Now what do you do? You have found the perfect floating home; you have ordered a float survey (hey, it’s still floating isn’t it? How bad can it be?) and the float survey comes back in question. What the heck does that really mean? This can be fixed!!  Here is a perspective to help you understand the importance of the float in your floating home buying experience.

The float is the foundation of the house. Unless the house is new, the float is usually made of old growth logs and solid wood beams that are 8″x 12″ and about 30 feet long…..these have to be specially ordered for each house so they are the correct size. the float also includes bales of floatation material, usually Styrofoam, which are positioned between the logs to balance the home and keep it out of the water.

First, get bids to match the problems identified in the survey. There are nuances to the bids, so make sure you are seeing apples to apples. Some of the considerations are: Does the floor have to be removed? Steel or wood stringers? Logs added or replaced? New insulation? Be prepared to see some big numbers like $25,000 or more.

Next, go back to the seller with a plan. This is a negotiation that requires an experienced floating home broker to navigate, who knows the resources and can suggest ways to approach this problem. If you are financing your purchase,  Timberland Credit Union will allow escrow to do a hold back for the funds to repair the float.

The bottom line is that fixing a float is a doable situation. That is why you are noticing that the house is still floating! It can be brought up to financeable condition and then, when you are ready to sell, it should still be in good shape. Keep in mind that you should have your float looked at every five years or so to insure that it is does not need major repairs. Contact me if you have any questions about this process.