One regional engineering practice covering seven states: Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Indiana. One engineer signs every report. Nine document formats for nine different recipients — FHA underwriter, conventional file, USDA RD field office, insurance carrier, dealer lot, cash buyer, new-install, disaster claim, refi reaffirmation.
The physical inspection is the same regardless of who's reading the result. What varies is the document we deliver: which handbook gets cited, which numbers populate the cover, which order the findings appear in. The ledger below is in volume order — FHA on top, refi at the bottom.
All six HUD 4000.1 II.D.4.b findings, formatted to the underwriter checklist. 98% first-submission approval, 2025.
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Selling Guide compliance — same six findings, restructured for conventional underwriting.
HB-1-3555 Ch. 13 compliance. PFGMH § 3 foundation certification with USDA-specific cover for RD field offices.
For carrier underwriters — Foremost, American Modern, Standard Casualty, regional. Format matched to carrier intake spec.
For cash buyers, private-sale buyers, homebuyers wanting independent verification before closing. Plain-English findings.
For manufactured-home dealers preparing used inventory for resale. Documents the home is foundation-ready, FHA-eligible-buyer-ready.
Post-installation verification on newly-set homes. Documents installer met manufacturer spec & PFGMH § 3.
Post-event structural inspection — tornado, hail, flood, foundation movement. PE-sealed findings for insurance claims.
For homes previously certified by another PE where refinance, repurchase review, or insurance audit requires a fresh structural opinion.
Four audiences make up roughly 90% of annual volume. Each reads a slightly different version of the same field visit; each has a recurring partner-tier discount structure available at scale.
FHA, conventional, USDA, VA. Direct-to-underwriter routing on confirmed pipelines.
Pre-resale inventory turn. Standing partner accounts; batch scheduling on lot inventory.
14 carriers on active intake with format templates. Policy origination & renewals.
Cash and private-sale buyers. Plain-English findings, no lender format required.
Every report has the same shape: cover sheet, narrative findings on the six HUD 4000.1 items, indexed photo appendix, certification page. Length varies with photo appendix depth; structure is invariant.
Property address, parcel, legal description, FHA case № (if applicable), HUD data plate values, loan or purchase identification, engineer of record. Single page; populates the underwriter or buyer's file index.
Six structural findings in HUD checklist order — foundation per PFGMH § 3, utilities, HUD data plate, HUD cert label, site work, towing equipment. Each finding cites its handbook reference, states a determination, points to its photo set.
Six numbered photo sets, one per finding. A reader who wants to verify Finding 04 flips directly to Photo Set 04. Indexed, not chronological. 30–60 photos typical.
Plain-language statement of structural compliance, engineer credentials, license number, $2M E&O carrier, direct contact. The page lenders detach for the loan-doc file.
Active PE licensure across Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Indiana with reciprocal authority. The same engineer signs every report in every state — no per-state shell firms, no subcontracting.
From dealers, carriers, and direct buyers. See the full FAQ →
Both, plus seven other product types. FHA is roughly 44% of 2025 volume. For loan officers managing dedicated FHA pipelines, we run a specialty site at inspectfha.com — same engineer, same insurance, FHA-format reports only.
For everything else — conventional, USDA, insurance carrier, dealer pre-resale, cash buyer, new install, disaster, refi — the work runs through this practice.
The Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing is HUD's engineering reference for what makes a manufactured-home foundation permanent. Section 3 covers pier specifications, footings, soil bearing, anchoring, skirting requirements.
A buyer's lender, an insurance underwriter, or an FHA case reviewer will ask whether the home's foundation meets PFGMH § 3 — because that's the line between a "permanent" foundation (mortgageable as real property) and a non-permanent one (chattel, mobile, harder to finance).
A generalist home inspector typically can't issue a PE-stamped structural opinion for a manufactured home. What the lender, carrier, or FHA-eligible buyer needs is a Professional Engineer's certification — not a home inspection. Different documents, different purposes.
Our pricing reflects PE work — $385–$525 base depending on product, single-section, with batch and partner-tier discounts. Quote returned same business day.
Drop the property address and what the report is for — FHA file, dealer inventory turn, insurance renewal, cash purchase, new install. Acknowledgment within an hour. Written quote same business day. Sealed PDF in 24 hours.
MFG Inspections is the manufactured-housing practice within the Scapular Engineering network. FHA pipelines, settlement packages, fintech-grade affixation, and aluminum-wire certifications all run through the same engineer of record, $2M E&O carrier, and seven-state license set.
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