Originally Posted By: mpatton This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I inspected a manufactured home today, the home is sitting on a concrete block foundation and piers resting on concrete footers.
The customer referred to his loan officer and commented that the loan officer said to make sure that it had the required "blue seal/stamp on the foundation" I have never been asked this question and all I can figure out is this must be part of the "appraisers" paperwork.
Any clues as to what this is all about? 
-- Michael Patton
AA Home Inspection
Serving Northern KY & Greater Cincinnati OH
Originally Posted By: dharris This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
From my experience here they may be asking for an engineers statement confirming that the home is placed on a permament and properly prepared foundation
Originally Posted By: Brian A. Goodman This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
That may be a reference to an “Affadavit of Afixture”, which I’m told has to do with meeting the definition of “real property” in some instances. Try Googleing that phrase.
Originally Posted By: hgordon This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
All manufactured home are required to have posted inside the home a certificate that states place of manufacture and date…this may be what they are speaking about.
It is usually found in one of the closets...also, look for the dataplate attached to the home.
Originally Posted By: kmcmahon This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Sometimes my company ordered custom panelized homes/buildings from manufacturing plants, and they always sent a Engineer stamped set of calcs. with the building for the trusses.
Generally, on a manufactured home, the foundation isn’t part of the manufacturers contract and is done by someone else. Never saw a stamped set of calcs for a foundation before.
Originally Posted By: ecrofutt This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Mike,
My experience here with both modular and manufactured housing is that FHA requires an engineers stamp of approval that the home is sitting on a permanent foundation meeting FHA requirements.
It's usually been provided by the seller as part of the sales package.
Originally Posted By: janderson This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
There may be several seals and of course the dataplate. One seal will state that the home conforms to standards imposed by HUD. HUD started regulating manufactured and modular type homes in 1976 and each manufactured or mod home must conform to those standards.
Some states, like here in Minnesota, take it a step further and require a state seal to be applied to the home stating that the home and anchoring system complies with state regulations. Representatives from the State here supposedly tour the factories periodically and verify that the manufacturing process and anchoring system are in compliance with HUD and state standards. The seals are verified at the time of installation by the local city or county inspector when installation inspections are completed. However, after a couple of years the seals usually fall off as they are simply small 2 inch square vinyl stickers.
The dataplate is a must find as it basically contains all the pertinent information, however, sometimes they get removed or cannont be located. Kind of like the DNA code for the home, no two homes will have all the same information in the dataplate.
-- Within the seeds of ignorance lie the fruits of denial
All manufactured homes must have an affixed HUD seals(s) located
on the outside of the home. If the home is a multi-wide unit, each
unit must have a seal. These seals will be numbered sequentially.
If the tags are missing from the property, the appraiser must recommend
rejection of the property and notify the lender.
In some states, a manufactured home may not be resold without a
seal and homes without a HUD seal must be rejected. In states
where resale without a HUD seal is permissible, a manufacture's
certification must be obtained verifying the date of the sale.
The certification label/seal shall be located at the tall-light
end of each transportable section of the manufactured home
approximately one foot up from the floor and one foot in from the
road side, or as near that location on a permanent part of the
exterior of the manufactured home unit as practicable. The
roadside is the right side of the manufactured home when one
views the manufactured home from the tow bar end of the
manufactured home. (24 CFR 3280.11 (d))
o The home must be erected on a permanent foundation in
compliance with the Permanent Foundation Guide for
Manufactured Housing. All proposed or newly constructed
8-1 6/99
4150.2, CHG-1
manufactured homes must meet the standards set forth in the
Permanent Foundation Guide. A licensed professional engineer's
seal and signature (certification) is required to indicate
compliance with the Foundation Guide. The lender should
furnish the appraiser with a design engineer's inspection of
the foundation prior to the appraisal.
o Existing manufactured homes in place over one year are to be
inspected by the appraiser for evidence of permanent
concrete footings with tie-downs anchored to the footings.
o The appraiser must inspect the crawl space for the
following: poured in place concrete footings placed below
the frost line supporting the manufactured home carriage
frame, tie-downs anchored to the footings, protection from
the elements and enclosed with material imperious to rot and
infestation and perimeter foundation-type construction with
footings extended below the frost line. The appraiser must
require an engineering inspection if there is evidence of
structural defects or other problems relating to the
foundation or set-up of the home.
Again I am not positive but it looks like the loan officer may have been referencing the requirements for "new' not excising units.
I will post more information if it becomes available from the lenders side of the conversation.
Thanks again.
-- Michael Patton
AA Home Inspection
Serving Northern KY & Greater Cincinnati OH