VA Manufactured / Addition

[Duke 73]

I have a VA appraisal, and the 1,500 SF manufactured home has a 600 SF stick built addition added to it. It has a permanent concrete foundation, it conforms to the rest of the home, (it was hard to tell if it was a triple wide, or an actual addition) it was all permitted by the county, and passed final inspections, and is compliant to local building codes.

Does this meet VA requirements? Does it need a foundation inspection? I have never encountered this situation before. Thank you.

 

[Jo Ann Meyer Stratton]

Report the livable area of the manufactured home on the GLA line and the addition some place else on the grid. That way the MH area of the comparables will be compared to the MH area of the subject and the addition or additions of the comparables are compared to the subject's addition.

I am not familiar with VA requirements but FHA/HUD requires an inspection of the foundation and skirting by a licensed engineer for conformance with HUD's requirements in addition to whatever the local entity requires.

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

Permanent concrete foundation? Or, concrete block. Otherwise, I picture a two foot drop to the addition. That would not seem to conform.

 

[CANative]

In California you have to have permits and plan approval issued by the California Housing and Community Development Department. This is in addition to the local permits and inspections. Without that this is a no go. Structural modifications can lead to premature failure of the home and could also be dangerous.

Don't fool around with this. I'll post some links later. Don't proceed until you read what I post.

 

[CANative]

From Chapter 8 of HUD Handbook 4150.2

“Additions or structural modifications may put the home at risk if changes were not performed in accordance with the HUD Manufactured Home Construction Safety and Standards. If the appraiser observes changes to the original home, an inspection by the State Administrative agency, which inspects manufactured homes for compliance, must be required. If there is no agency willing or able to inspect existing homes for compliance to the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, the manufactured home is unacceptable and should be rejected.”

Link to CA HCD site:
http://www.hcd.ca.gov/codes/mhp/

Link to HCD housing and program law and regulations:

http://www.hcd.ca.gov/codes/mhp/lawregs.html

Link to the matrix for what items require permits, plans, engineering, load calcs, etc. It’s a pdf that you can download.
http://www.hcd.ca.gov/codes/mhp/HCDMH604.pdf

 

[CANative]

it was all permitted by the county, and passed final inspections, and is compliant to local building codes.

It's not up to the city or county. It's up to HCD.

You've got some delicate work to do here. You have to find out but if you ask the borrower he might not know, he might know but didn't do it, he might get all paranoid and complain to his loan rep who will get really mad at you for scaring his client and messing up his deal. He'll tell you you don't know what you're talking about.

You could ask the Planning and Building Department about state permits but then you run the risk of them getting wise and red tagging the house until they get the permits.

You could probably call HCD and find the right contact to ask about this property and permits. Explain the situation before giving the address. That might be the best way to handle this.

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

Had one like that years ago and the VA approved it. Manufactured home with a stick built addition. Built to code and heated by the main heat source. The addition was on a slab with a step down.

Trainee doing VA appraisals????

 

[Don Clark]

Had one like that years ago and the VA approved it. Manufactured home with a stick built addition. Built to code and heated by the main heat source. The addition was on a slab with a step down.

Trainee doing VA appraisals????

Same here Mike. What some do not realize is that VA will also accept a factory built home that was built prior to the HUD Code. I have done many that were built in the 1960's with additions that were stick built. VA only requires that they meet VA MPR's.

 

[CANative]

I realize that VA is different like that. But the fact of the matter is that structural modifications can and often do affect the structural integrity of the home and this should all be disclosed. It's also the law in California so there is no option really but to use an extraordinary assumption and condition the appraisal on State permits and/or additional inspections.

 

[Duke 73]

Thanks for the input