Puzzled About Manufactured Home Lending and Title Requirements?

Manufactured Home Lending and Title Requirements

California: The 433A Curative Title Solution

Manufactured homes situated on deeded real property are often still titled as personal property (chattel) even if the borrower is paying property tax! Since most lenders, title companies and attorneys require proof that the home is attached to and classified as real estate, a last minute discovery that a home has not been properly converted can impede a time sensitive transaction.Unlike other states where detitling a manufactured home is a paper process that can be expedited by a homeowner or escrow with relative ease, California has a collection of jigsaw pieces that need to be matched up perfectly in order to cure title. We are uniquely qualified for California's title perfection and conversion process.

MH-Processing can put the pieces of the puzzle together, working with contractors, building departments and the Department of Housing and Community Develpment to tackle California's unique 433A issues.

Nationwide: The Foundation Certification Solution

Lenders generally want to throw up their hands when a manufactured home loan comes across their desk. Even if a borrower has great income, an ideal FICO score, and an "on target" appraisal value, that might not be enough to satisfy underwriting.

In some ways, manufactured homes are treated like the ugly stepchild of the housing industry. The disparaging treatment is less about the type of borrower or even the structure itself, than the fact that manufactured homes are tricky business. It's the laundry list of conditions that is the real problem! For instance, if a home was manufactured before a certain date or was previously moved, the loan can be "Dead On Arrival". VA or FHA-insured loans also require a site specific certification of the foundation to meet HUD guidelines by a Professional Engineer. It's an endless list!

So where do you go for specialized information or troubleshooting ?

MH Processing of course! We can help you tackle most manufactured home issues for the sales and lending process, whether it is a HUD compliant Engineer's Certification or a foundation repair. We have a nationwide network of engineers and contractors knowledgeable about the HUD guidelines. We talk lender language so let us tackle the difficult questions.

The California Puzzle

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What does California consider a permanent foundation? In California an engineer's certification alone is not enough to verify a foundation. A recorded Notice of Installation aka 433A is the recognized California stamp of approval for a permanent foundation. Beyond proof of a permanent foundation, the 433A is also a title conversion document verifying that the home and land are conjoined as real property. So how does one acquire a 433? California has a number of stamped and approved engineered plans that carry the designation "Permanent Foundation" under Health and Safety Statute Title 25, Section 18551 which can be installed by one of our contractors. Presenting these plans to the local building department for a permit, having a contractor install a system, then having a building inspector inspect the site and sign the 433A and then recording it is the standard modus operandi. MH-Processing has 25 years of working with building departments, code enforcement, Department of Housing and Assessor's Offices for a turnkey title and recordation process.

The Foundation Puzzle

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How do you determine if a manufactured home has a Permanent Foundation? Since there is no nationwide compliance policy and different manufacturers have different designs, it is a puzzling situation. Therefore to protect lender and provide FHA with financial security, a certification by a structural engineer specifying that the foundation meets HUD Permanent Foundation Guide For Manufactured Homes, September 1996 is required on all FHA-insured loans. MH-Processing has a qualified network of engineers and foundation repair experts.

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Welcome To MH-Processing

Nationwide: MH-Processing is a network of manufactured home professionals and consultants who can streamline the process of providing nationwide permanent foundation repairs (retrofits) and engineering certifications of foundations for HUD-compliant loans. If a borrower has a manufactured home and owns the land upon which the home sits, a lender will generally require the installation of a permanent foundation. Additionally if the loan will be VA or FHA-insured, an engineer's certification of the foundation specifying that the home meets HUD guidelines will be required. If you are a borrower, we can work directly with your lender to meet the loan guidelines. If you are a realtor or lender, we can move quickly and efficiently to service your transactional needs.

In California we provide a specialized service, tackling troublesome title conversion issues which can usually only be resolved by working with building departments and/or the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). To that end, MH-Processing connects contractor competence with documentary compliance so that errors can be avoided or past mistakes can be corrected. With our working knowledge of titling, relationship with HCD, understanding of HUD insignias, legal procedure and filing requirements, we are happy to work with your escrow, title company, legal or underwriting team to get a 433A recorded in a timely manner.

Unfortunately there have been critical past missteps in the lending, escrow and title arenas, often resulting in different names on home and title or non-existent lenders still showing as the legal owners of the property. This creates burdens on investor portfolios, possible HUD/ FHA insurance denials, and improperly securitized instruments to protect the lender or investor at the time of default.

With MH Processing at the helm, you can count on us to fast-track troublesome manufactured home files. Our 25 years of field experience, coupled with our 15 year track record with lenders gives us the know-how to overcome bureaucratic obstacles. We are able to anticipate varying building permit fees and requirements, inconsistent interpretations of the state code among city and county building departments, the tempermental personality traits of building technicians and inspectors, ultimately acquiring the paperwork for the documentary evidence that is the heart of title perfection.

What is a 433A?

The 433A is a recorded document also known as: "NOTICE OF MANUFACTURED HOME (MOBILEHOME) OR COMMERCIAL MODULAR INSTALLATION ON A FOUNDATION SYSTEM".   

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Why To Choose Us?

California has one of the most complex procedures for the conversion of a manufactured home from personal to real property. Whether you are dealing with a new transaction or a case of a former error in titling, we have a team of professionals experienced in navigating the murky waters of California's manufactured housing title issues.

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What is an Engineer's Certification?

One of the requirements of all FHA-insured loans and some VA loans is that an engineer certify that the manufactured home's foundation comply with THE PERMANENT FOUNDATION GUIDE FOR MANUFACTURED HOMES (PFGMH), dated September 1996 with a written site-specific letter, stamped with his/her Seal.

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