Often, when people are purchasing manufactured homes, they are under the impression that the cost of the home inspection should be cheap. After all, the home is usually selling for less than 1/3 of the cost of a stick-built home. However, if you look at it from the inspector's standpoint, even though these units usually do not have an attic, there is still a lot to look at. And, honestly, often the quality of manufacturing is not up to par and the condition of the crawl space is such that it more than makes up for, in work required, lack of an attic.
At a manufactured home there are many specifics the inspector has to look for. Is there Polybutylene water supply tubing (problematic to say the least); is the electric panel properly wired (often they are not); are there roof or window leaks or problems with siding? Are heavy outside structures, decks and awnings, really free-standing, as they should be. Rodents are a common pest at manufactured homes, at least here in Bellingham and Whatcom County.
The older the manufactured home, the number of problems multiply significantly. Here is a photo of a rusted-out galvanized supply pipe at an old manufactured home.
The bottom line is that, even though a manufactured home costs less, it is impractical for a home inspector to offer a substantial discount. I can tell you, having done many such inspections, that inspecting an 800 sq ft manufactured home may be a bigger hassle, and take longer to write-up, than inspecting a 2500 sq ft stick-built house.
People buying these homes need to realize that they are saving money on the purchase price, not on the cost of obtaining a professional home inspection. Especially so with a manufactured structure, the job requires hard work and knowledge of specialized information, so the inspector needs to be properly compensated for his or her expertise and time. Manufactured homes might be cheap, but the cost of inspecting them probably will not be commensurate with the low price of the home. And do not assume, for one moment, that "quality control" at the factory assures you of much of anything. I have seen some newer manufactured homes with major factory blunders, such as holes in the roof that allow water to run down into the walls.
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