Permanent Foundations

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.

This handbook is a guide for those approving HUD-code manufactured homes on permanent foundations, including engineers, manufacturers, and site owners seeking approval.  It provides current technical information, recommendations, and tables of analytical data, expanding and clarifying the definition of a permanent foundation.  It updates 1989 loading requirements for snow, wind, and seismic forces. Because of the increased use of multi-section manufactured homes, the guide now includes consideration of large openings along the length of marriage walls in multi-section units. The construction recommendations assure that the home, foundation, and site are all compatible.  In addition to the new technical recommendations, the guide has been expanded and reorganized for easy reference with more illustrations and clarifications. The handbook can greatly assist preparation of the worksheets needed to apply for an FHA mortgage.

Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing (September 1996, 384 p.)

FULL TEXT Handbook:

Executable (*.exe, 2074 KB)

PDF Document (*.pdf, 13.7 MB)

Executable with MS Word files (*.exe, 2543 KB)  Introduction – Chapter 5 (*.pdf, 1105 KB) Chapter 6 – Chapter 15 (*.pdf, 1058 KB) Chapter 16 – Appendicies (*.pdf, 14301 KB)

PFGMH Software About the Software (*.txt, 6KB) PFGMH Software (*.exe, 3605 KB) Win32s Version 1.30a Software (*.exe, 1904 KB)

PFGMH Software: 3 .exe files for shorter downloading time PFGMH Software 1 (*.exe, 1297 KB) PFGMH Software 2 (*.exe, 1045 KB) PFGMH Software 3 (*.exe, 1312 KB)

Schembri Engineers can perform a HUD Permanent Foundation Inspection.  To find a local permanent foundation installer in Arizona:

www.PermanentFoundations.com

www.HUDFoundation.com

www.FHAFoundation.com

www.VAFoundation.com

www.HUDPermanentFoundation.com