Well, I never...

[Mike Garrett RAA]

I have never been ask for photos of the tags!

 

[Jo Ann Meyer Stratton]

Ben!! Go stand in a corner! If the home was constructed to HUD building code, it is a manufactured housing unit for financing purposes. Mobile homes have not been constructed since prior to June 15, 1976.

 

[David S. Roberson]

I say it's still a trailer.

 

[Jo Ann Meyer Stratton]

David:
And you have to write on the blackboard 50 times: "For financing purposes, a home built to HUD building code is a manufactured home."

Check out my article in the October 2001 issue of the Appraisal E Gram on the NAIFA.com website.

Fannie Mae has made changes in their 6/30/02 guidelines to two items in my article. Now they will only finance a manufactured home originally constructed to HUD building codes after June 15, 1976 and will will finance a single wide manufactured home in any location, not just approved projects.

 

[Don Clark]

8) Can't(or won't) add anything to what Jo Ann said, and others. Jo Ann is the "Mother of all Manufactured Housing Appraisers", I say with respect and admiration. I will add just one tiny bit of caution that applies not only to HUD or VA but to all appraisals. It is the underwriter that determines whether or not a property meets HUD requirements, VA requirements, Fannie Mae requirements, or Freddie Mac or some other requirements. That is not the appraisers role. Our role is to do an appraisal in accordance with USPAP, and any governmental agencies supplemental standards. It is not to determine if a property comples with requirements. Our appraisal is to form an opinion of value, and is an aid for the underwriter to determine if a property meets XYZ's requirements.

Don Clark, IFA

"We has met the enemy, and they is us" Pogo

 

[BenLuby]

Jo Ann,

Visually impaired is still blind, Hearing impaired is still deaf, mentally challenged is still retarded, and a manufactured home is still a mobile home/trailer. I grew up in one of those things. Believe me, I know what the correct term is.
By the way, I do list them as manufactured on my forms. Sorry for the politically incorrect wording.
Can I come out of the corner now? I promise not to use the improper name again for at least a week.

 

[Jo Ann Meyer Stratton]

An occasional slip up is okay--just don't make a habit of it! Story about my self. Went to the NAIFA education conferance last year, my husband went along. He was bored silly listing to appraisal stuff for 4 days. Most of my conversations were about manufactured housing, I also kept correcting people during those conversations. I was talking to some one and the word mobile home slipped out, my husband is going in the background "manufactured housing" "manufactured housing". So I had to quick correct myself.

Have you seen some of the very good quality manufactured homes? The quality of manufactured homes can vary almost more than the quality of site built homes. But at least the lumber is straight and cut the right size the first time with a manufactured home. Seen too many million dollar site built homes with crooked green lumber, boards cut three times and still too short, etc. Oh well, the stucco covers the mistakes and nobody will ever know after it is covered up. Everyone needs to try to tour a factory at least once and watch a home be constructed from beginning to end. Fascinating!

 

[Dee Dee]

The main county that I work in doesn't appear to allow manufactured homes. I've yet to see one anywhere around here and have never once been asked to appraise one of the beasts. Wouldn't have a clue where to start!

It's always enlightening to read threads that others have posted about the types of properties they specialize in appraising. What is so common to them would have me curled up in a corner with my thumb in my mouth!

Emininent domains, poultry farms, mining claims, wetlands, ocean front properties, large muti-family units, wildfire burn areas.....and on and on it goes. Even the way that research has to be performed from one area to another can vary widely. I can't fathom not having access to county and sales data via the internet!

It is more than a little humbling to know that no matter how much I continue to learn about this profession it would take several lifetimes to be an expert on all there is to know.

 

[Jo Ann Meyer Stratton]

DeeDee:
Check with the zoning department for your county. A lot of areas in Arizona have restrictions against mobile homes (which were built before June 15, 1976) and homes built to HUD code. So one of the Cavco plants in Phoenix gets around that restriction by building homes to UBC code, using the same materials, same floor plan, built on a steel undercarriage, towed to the site, same paper work as a home built to HUD code. Is installed and looks exactly like a home constructed to HUD code but because it was built to UBC code is acceptable to the zoning authorities that object to HUD code!! But then if your county has restrictions against factory built homes, everything including trailers, mobile homes, manufactured homes, panel homes, kit homes, industrialized homes, modular homes, etc are out of luck. I wonder if they will figure out that by using the terms of factory built--that means a site built home couldn't have pre-engineered trusses, factory assembled cabinets, etc, etc if the letter of the restriction was applied??

By the way, you might be surprised, those nice two story log homes you have seen might have been factory built! There are some factory built homes, whether it was built to HUD or UBC cannot be identified as being factory built until you get verification of the building code from the manufacturer. One of the local manufacturer dealer and all his relatives live in homes constructed to HUD code that have 3,000 to 4,000 square feet, more bells and whistles than a site built home at half the price. You can only tell they are HUD code homes because of the name of the owner--and he doesn't sell modulars. Redman Homes under the name of Genesis Homes is building UBC homes of Santa Fe/Pueblo style homes that the only identification will be a crawl space since site built homes in Arizona are built on concrete slabs. In the future they will probably come up with a way of doing that too. After all 4,000 square foot homes on concrete pads are being picked up out of the way of the freeway and moved hundres of miles. Saw an episode on Home Time several weeks ago where they picked up a home on a concrete slab, raised it 9' in the air then built two two garages and storage room the same size underneath it. Amazing to watch.

 

[Caterina Platt]

Dee Dee,

One possible reason no MH in your area, your county may have a roof 'snowload' requirement of 80 lbs. or more per square foot. Have been told this is a keen way to keep them out of many counties in CO. Most manufacturers couldn't comply with that requirement. My cohorts at the Fleetwood dealership in Farmington would often try to place homes in SW CO, only to run into 'excessive' roof snowload requirements and had to kill the deals.