Foundation certification for manufacture home sale?

Question

Hello I recently completed a flip deal on a manufactured home (first ever) and I am currently in the closing process and the lender is requesting a foundation certification prior to funding on the property. Has anyone ever had to deal with this? I am in Nevada im not sure if that makes any difference? This home has been a complete headache and even in the final chapter I get hit with this!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Russell Holmes · Answer

@Erik Schneider I'm in FL so it may not be the same.  Are they looking for a structural certification of the physical foundation or a document that makes the home a permanent part of the land as opposed to 'personal property'?

I closed a manufactured home on a half acre with buyers earlier this year with what sounds like a similar circumstance (if it's the document side you need).  My buyers were using HELOC funds from a home I had listed for them, so financing wasn't an issue, but closing and insurance were bigger headaches than I expected.  The insurance company came up right at the end needing to get the original 'Retired Mobile Home Title' for their records.  Basically, mobile/manufactured homes are titled like a vehicle at first and considered personal property. They stay that way on rented lots with annual registration stickers like a car tag, but they become 'fixed' to an owned lot through 'retiring of the title' which also involves removing the axles (if any) and strapping or bolting them down to a foundation per the code at that time.

That original 'vehicle title' is retired and the house becomes 'real property' taxed through property taxes instead of registration like a vehicle. From that point on there is no more 'registration' to renew and records are instead kept through the county property appraiser instead of the DMV.  The one I sold was from 1993 and had been 'real property' since 1993.  Luckily the same home sold a few years back at the same title office, so they dug through records and found the copy there. The original title literally looked like any vehicle title I've seen, even had a spot for odometer reading that comically said 'exempt'.  If the title office can't track it down, you may need to check with either the county property records or the DMV depending on who handles that. If you've found a VIN number or identifying tag anywhere on it that may help.   I'd first reach out to your title office for reference on how it's handled in your state.

If, instead, they are looking for some sort of certification that it is properly tied down to the foundation, I'd think you could call your county building department about that to see if it's an inspection process.  At first we thought this is what my buyer's insurance was requesting but they clarified it was the documents showing it had been 'legally fixed' to the property, not 'physically fixed' to the property. It was an odd process to me to say the least.

Whenever strange things like this come up, I typically find that my contacts at my local Title office have either personally dealt with it or know someone who has, so they are my first go-to for odd ball questions on closing technicalities.  Reach out to them with the request and see if they can point you in the right direction.

Clint Shelley · Answer

@Russell Holmes

For sure. My wife is an agent and one of my employees just bought a property that had a modular home. They spent months collecting back and forth between the appraiser calling it a mobile home, the lender not know how they should treat, and everyone arguing with the structural engineer. It was Cat 5 cluster f and took months. Finally the lender closed it because everyone had so much time and aggrevation in the deal, that all parties just wanted it over.

Clint

Clint Shelley · Answer

@Erik Schneider

Probably going to need a structural engineer. You could try and see if the building inspector could sign some type of form first. Mileage will vary, of course. Good luck.

Clint

Erik Schneider · Answer

@Russell Holmes

During the renovation process I completed all the required legal paperwork to convert the mobile home to “real property” that’s why I’m having such a hard time wrapping me head around the process. I forfeited the title so now it’s just the actual title of the home.

Thanks for the information. I’m going to call the title company tomorrow and try and get specifics.

Erik

Russell Holmes · Answer

@Clint Shelley that is the other side of the coin too. Words like "certificate" and "title" can have multiple meanings when referring to what once was a legal "vehicle" and now is considered a "property". Legally certified or structurally certified....  "Your mileage may vary" is very fitting in this one..haha. I'm curious to see where this goes.

Russell Holmes · Answer

@Erik Schneider ah ok, so you are the one who did it all, which makes it easier than if that was done 15-20 years ago. Maybe the finance company simply needs to see the docs you used to do that? My guess is the lender wants to see that's been done on the legal side.   Seems to me the county and not the lender would be the one concerned with the structure itself. With mine, it was a copy of the old original "vehicle" title that was the missing piece being dug out of a dusty paper file somewhere.

Foundation certification for manufacture home sale?

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