Engineer's Certification

Engineer Certification on Mobile Home and Manufactured Home Foundation Systems

On certain types of loans, such as VA & FHA-insured loans, the underwriters want the additional assurance regarding the structural integrity of the home and they require a professional engineer's stamp of approval. We are able to assist with the field inspection and engineer's certification process. The standard requirement is that the foundation complies with the HUD publication, Permanent Foundation Guide for Manufactured Homes dated 1996 and that the engineer's letter attest to this fact with a wet stamp of his/her license and signature. The inspection generally identifies the home by HUD Label numbers and encompasses the type of support system, type of perimeter enclosure and ventilation, and the impact of any attached porches, decks, garages or other additions.

It is anticipated that government insured loans will become increasingly more important in the marketplace when the Expanding Homeownership Act/FHA Modernization bill passes Congress in 2008, both for the entry level market for the first time home buyer as well as the senior citizen 62 years or older that wants to tap into his equity with a Reverse Mortgage. The Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) has directed its policy agenda for 2008 towards the focus of improving the flow of capital to manufactured housing by modernizing FHA's Title I and Title II programs and creating a duty to serve manufactured housing for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.