According to HUD Code (HUD 7584), in order to gain compliance for a manufactured home, you will need to ensure that the structure and the foundation of the home are constructed in accordance with the Permanent foundation Guide For Manufacturing Homes. It is also essential to secure foundation certifications provided after due inspection to determine compliance of the structure with HUD 7548.
There are several compliance criteria in the guide and these have to be met at the minimum to get certification; some of these criteria are:
• There should be a permanent skirting around the perimeter
• The house should also have anchorage so that loads caused to wind and earthquakes can be resisted.
• There should be permanent piers that support the structure
• And others.
You will also need to get a certification from a professional engineer in your state, mentioning that the foundation of the structure is in compliance with the HUD code. M.Hs are site specific and also loan specific, so there isn t a one size fits all kind of solution and this calls for the separate evaluation of each M.H.
You may also be wondering why the services of a professional engineer need to be enlisted in order to get such a certificate. The foundation system of a home is crucial and complex and complicated engineering design processes go into its making. So it becomes vital to get the certification done by a professional engineer to safeguard the assets, property and the life of the home owner in the interest of public welfare.
An experienced and qualified professional engineer will be in a better position to evaluate the compliance of the foundation of your manufactured home with the HUD code; professional engineers are also intimately familiar with the working of the manufactured home industry and this makes them the ideal choice to carry out such an important inspection. However, you need to understand that not every professional engineer has the experience to undertake such an inspection and offer a certificate of compliance; there are many engineers who do not have to experience to conduct a proper inspection and evaluation of the site; they are also in no position to determine the compliance of the foundation with the HUD code. So, it is imperative that you hire the services of an engineer who has ample of knowledge in terms of the HUD standards and the HUD code book. He/ She will also need to have a keen understanding of the manufactured housing building industry.
There are very good chances that your manufactured mobile home may be complaint with the HUD code as is and you may not have to spend a dime to make any changes to the structure. However, there is only one way to make this determination, through a thorough and complete on site inspection. If your manufactured home is not HUD complaint and if you now intend to make changes to the existing structure in order to bring it up to the standards of HUD s Permanent Foundation Guide, it will be essential to hire the services of a professional engineer who is familiar with the certification process and the perquisites from day one so that he can guide you in the right direction and save a lot of time, money and effort.
If you intend to purchase a manufactured home, you should definitely ask the manufacturer about its compliance with the HUD code; there are many unscrupulous establishments that make the false claims of HUD compliance. If a certificate has not been furnished or if you don t have a legal document stating that the manufactured has claim that he structure is HUD compliant, you will be able to do very little legally and may have to undertake construction effort to bring it up to compliance from your own pockets. However, if you do have a document that says as much, you can get in touch with a HUD code attorney. There are several laws in place that protect the rights of the consumer and an HUD code attorney will be able advise you on the appropriate course of action.
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