The saddest question I often hear in my engineering inspection practice is, "Buck, I need an engineering inspection of a manufactured home foundation for an FHA loan. The mortgage underwriter wants assurance that the foundation meets their "permanent foundation" guidelines. Can you do this and what is the cost?"
Why is this a sad question? Well, it's because I've never inspected a manufactured home that had a foundation meeting this guideline.
Why is this? Well, it's because the foundation beneath the home was never designed per the guidelines to begin with. And this is sad, because an FHA Permanent Foundation would likely ensure that the manufactured home would survive the worst of thunderstorms and straight-line high winds and perhaps even some lower category Hurricanes, nor would it ever likely settle or sink into ground unevenly.