Pricing
Got questions about your inspection needs?
Local, Experienced, North Carolina Engineers
A manufactured home foundation certification from Person Engineering costs $500.
That’s the whole number. It doesn’t move based on the size of the home, the county it sits in, how far we drive, or how fast you need it. There’s no trip charge, no rush fee, and no “starting at.”
Most people find this page because a loan officer told them they need a foundation certification, they started calling engineers, and they got quoted four different ways by four different firms. So here it is in plain terms — what $500 buys, what it doesn’t, and how it compares to what else is out there.
What the $500 Covers
| Included | Detail |
|---|---|
| The foundation inspection | Our field technician goes under the home — piers, footings, tie-downs, beam connections, perimeter, drainage |
| The additions inspection | Porches, decks, carports, added rooms. Inspected as part of the same visit, at no extra charge |
| The engineering analysis | Gravity load, wind load, and the site's actual conditions run against HUD's Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Homes |
| The certification letter | Sealed and signed by a North Carolina licensed professional engineer — the document your lender's underwriter is actually asking for |
| Travel anywhere in North Carolina | Waynesville to Wilmington, one price |
| Turnaround | 2–4 business days from scheduling to the signed letter in your inbox |
If the home has an addition and a deck and a carport, it’s still $500. If it’s a single-wide with nothing attached, it’s still $500. We priced it so nobody has to guess.
The seal is the part that matters to your file. A general contractor’s letter, an installer’s paperwork, or a home inspector’s report won’t satisfy the lender — it has to come from a licensed PE. You can verify any North Carolina engineer’s license through the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors, and we’d encourage you to check ours or anyone else’s.
The Additions Inspection Is Where the Real Comparison Happens
This is the part that costs people money without their noticing, so it’s worth slowing down on.
A manufactured home foundation certification and a manufactured home additions inspection are two separate things. They’re also, on most loan files, both required. If there’s a porch, a deck, a carport, or an added room attached to the home — and there usually is — the lender needs that structure inspected too.
The national firms price the foundation inspection and the additions inspection as separate line items. What you see advertised is the foundation number. The additions inspection gets added when it turns out you need one, which is nearly always.
Run the arithmetic:
| Advertised | Additions inspection` | What you actually pay | |
|---|---|---|---|
| National firms | $425–$450 | $100–$150 extra | $525–$600 |
| Most local NC engineering firms | $750–$800 and up | Usually separate | $850+ |
| Person Engineering | $500 | Included | $500 |
We’re not going to claim to be the lowest-priced engineer in the country, because on the advertised number we aren’t. But once the additions inspection is counted — and on almost every loan it has to be — our one number lands at or below what the national outfits collect, and well under what most North Carolina firms quote.
Why We Don't Split It Into Two Line Items
We’ve thought about it. Breaking the fee into a foundation inspection and an additions inspection would let us advertise a lower headline number and still land in the same place.
We’re not doing it. If the second charge is coming either way, putting it in smaller type isn’t a discount — it’s a setup for an awkward phone call later. One number, quoted once, is easier for you and easier for us.
The same logic is why there’s no rush fee. We’re not going to price the calendar when the person on the other end of the phone is three days from closing.
When and How You Pay
We ask to be paid up front, before the inspection, rather than through closing.
That’s deliberate on both sides. It keeps the certification out of your closing-cost negotiation, and it means we’re not waiting on a settlement statement to get paid — which is a real part of how we turn these around in a couple of days instead of a couple of weeks.
Call with the property address and who’s paying. That’s where we start, and we may have a follow-up question or two.
What the $500 Doesn't Cover
Being straight about the edges of it:
It’s not a home inspection. We’re not evaluating your roof, HVAC, plumbing, or wiring.
It’s not an appraisal. We’re not assigning a value to the property.
It’s not repair work. If we find something that has to be corrected, we tell you what and why. Somebody else does the work.
It’s not other engineering services. Structural design, site-built inspections, and specialty reports are quoted individually — call and we’ll give you a number.
Pricing Questions We Get
$500 flat with Person Engineering, and that includes the additions inspection. Elsewhere in the state you'll generally see national firms advertising $425–$450 before add-ons, and local engineering firms starting around $750–$800.
Included. Porch, deck, carport, added room — if it's attached to the home and the loan needs it inspected, it's covered by the $500.
No. We work across all of North Carolina from Waynesville, and the number is the same in Murphy as it is in Manteo. No trip charge.
No. Standard turnaround is 2–4 business days for everyone, and there's no fee to move up the line.
No. You get a report either way, and it tells you specifically what has to change instead of a vague "does not comply." A home that doesn't pass usually has one identifiable, fixable issue.
Maybe not. Most lenders will accept an existing letter if it's less than a year old. Send us what you've got — if it's still good, we'll tell you so rather than sell you an inspection you don't need.
Typically the borrower, because it's their loan file it goes into. It doesn't have to be, though. Sometimes a seller, a family member, or the lender covers it. A realtor or loan officer can set it up for you. We're not particular about which of you calls us; we start with the address and who's paying.
Get on the Schedule
Call and a person answers. Tell us the address and who’s paying, and we’ll get you on the calendar.
- $500 flat
- Additions inspection included
- 2–4 business days
- Sealed by a licensed NC professional engineer