FHA & Reverse Mortgage Loan Compliance

FHA-insured loans (which include Reverse Mortgages) require that the manufactured home's foundation will comply with the HUD publication, PERMANENT FOUNDATION GUIDE FOR MANUFACTURED HOMES, dated 1996. In addition to the local jurisdiction and state requirements for attachment or affixation, lenders and underwriters generally require the additional inspection and certification of a licensed structural engineer. We can expedite the inspection and certification of a home that complies or, if necessary, we can retrofit the manufactured home's understructure in a manner that will meet the requirement of the HUD Handbook.

Manufactured Homes in Condominium Parks

One of the more restrictive limitations on the financing of manufactured homes has been FHA's exclusion of manufactured homes in condominium parks. This has been especially restrictive in California and Florida where there are a large number of high quality senior developments, with homes that would normally qualify for FHA-insured or secondary market financing. Most parks with a condominium classification were originally rental parks that have since been converted to resident owned developments. Fortunately, this exclusion will no longer exist once the FHA Expanding Homeownership/Modernization Bill passes Congress. This will dramatically impact the 62 year old homeowner that wants to take advantage of the significant nest egg that he or she may have in their primary residence. In fact the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) has targeted this issue as one of their primary 2008 agenda items so they can better serve consumers who want to share in the American dream of home ownership and who are impacted by the current housing market slump.