Support and settlement
Piers shift, shims fall out and footings sink. It shows up first as sticking doors and a wavy floor, long before anyone thinks to look underneath.
Manufactured housing, inspected properly
Full system inspections plus the permanent foundation certification your lender needs for an FHA, VA or USDA loan — from an inspector who knows the difference between a pier and a problem.
Manufactured & mobile homes
A different structure needs a different eye
Manufactured homes are not small site-built houses. The framing is different, the anchoring is different, the marriage line on a double-wide is a system all of its own, and the failure modes have almost nothing in common with a stick-built home.
We inspect the chassis, piers, anchors and skirting as carefully as the roof and the panel, because that is where manufactured homes actually get into trouble — settlement, inadequate tie-downs, crushed insulation belly wrap and moisture under the unit.
If your lender needs a permanent foundation certification, we will tell you up front what the standard requires and what has to be corrected to meet it, before you spend money finding out the hard way.
- Single-wide, double-wide and triple-wide units
- FHA, VA and USDA loan foundation certifications
- Homes in parks and on privately owned land
- Pre-purchase, pre-listing and refinance situations
FHA / VApermanent foundation certifications accepted by lenders
Scope of work
What a manufactured home inspection covers
Everything in a standard home inspection, plus the elements specific to manufactured housing.
- HUD data plate and certification label verification
- Permanent foundation compliance assessment
- Piers, footings, shims and load distribution
- Anchors, straps and tie-down condition
- Chassis, outriggers and frame integrity
- Marriage line seal, ridge beam and alignment
- Belly wrap, underfloor insulation and vapour barrier
- Skirting, ventilation and crawl area moisture
- Roof covering, seams, vents and coatings
- Electrical service, bonding and panel condition
- Plumbing supply, drainage and heat tape
- Furnace, ducting and cooling performance
Why it matters
Where manufactured homes usually need attention
Moisture under the unit
Torn belly wrap and poor site drainage turn the crawl area into a humid box. Insulation packs down, the subfloor softens and the repair is not small.
Lender certification gaps
Missing anchors and non-compliant footings are the two most common reasons a foundation certification fails. Both are fixable when you know early.
Questions
Manufactured homes — common questions
It is a written confirmation that the home’s foundation meets the requirements of the HUD Permanent Foundations Guide, which FHA, VA and USDA lenders require before they will finance a manufactured home.
In many cases the certification must be issued by a licensed professional engineer. We will tell you clearly at the outset which documents your lender needs and coordinate the engineering sign-off where it is required.
Yes. Pre-1976 units predate the HUD code and have their own quirks, and we inspect them with that in mind. We will be candid about what is normal wear for the age and what is genuinely a concern.
Yes. We only need access to the underside of the unit, which usually means removing a skirting panel. Let the park office know we are coming and it is a non-event.
Typically two to three hours for a double-wide, depending on access under the home and how much of the crawl area is reachable.
Also available
Other inspections we run
Buyer’s Home Inspection
Before you close, know exactly what you’re buying.
Learn moreSeller’s Pre-Listing Check
Fix surprises before a buyer’s inspector finds them.
Learn moreNew Construction & Pre-Drywall
Builder walk-throughs, phase checks and 11-month warranty visits.
Learn moreNeed a foundation certification for your loan?
Tell us the lender and the loan type. We will confirm exactly which document you need and how fast we can turn it around.