ON THE LEVEL Is A One Stop Shop For Lenders, Realtors & Homeowners

Welcome to ON THE LEVEL Contractors. Please feel welcome and encouraged to to call us at 800 909-1110 or by all means log onto our website anytime at  www.onthelevelcontractors.com On The Level is a one stop shop for lenders Realtors and homeowners that are involved in a manufactured home loan or real estate transaction. Whether you need an engineer’s certification on a foundation or a foundation repair, we have a national network of service providers and licensed contractors to provide turn-key solutions.For the loan officer, processor or underwriter we can provide support with your manufactured home transactions by facilitating the engineer’s certifications of the foundation. The engineer’s certification specifies that the foundation complies with the HUD Permanent Foundation Guide for Manufactured Homes (PFGMH – HUD 7584), a requirement for all FHA-insured loans which include Home Equity Conversion Loans (Reverse Mortgage) Loans. If the foundation does not comply for any reason, we can also expedite the requisite repair to meet the engineer’s repair or retrofit specifications. Generally all costs associated with certifications or repairs can be paid out of loan closing.

For the homeowner interested in selling his/her home or the borrower looking for a loan, the engineer’s certification is frequently the final sales or loan condition. If the foundation needs additional structural supports in order to meet enhanced wind, seismic, roof or snow load requirements, we can work with your realtor or lender to make sure that all requirements are met for a seamless transaction and the invoices are presented in the closing.

We also have experience as consultants, expert witnesses and troubleshooters in all facets of the manufactured homeindustry. We are accredited by the Better Business Bureau as well as members of a number of manufactured home professional organizations.

For an Engineer’s Certification Inspection, click here or call 800-900-1110.

For Foundation Retrofits or Repairs, click here or call 800-900-1110.

Click here for Manufactured Home Lenders and Realtors

A manufactured home must be a HUD home, which means it must have been manufactured after June 15, 1976. If there are metal plates at the rear of the home that begin with a three Alpha letters like CAL, ARZ, ORE, that’s usually a good sign.

1. If the HUD label is missing, usually a label verification letter from the Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS) which will give the provenance of the home will suffice.

2. The Manufactured homes and FHA Insured Loans is classified and taxed as real estate. A long term lease may also be acceptable in certain instances.

3. The axles and tongues must be removed.

4. The manufactured home must have an adequate perimeter enclosure with appropriate ventilation.

5. Must have a floor area of not less than 400 square feet

6. Built and remains on a permanent chassis

7. The finished grade elevation beneath the manufactured home shall be at or above the 100 year return frequency flood elevation.

8. The home must sit on a permanent foundation.

All foundation systems, new and existing, must meet the guidelines published in the HUD Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing, (HUD-7584), dated September 1996. A certification attesting to compliance with this handbook must be obtained from a licensed professional engineer and included in the insuring file.

This last requirement can throw the loan processor into a quandary if they have never expedited a manufactured home transaction previously because this request will often show up at the 11th hour of loan closing.

Nine times out of ten the appraisal report will show that the home is on a foundation system so the processor or loan officer won’t have alarm bells off of worry going off when they receive this condition. Unfortunately, the appraiser often simply determines “permanence” strictly on the basis that the tires and axles have been removed or some other vague set of standards, not on the basis of the foundation attachment.

The reason for this requirement is to establish a national standard of consistency amidst inconsistent state installation standards. While manufactured homes have standardized preemptive structural, plumbing, and electrical standards that need to be met before leaving the factory, installation standards vary from county to county, state to state.

Additionally, manufactured homes are unique in that they can either be titled either as personal property (chattel) or real property. In some states the distinction between personal and real property is determined by the type of foundation and underpinnings that support the home.

Since the individual jurisdictional requirements vary significantly, the Engineer Certification Letter helps to provide a standard for excellence. This is generally an underwriting requirement for all FHA insured loans, which also include Reverse Mortgages.

