and there may be more than one solution.
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The number I came up with is from internachi. I just note if they are are there or not. other states may require more. I dont go into strength at all, thats all for an engineer. If it doesnt look right, then recommend further investigation.
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I wanted to say thanks for all of the advice. Between all of your tips and the certification class I’m now in the middle of (thank you Mr. Glaze), I should be set.
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Aside from all that has been said so far I add in the report that you are not commenting or inspecting for the roadworthiness of the axles etc in the event they want to move it.
most lenders require the axles and tongue be removed. Other wise its not considered a permanent structure. Every place is very different. Thats why most of the internachi for me was kinda difficult and still is. Regional differences. We do not do build the same as colorado, or florida. terminolgy is different too.
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