Bellingham Home Inspector (King of the House): HUD Manufactured Home Inspections

Many realtors and lenders become especially frustrated  when they need to schedule, or recommend, an inspector for a manufactured home inspection that is subject to the very specific HUD financing requirements. 

HUD demands an extensive, and very detailed, permanent foundation inspection and a professional engineer must sign off on it. (The foundation below would not pass that HUD foundation inspection  for a multitude of reasons.)

Normally, HUD requirements also call for an inspection for wood destroying insects. This must be done by a licensed home inspector or, in Washington State, a licensed structural pest inspector. (The photo below is carpenter ant frass thrown down onto a bath cabinet by carpenter ants working up in the attic of a manufactured home)

The requirement for two professionals, to sign off on the property, is where scheduling delays come into play. Almost no home inspectors are licensed professional engineers and almost no licensed professional engineers are licensed pest inspectors or home inspectors. Therefore, to schedule the two inspections, the realtor, lender or the client has to make two phone calls and coordinate scheduling, timing and all of the details with the two professionals

 The next dilemma is this: What if the PE is first on the scene and says that the foundation has failed the inspection? If that happens, then there is no need for the pest inspection. On the other hand, the same thing could happen in reverse. To some degree, this is unavoidable but, if the two professionals are communicating and working together directly, then the problem of the client having to pay for two inspections, when the first one failed the place, can be minimized.

In my market, to try to streamline this process for buyers and their agents or lenders, I have entered into a cooperative agreement with a professional engineering firm.  As a result of that cooperative agreement, any realtor, lender or buyer can place a call to my firm and I will take care of the rest of the scheduling. There will be two separate contracts -- one for the inspector and one for the engineering firm -- but the scheduling is simplified. One call puts the wheels in motion.

Hopefully this cooperative agreement will simplify scheduling for people who are frustrated or having trouble finding qualified professionals to inspect and provide the essential documentation and paperwork that is requred by HUD.

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