The Manufactured Housing Forums

In reading through much of this website, nowhere do I see that local permits from the health departments and other regulatory agencies should be the top priority. In Ohio, the auditor's offices require permits to move mh's within the state and in and out of the state as they are taxed as property and the county auditor needs to know where it is going and where it is coming from, even if it is going to the dump!

Also, in Ohio, in licensed parks, we require engineering plans for the installation of a) new parks b) new lots c) new base supports d) moving utilities around e) restructuring lots to accomodate larger homes etc. Local health departments require the submittal of placement forms from the operator 48 hours BEFORE placing the home to make sure that the base support is acceptable, the spacing dimensions can be met, the blocking and anchoring is good, etc. In addition, field construction inspections are preformed by state personnel on construction issues.

Areas of Ohio, much like the other states, have flood plains. Floodplain permits are needed BEFORE you set a home with speciality blocking and elevations needed to maintain FEMA regs.

I would like to see a portion of this website devoted to regulatory issues so that the mediation portion of the new HUD code does not have to be put to use due to a lack of information to the buying public and dealers/operators/owners who push these issues aside.

It makes for an adversarial relationship between regulatory agencies and the public and the profession when paperwork and rules are not met before a home is placed then the health department has to order corrective actions against the little old lady who just paid 30 grand for a home then another 5 grand to have it moved and set up. Oftentimes these people are promised the moon and when it is not delivered the health department gets the complaints or has to issue the orders that the installation was not approved.

Karen, I'm with you on that.. I've repeatedly posted that the FIRST thing any prospective buyer should do is contact their local Zoning, Planning and Permitting office to ensure that they will even be allowed to do what they are wanting to do.

It's not an entirely rare occasion for someone to purchase a manufactured home only to find out that it cannot be placed on the property.

While I agree with both of you, the enormity of updating any type of national regulatory site is way beyond the voluntary time I put in here. Each state has their own individual guidelines, permitting requirements, etc., and sometimes within a state there may be county or municipality differences. Ethically, a retailer should point the customer in the right direction. Practically, that does not always happen, and we all know it. Some states don't even require parks to be licensed.

This seems like a good idea..but there are over 3000 counties in the US..each with its own rules and proceedures..We deal in 6 different countie and rules change almost every month...We have a full file cabinet devoted to just 6 counties..And try to monitor the changes best we can...