If a manufactured home was constructed according to Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (CFR 3280); does it have a permanent foundation?

The question we get quite often is, "My manufactured home was constructed according to Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (CFR 3280); is it installed on a permanent foundation?"

The short answer is this: Although your home was constructed to the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (CFR 3280), that does not necessarily mean that it was installed on a permanent foundation.

The Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards pertain to the home itself (the walls, windows, heating and air conditioning, electrical, roof, etc.) and how it was constructed at the factory, but it does not pertain to the foundation; the foundation and the home superstructure are two separate animals, so to speak.

Manufactured homes can be placed on non-permanent foundations, or either permanent ones. What determines if it is permanent or not is the HUD's Permanent Foundation Guide for Manufactured Homes, dated 1996 (HUD Publication 7584, PFGMH).

All Manufactured Homes receive an overall HUD certificate of approval direct from the factory; they install a little red metal tag on the outside of the home to state this fact. However, since not all manufactured homes involve an FHA or VA loan to be sold, many are not installed on a permanent foundation (according to the PFGMH), and therefore, not all manufactured homes need a foundation certification.

Many manufactured home dealerships do their own financing so they don't necessarily involve installing the home on a permanent foundation. Some dealerships install permanent foundations for all their homes they sell and some do not.

To find out whether your manufactured home is on a permanent foundation, you should contact our office at 877-736-7327, or visit us at www.FoundationCerts.com