The first step in placing your manufactured home on an engineered permanent foundation is to own the land upon which the unit sits. Whether the home is located in a resident-owned a Planned Unit Development subdivision (PUD), a manufactured home condominium park, a cooperative community or on private property, one of these ownership classifications must exist for the home to qualify for a permanent connection. The unit cannot be permanently connected if it is located in a rental park community, although there are exceptions with some long term lease situations. Once an engineered foundation system has been installed, the building department, escrow company, the contractor or other transactional agency will record a 433A with the County Recorder for the county in which the home is located. The HCD Form 433(A) also known as “Notice of Manufactured Home (Mobilehome) or Commercial Modular Installation on a Foundation System" specifies that the foundation is in accordance with the California Health and Safety Code Section 18551 (a) of Title 25. The recording gives evidence and constructive notice that the home and land are conjoined and unitizedas real property. In the past the 433C Form or also referred to as “Notice of Manufactured Home (Mobilehome) Conversion to a Fixture Improvement to Real Property" was allowed as an acceptable document. While the 433C certainly converts the land to real property and serves to assess the home as a fixture improvement on the land, the home still remains personal property or chattel. The foundation installation and subsequent 433A recording serves the dual purpose of providing a more secure support system for the home as well as providing the lender with an enhanced security interest.

For those mobilehomes and manufactured homes that were not originally installed on a 18551 or 433A foundation, there are numerous solutions. The home does not have to be raised up off the ground to install a new and expensive concrete perimenter foundation wall nor does the homeowner have to be displaced. There are a variety of State of California and FHA & HUD certified systems that can be installed expeditiously and cost effectively in order to retrofit a home to meet the building department’s specifications as well as a lender or underwriter. All systems that we choose are pre-engineered and approved by the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development. Although FHA foundation qualification is case by case determined by the certification of a structural engineer, all systems we utilize and install generally meet those specifications automatically.

Another important application of the 433A foundation is in the case of an ownership conversion from a rental park to a resident-owned community. In the past, most attorneys or title companies have selected the 433C conversion process to simplify the paper transference. Although a bit more costly because of the foundation retrofit, the 433A conversion offers greater long term benefits to all the current and future homeowners for loan and sales transactions. For instance in some areas of the state, Multiple Listing Service (MLS) will refuse to classify the home as anything but a mobilehome unless the home has a recorded 433A. Once recorded, the home can be designated as a single family dwelling category. This provides a competitive edge in a changing sales environment.