If an existing home is already on a foundation, an engineer can provide a certification attesting to the fact that the home meets the guidelines. If it does not meet the HUD guidelines, there are a variety of proprietary or approved engineered foundation Retrofitting systems in combination with the existing structural components.

As in any industry, one size does not fit all in the engineering landscape and engineers that specialize in the manufactured home industry and the HUD inspection specifications are even rarer still. Because there are a vast array of proprietary products that have been introduced into the national marketplace, knowledge about these systems is also an additional benefit since these have all been pre-engineered and stamped delineating all of the system specifications.

This also means if the foundation does not meet the FHA-insured criteria for a permanent foundation, the engineer does not need to re-invent the wheel with a repair recommendation—there are a plethora of products available for the retrofit contractor.

Therefore finding the right combination of an engineer and contracting team that understands the FHA lending process so the engineering certification does not impair the loan lock timeline, is familiar with the availability of proprietary systems that can resolve the repair issues if they are necessary and are able to liaison with both lender and borrower to provide turn-key solutions.

On The Level http://www.onthelevelcontractors.com and Pacific Consulting Engineers collectively team to comprehensively resolve FHA-insured loan certification and foundation repair issues for the manufactured home borrower and lender.

TESTIMONIALS

REFERRAL LETTERS

Click on these links to download letters of referral from companies that have worked with On The Level (letters are in PDF format).

Multi-State Home Lending

America One Mortgage Group

U.S. Bank

Michael Clarke

CLIENT COMMENTS

“Our manufactured home owners benefit from the ease of handling their sometime complex needs and with you working in their best interests in a smooth and professional manner, with honesty and integrity at the forefront.”

James Marietti, Multi-State Home Lending
Janis,

“Thank-You for all your help. You made it all possible. I will definitely refer you. Please send me some business cards. Your company is awesome. ”

Marsha Dixon
Homeowner, Page AZ

“You are by far the best at this cert business that there is out there!!!”

Eliut Gonzalez
Pacific Coast Mortgage

“As a Realtor, I have used the services of On The Level several times to level manufactured homes for my buyer’s and my seller’s. In my opinion, On The Level’s services are far and above those of other leveling companies. They are very professional, timely and stand behind their services. If one ever needs a leveling company, I would highly recommend Janis and her company.”

Barbara Whisenant
You guys are awesome! Thank you very much! I don’t know who else anyone has been using here for this service but I will recommend you to everyone!

Again, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!

–Wil Fortenberry, Paramount Equity
–Financial Specialist

Janis,

Thank you so much. I have to tell you, you are awesome to work with. I thought this deal was dead and I know that a lot of mortgage brokers out here feel like they don?t know where to turn to on manu deals. I will definitely spread the word about you guys!

–Amy Brill Janis,

You and your company are truly the best in the business and I will always recommend you as the preferred contractor for all future jobs. Thanks again and have a great day.

–Darel Handley
–Handley Homes

We were so impressed with how professional and nice “On the Level” was. That’s how a business should operate! They even fixed the steps that the inspector messed up! I can’t tell you how happy we are that we found them to do the foundation.

–Hope Nichols, Homeowner

Janis,

Thank you so much for all our hard work! This file would not have closed if it wasn’t for you. You were awesome. We need more people out there like you.

–Mickey Bowlin, West Coast Escrow Janis,

What can I say but, ‘wow’ thank you for getting our inspection handled. You have helped make our dream come true.

–JD and Betty Biros
–Olancha, CA ”

We officially closed our loan last week. Chad and I just wanted to thank you for being so awesome to work with as we got the retro-fit issues worked out. We really appreciate it!”

Thanks again!

Sincerely,
Rana Watterson

Thanks for having such great knowledge on this when no one else did. You were awesome!”

All the best

Jim Siebert
Vitek Mortgage Group

“Thank you. You saved this one for me!”

Michelle Camacho
Foothill Home Mortgage