Engineer-Approved Permanent Foundations
Manufactured homes need to be on an engineer-approved permanent foundation in order to obtain financing. This is required by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Housing for Urban Development (HUD), the Veteran’s Administration and other financing programs.
At Team Engineering, we understand what is required for a permanent foundation and use HUD’s Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing as the basis for our evaluations. Our on-site investigation will determine if the foundation under the home you are considering meets these requirements – some homes do not. Many of the deficiencies we find are simple to evaluate and almost anyone can make a preliminary determination – however, only a Professional Engineer can certify whether or not a foundation meets these standards.
Common Foundation Problems
The most common problems that require foundation modification to meet the guidelines are frost protection and both vertical and lateral bracing of the home to the foundation. Frequently, we inspect and find that the home is sitting on top of the foundation with an absence of bracing entirely. Occasionally, there will be either vertical or lateral bracing where there should be both.
The HUD permanent foundation requirements, which are helpful to know in making a preliminary evaluation, can be seen in their entirety in the following link Manufactured Homes Foundation Compliance.
When it appears that a home may meet the guidelines, our engineers will perform a foundation evaluation inspection. The Team Engineering report will certify that the foundation is compliant or identify those areas that need to be addressed to attain compliance. If improvements are required, a second inspection would be scheduled once the work is complete.
Contact us today and let Team Engineering assist you in obtaining financing for your manufactured home by helping you achieve your foundation certification!
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