Modular or Manufactured, need help please!

[Tim Schneider]

I have been assigned an order for a refi on a property that the client & borrower are unsure if it is modular or manufactured. I am trying to determine if it is manufactured before I drive 20mi. out there next week. Here is what I know:

- Borrower states there is a ID tag in the electrical panel (I think like the one on JoAnn's link for state by state tags)
- Borrower knows where it is from (Wick Homes) http://wickmarshfield.com/
- It is taxed as an improvment
- It has a full basement, but the mechanicals are on the main level
- Based on prior MLS listings, it was built in 1995
- A picture is attached

I would like your opinions on what this is, or ideas on how to determine what it is. I don't do manufactured (yet), so if that's what it is, I guess I'll have to turn it down. Thanks.

 

[Mary Tiernan]

Based on my experience, double wide HUD manufactured house.

The roof line is one give away, the way the roof goes up ove rthe door and window, without so much as centering . . . also, the pitch of the roof. There are other ways to determine once seeing the property, but I would definitely call this HUD manufactured from first glance.

 

[Proactive]

The electrical service looks like it is attached to the house. Around here, manufactured homes have a separate meter pedestal for the electrical service. My vote would be modular.

According to their website, Wick Homes builds both modular and manufactured housing (boy, THAT's gotta be confusing!). Ask the homeowner to give you whatever serial numbers that may be on the ID tag and call Wick to find out for sure.

 

[Mr Rex]

Bad advice in both the previous posts. The truth is , appearances do not matter. Only confirmation of the building code that the original subject was subject to is the determining factor. Anything else is pulled from an orifice, stinks at best, unacceptable to any and everyone.

 

[Charles Witt]

Many manufactured homes have the electric service panel attached to the side of the unit like the one in the picture. What did the understructure look like? Was there a main steel undercarriage beam with steel supports attached and extending out to near the perimeter of two long sides? Were there HUD plates on the end, should be two on the same end about a foot up and a foot or so in? Lots of questions. Might want to call the manufacturer now that you have the info off the data sheet to determine. Or contact www.ibit.com with the numbers and get an ID if it is a manufactured home.

 

[Caterina Platt]

The major difference between HUD code manufactured and modulars is which code is the home built to adhere, and which agency did the inspection. Roof pitch, quality level, etc. doesn't necessarily tell you what it is. We have a subdivision in SW Albuquerque where there are all ground level set, stuccoed, attached garages, and 4::12 roof pitches. They are manufactured. The trusses were hinged, folded over during shipping and finished once they were on site.

Red/Silver certification labels on the end of each half that state it was built to comply with HUD code = manufactured. If they are there, you know it's a manufactured home. The absence of these labels doesn't necessarily mean modular, however as they are frequently removed or 'sided' over.

What exactly does the ID tag on the electric box look like? These photos are from a true modular. Your ID should NOT be the data plate with the map of the US. Again, that would be a manufactured.

You may need to drive out there. Inspect the support structure carefully. You will likely find characteristics that tell you one way or the other. One caveat: on frame modulars can look like a HUD code MH from the underside. You really need the inspection labels and cert labels to know. The photos below are from an on-frame modular and from the underside, I could not tell the difference.

 

[Mary Tiernan]

Ahem - OP was trying to determine if he should even drive the 20 minutes because if it is manufactured, does not want to proceed.

Based on the original poster's questions, this does look manufactured. Granted, without a full inspection it cannot be determined, however, it does look manufactured.

Roof pitch on manufactured houses has improved, in fact, there are now 1.5 story manufactured houses that do not even come close to appearing like manufactured houses.

But, from first glance I would say that is manufactured, and since original poster does not want to do a manufactured houses appraisal, based on my experience here in Michigan - and we got a lot of manufactured houses here in Michigan, I would assume this is manufactured based on photo.

 

[Mr Rex]

Heres a couple of modulars for you folks that can tell manufactured from modular from pictures:

2nd one is on a full basement and is an "off-frame" modular, no chassis. The first one is "on frame" modular, has a steel chassis, but is modular, not manufactured.

 

[Dave Smith]

Tim:

Wick's Marshfield line is a mfg product. Call the zoning department that issued the building permit, find out who the builder was, call the builder and ask them. Or, ask the home owner who the builder was and then call the builder.

Are there HUD tags on the left front and the right rear of the house? Ask the homeowner?

It looks like a Marshfield mfg house to me. The roof pitch and the distance between the top of the window and the roof are typical of the Marshfield mfg produce.

As for the electric service, that is very typical in Wisconsin.

 

[CANative]

The only way to tell for sure is by going there and inspecting it. It's the building code used and nothing else. Look for the HUD data plate and data labels. Anything else is just guesswork.