need foundation advice

[helena]

I have purchased a Friendship single wide(16x76) and need to put it on a foundation to qualify for financing. I am looking at 3 options :
concrete slab
full foundation with crawlspace
engineered foundation from a company called Magnum

The last option is the cheapest, doesn't require poured concrete, and is installed after the home is set up, so is the easiest.

My question is, do you know anything about the benefits or drawbacks to this option? It does qualify for FHA financing, but I'm not sure that it will be as structurally sound as a normal foundation. The company claims that it is, and is actually better because the supports are under the I beams instead of the perimeter wall.

I am wondering if that is true. I also wonder if it would fare as well if we were to get hit with a severe storm. Also, would it matter for resale value?

[rmurray]

Since this is a new home...what does your dealer recommend

[helena]

The first dealer I went to recommended the Magnum system becasue I was strapped for cash-but I found a bank who will finance me with an FHA loan so I have more wiggle room now, so I am wondering which is the best in the long run?

[trmimo]

My choice would be the full foundation. With a perimeter wall the I beams still get supported either by steel cross beams or piers so you are getting the beams and side walls supported. If your home is built with a 40# roof as may Friendships are, it needs to be supported under the beams and side walls both to maintain the roof load. If you are buying a Friendship home, frost is likely an issue in your area so I wouldn't want a slab. Friendship has one of the best installation manuals in the business. Whatever choice you make should be done in accordance with it.

[helena]

I have since been told by my bank that the Magnum foundation is as good an investment because single wides will never finance the same or hold the same value as a double. FHA loans on single wides are next to impossible(I found that out geting financing for this one, and it's brand new!) I only found one bank who will do it here, and she said they probably wouldn't be doing many in the future, so any future buyers I might have will be stuck as far as financing at a reasonable rate, which will mean I won't get anywhere near the cost of this place back.

The Magnum foundation is $5500, the best estimate I've received on the regular concrete foundation is $14000. Should I listen to my lender, or is the Magnum foundation really a bad idea? I don't know if the $10000 difference will ever be made up if I need to sell it.

[rmurray]

Your bank is giving you some good advice..but future value is still mostly condition and location..FHA land/home mortgages are hard to find because of the appraisal rules..I would not be surprised that the appraisal will be a problem for you. Keep the total figure as low as you can and make all the rules. Good luck

[helena]

So I should go for the Magnum foundation ? It's as good as a regualar one for a single wide? What about if I want to do an add-on eventually?

[trmimo]

Magnum is a proprietary pier foundation. It is likely adequate. It is not reasonable to expect you will get as good a foundation for $5500 that you would for $14,000.