Streakn1
Veteran Expediter
Mind you, not that I make it a habit of reading Phil's blog page (LOL), I did read his entries for 5/20-5/22. I did so to see how the closing on their Florida home had gone. According to his blog, it did not go for reasons stated in his blog.
Being born and raised in Florida and living there all of my life, obviously hurricanes are a big part of my life, unlike the Minnisotans. Also, I live in what was once the manufactured home builders capital of the south (Ocala,Fl). Early in my adult work life I worked in constructing roof systems for mobile homes, design, construction standards, and manufacture/engineered testing of components (roof truss and floor joist systems) used in mobile home construction throughout the Florida manufactured home builders. I've been in almost every mobile home manufacturing plant in the state ie, Skyline, Redman, Guerdon, Homes of Merit, Palm Harbor, Fleetwood, Nobility, etc that used our components, and those that did not.
With that said, I feel it important to mention to the ATeam or anyone considering buying a used manufactured home in the state of Florida (or anywhere within the coastal hurricane zones and inland areas) that they should be especially mindful for the age of the unit. More specifically, is the home a "pre hurricane Andrew" built home? This would be manufactured homes built prior to 1992 and shortly thereafter. Also keep in mind that the post "Andrew" changes in construction requirements did not go into affect immediately after Andrew as time was require to study these changes before placing them into affect.
Not only is there a huge difference in the framing requirements after Andrew, but also the amount and placement of steel strapping used the hold the homes together, the required number of anchors used to tie the homes to the ground, and the way multi-sectional manufactured homes are tied together during setup. The older homes simply were grandfathered in, so its buyer beware. Value and insurability of the older homes are greatly affected by these construction standards in Florida.
Many sellers looking to dump these older homes are hopeful that the potentual buyer from the north has no clue of these important changes. Don't be clueless to this as it could be costly in the long run.
Interesting note: During Hurricane Andrew one of the manufactured housing communities hard hit in south Florida had well over two hundred residences. The only one left standing, and with minimal damaged (broken windows, exterior surface scratches from flying debris) was a Palm Harbor doublewide manufactured in Cental Florida. And it was pre Andrew construction. All others were distroyed. I know Glen is quite happy with theirs!
Being born and raised in Florida and living there all of my life, obviously hurricanes are a big part of my life, unlike the Minnisotans. Also, I live in what was once the manufactured home builders capital of the south (Ocala,Fl). Early in my adult work life I worked in constructing roof systems for mobile homes, design, construction standards, and manufacture/engineered testing of components (roof truss and floor joist systems) used in mobile home construction throughout the Florida manufactured home builders. I've been in almost every mobile home manufacturing plant in the state ie, Skyline, Redman, Guerdon, Homes of Merit, Palm Harbor, Fleetwood, Nobility, etc that used our components, and those that did not.
With that said, I feel it important to mention to the ATeam or anyone considering buying a used manufactured home in the state of Florida (or anywhere within the coastal hurricane zones and inland areas) that they should be especially mindful for the age of the unit. More specifically, is the home a "pre hurricane Andrew" built home? This would be manufactured homes built prior to 1992 and shortly thereafter. Also keep in mind that the post "Andrew" changes in construction requirements did not go into affect immediately after Andrew as time was require to study these changes before placing them into affect.
Not only is there a huge difference in the framing requirements after Andrew, but also the amount and placement of steel strapping used the hold the homes together, the required number of anchors used to tie the homes to the ground, and the way multi-sectional manufactured homes are tied together during setup. The older homes simply were grandfathered in, so its buyer beware. Value and insurability of the older homes are greatly affected by these construction standards in Florida.
Many sellers looking to dump these older homes are hopeful that the potentual buyer from the north has no clue of these important changes. Don't be clueless to this as it could be costly in the long run.
Interesting note: During Hurricane Andrew one of the manufactured housing communities hard hit in south Florida had well over two hundred residences. The only one left standing, and with minimal damaged (broken windows, exterior surface scratches from flying debris) was a Palm Harbor doublewide manufactured in Cental Florida. And it was pre Andrew construction. All others were distroyed. I know Glen is quite happy with theirs!
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