• Description: This four hours certificate course is focused to provide both experienced and new home inspectors a general overview of manufactured housing, what it is, and why we have it, and suggested protocols for inspecting a manufactured home.
  
• Participant Profile: The course is designed to familiarize home inspectors with dwellings constructed under the federal authority, National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards (MHCSS) administrated by the US Department of Urban Development (HUD). Participants will learn why there are Federal standards for Manufactured homes, how HUD works in promulgating the HUD code and differences from the conventional construction model codes. Also we will cover where to find local requirements that may apply to manufactured homes.
  
• Objective: To familiarize the inspector with manufactured housing nomenclature and abbreviations; MHCSS; the extent and limitations of the HUD code. Particular attention is paid to the local jurisdictional issues when dealing with manufactured homes, such as the state Rules and Regulations for Manufactured Homes. Also covered will be Park Models (trailers), Manufactured and Factory Built Homes, “Mobile Home” only appliances and why “mobile home” is not a standard term for anything built after 6/15/76.
  
• Handouts: PowerPoint Presentation PDF by Michael Casey & David Goldstein
  
• Evaluation: Class Participation. Successful completion of 30-question quiz required for certificate.

Presentation Timed Outline – 4 Hours

1:00— Hrs. Overview of Manufactured Housing

• a) What is a Manufactured Home?
  
• b) What is a Park Model?
  
• c) What is Factory Built?
  
• d) What is a Trailer?
  
• e) What is a Mobile Home?
  
• f) A review of the MH history and why we have them.
  
• g) The differences of MHs from other "factory built" (such as modular) structures.
  
• h) National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974
  
• i) HUD Federal Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards of 1976 and subsequent
  amendments.
  
• j) Extent and limitations of the HUD code and HUD's relationships with the states via State Administrator.
  
• k) When and how state authority can take precedent with MHs.
  
• l) Local Rules and Regulations for Manufactured Homes
  
• m) HUD Certification label (must be red metal)

1:00 — Hrs Types of MH and making sense of various “Codes”

• a) Multi-Family MH, MH homes in parks vs. homes on private lots.
  
• b) Locations, statistics and costs of MH vs. conventional.
  
• c) Sources of information and a brief primer on MH regulations history.
  
• d) NFPA 501 Standard on Manufactured Housing, IRC Appendix E and MHCSS – the same?
  
• e) MH construction in progress.
  
• f) Codes do not consider Modular to be MH, stick built codes apply to Modular
  
• g) Designed with a permanent "steel chassis", considered movable, and carry a "title" (like a car,
  motorcycle, boat, etc.). Movable as in “without modification”.
  
• h) FHA, HUD and VA “Foundation Certifications”

2:00 — Hrs. Field Inspection of the Manufactured Home

• a) Inspecting a manufactured home.
  
• b) Review actual case studies of MH inspections, including;
  1) differences from conventional,
  2) including structure,
  3) roofs and common roof problems,
  4) electrical, (including subpanel locations – significantly different)
  5) plumbing,
  6) foundation, wind load tie-down
  7) under carriage, vapor retarder and enclosure
  8) appliances, ratings and more.
  9) wood stoves
  
• c) Distance between units for fire safety per NFPA 501A.
  1) 10-feet side to side
  2) 8-feet end to side
  3) 6-feet end to end
• d) Note that additions or “accessory buildings” to homes including garages, cabanas and decks etc. need to be structurally separate (not depend upon the MH for support).
  
• e) Numerous virtual inspections of MH will be shown.
  
• f) Review of support systems for homes, including the required anchorage for wind loading. Note the different installation standards available for MHs and when they might apply.
  
• g) The differences between "foundation systems" and FHA requirements for "Permanent Foundations" including the IRC's "permanent installation".
  
• h) Questions and Answer

Background W. David Goldstein, session presenter:

David Goldstein is the Director of Training for Inspector Education Institute, a New Jersey state licensed vocational school. David received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Technology from the University of Maryland. He is a second generation home inspector and has been in the home inspection profession since 1974 and has performed thousands of inspections throughout the United States and Canada on residential, commercial and industrial properties ranging in age from still-under-construction to over 300 years old. David is an American Society of Home Inspectors?(ASHI) Certified Inspector and a charter member of and a Certified Real Estate Inspector by the National Association of Home Inspectors?(NAHI). David is a New Jersey and New York licensed Home Inspector and holds licenses in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in multiple code enforcement areas. He has been training people to become home inspectors for over 25 years and currently teaches the NJ Home Inspector licensing course and continuing education courses throughout the country. David also currently serves as the President of the New Jersey Association of Home Inspectors.
David is frequently called upon to provide consulting services and expert testimony for home inspectors, attorneys and others. He is a frequent speaker at national, state and local educational seminars for ASHI, NAHI and other home inspection organizations, attorneys, real estate organizations, appraisal groups, insurance companies and state agencies.

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