Manufactured or Mobile Home?
Is there a difference between a Manufactured and Mobile Home?
Absolutely.
Primarily, there is one huge, important difference between manufactured and mobile home:
"Manufactured" homes were built only after 1976 and are subject to the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974. This Act established federal standards for the design and construction of factory-built homes to assure their quality, durability, and safety nationwide. With manufactured homes, the owner and the lender have certain assurances that the home meets the minimum Federal guidelines. With mobile homes (built prior to 1976) there is no such assurance.
Yet, many Contractors, engineers, and lending agents may still refer to your home as a "mobile" home though this is technically incorrect. As Engineers, frankly we at IE Certify don't like the sloppiness of the jargon. We're a bit uptight about that kind of stuff. But practically speaking it doesn't matter. Lenders, realtors, and homeowners shouldn't worry about the jargon as much as this one fact: Homes built prior to June 15, 1976 (Mobile homes) are ineligible for FHA mortgage insurance.
Absolutely.
Primarily, there is one huge, important difference between manufactured and mobile home:
"Manufactured" homes were built only after 1976 and are subject to the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974. This Act established federal standards for the design and construction of factory-built homes to assure their quality, durability, and safety nationwide. With manufactured homes, the owner and the lender have certain assurances that the home meets the minimum Federal guidelines. With mobile homes (built prior to 1976) there is no such assurance.
Yet, many Contractors, engineers, and lending agents may still refer to your home as a "mobile" home though this is technically incorrect. As Engineers, frankly we at IE Certify don't like the sloppiness of the jargon. We're a bit uptight about that kind of stuff. But practically speaking it doesn't matter. Lenders, realtors, and homeowners shouldn't worry about the jargon as much as this one fact: Homes built prior to June 15, 1976 (Mobile homes) are ineligible for FHA mortgage insurance.
In other words:
Manufactured Homes are completely constructed in a factory and then transported to the home site.
Mobile Homes are any manufactured home built prior to June 15, 1976. They are now obsolete and have been replaced by modern manufactured homes.
IE Certify provides engineer inspection and review of foundation systems to determine if the foundation meets the FHA guidelines in effect at the time of the certification. If the foundation meets the guidelines, we issue a Foundation Certification. The current guidelines are published in the Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing (HUD-4930.3G), dated September 1996.
To be eligible for most loans, a certification attesting to foundation's compliance with this standard must be obtained from a licensed professional engineer (IE Certify). A copy of the certification will be included in the lenders loan file and the insuring binder when submitted to HUD/FHA (link).
Manufactured Homes are completely constructed in a factory and then transported to the home site.
Mobile Homes are any manufactured home built prior to June 15, 1976. They are now obsolete and have been replaced by modern manufactured homes.
IE Certify provides engineer inspection and review of foundation systems to determine if the foundation meets the FHA guidelines in effect at the time of the certification. If the foundation meets the guidelines, we issue a Foundation Certification. The current guidelines are published in the Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing (HUD-4930.3G), dated September 1996.
To be eligible for most loans, a certification attesting to foundation's compliance with this standard must be obtained from a licensed professional engineer (IE Certify). A copy of the certification will be included in the lenders loan file and the insuring binder when submitted to HUD/FHA (link).