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FHA Appraisal Articles

Is a second appraisal required for an FHA loan when a property is flipped?

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This comes up for FHA deals when investors purchase properties and then “flip” them. I’ve seen quite a few flips in the Sacramento area over the past year (yes, even in this economy). I hope the information below proves helpful in case you are wondering when a second FHA appraisal is required during a flipping scenario. Verbatim from HUD:

FAQ : Is a 2nd appraisal only required under the Property Flipping Rule?

Solution Details : Under property flipping guidelines, a lender must obtain a second appraisal by another appraiser if:
1. the re-sale date of a property is between 91 and 180 days following the acquisition of the property by the seller, and
2. the resale price is 100 percent or more over the price paid by the seller when the property was acquired.

When a second appraisal is required

  • It must be completed by a FHA Roster appraiser selected by the Direct Endorsement lender that is underwriting the loan.
  • The cost of the second appraisal may not be charged to the borrower.
  • The lender must not request a second case number in the FHA Connection for the purpose of obtaining the second appraisal and is to independently contact the appraiser.
  • Only the information for one appraisal may be entered into the FHA Connection appraisal logging screens, which is the appraisal that is relied upon to determine the maximum loan amount.
  • Copies of both the first and second appraisals must be included in the case binder submitted for insurance endorsement.

ML:09-48  Handbook 4155.2: 4.7, 4.7.f, 4.10.b-c

If you have questions or any appraisal needs, feel free to contact me at 916-595-3735 or ryan@LundquistCompany.com.

Do you need to order a new appraisal when an FHA case number transfers to a new lender?

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When I do appraisals for FHA loans, this situation comes up quite a bit, and my sense is there is confusion in the marketplace about this issue. When an FHA appraisal has been done in the name of one lender, but then the loan transfers to a new lender, does the new lender need to ask the appraiser to “reassign” the appraisal so that the appraisal is in the name of the new lender? Nope. See below.

Here is all you ever wanted to know – verbatim from FHA/HUD:

FAQ : When a case number is transferred with a completed appraisal, may a new appraisal be requested?

Solution Details : When a borrower has switched lenders, the 1st lender must transfer the case to the 2nd lender upon borrower request. FHA does not require that the client name on the appraisal be changed when it is transferred to another lender.

In accordance with USPAP, the lender is not permitted to request that the appraiser change the name of the client within the appraisal report unless it is a new appraisal assignment. The appraiser cannot ‘readdress’ (transfer) the original appraisal report to another party and must perform a new appraisal assignment in compliance with Advisory Opinion #26 and FAQ # 74 in the 2008-2009 edition of USPAP.

For cases assigned on or after January 1, 2010, a 2nd appraisal may be ordered by the 2nd lender when:
1. The 1st appraisal contains material deficiencies determined by the DE underwriter for the 2nd lender.
2. The appraiser performing the 1st appraisal is on the 2nd lender’s exclusionary list.
3. Failure of the 1st lender to provide a copy of the appraisal to the 2nd lender in a timely manner would cause a delay in closing, posing potential harm to the borrower. Potential harm includes events outside of the control of the borrower such as loss of interest rate lock, purchase contract deadline, foreclosure proceedings, and late fees.

For cases in 1 and 2 above, copies of both appraisals must be retained in the case binder. For cases in 3 above, the 1st appraisal must be added to the case binder when it is received.  In all cases, the lender must document why a 2nd appraisal was ordered and retain the explanation in the case binder.

FHA prohibits appraiser shopping where lenders order additional appraisals in an effort to assure the highest possible value for the property and/or the least amount of deficiencies and/or repairs are noted and required by the appraiser.

I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to call me at 916-595-3735 or email ryan@LundquistCompany.com.

Why won’t this property pass for FHA financing?

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I get a lot of questions about FHA / HUD standards and what a property needs to qualify. Here’s the deal: FHA is primarily concerned that everything in a house functions properly and that there are no health and safety issues. FHA continually says, “Soundness, Safety & Security” as their motto. As an FHA certified real estate appraiser, the inspections I do are based upon guidelines from the United States Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD).

I was in the town of Locke a couple weeks ago and I snapped the following shot of a property I happened to pass. Do you think this property would qualify for an FHA loan?

Here is a sample of some of the things I look for while on an FHA inspection:

  • Appliances must be in functional use. If there is a hood, it must work. If there is a dishwasher it must work. If there is a stove, it must work…
  • The heating unit must be in working order (and AC if applicable)
  • Paint must not be chipping, peeling, or flaking on homes built before 1978. There must be no defective paint or exposed wood for properties built after 1978. If there is an issue with paint, it needs to be cured properly by actually scraping the paint instead of just painting over with new paint.
  • The water pressure must be adequate for the house. Appraisers flush toilets, turn on all faucets and ensure that both hot and cold water are working.
  • The water heater must be in working order.
  • The attic must be inspected and we make sure that there are vents, no evidence of a previous fire, no exposed or frayed wires, and that sunlight is not beaming through.
  • Attics and crawlspaces are to be viewed at least with head and shoulders into them (if present)
  • The crawl space must be inspected and we make sure there is not excessive debris or signs of standing water or any other foundation support issues.
  • Electrical outlets must work.
  • Toilets must flush and be mounted
  • No leaks in the roof.
  • The carpet does not have to be perfect (stains or minor tears okay). If there is a health or safety issue with the flooring, then that is a red flag.
  • A house does not need new interior paint.
  • Windows cannot be broken. Cracks can be okay so long as there is not an issue with safety, soundness and security.
  • No dangling wires from missing fixtures.
  • Water heaters must be properly attached with straps (local code says that water heaters need to be strapped and FHA requires water heaters to meet code).
  • Stoves are not required unless they are drop in stoves.
  • FHA doesn’t require air conditioning, insulation, smoke detectors or the like, but if they are there they must work as they were intended.

The photo above clearly demonstrates there might be a safety issue with the structure. It doesn’t look very sound, does it? Do you see any other violations of HUD minimum standards?

This type of knowledge is vital for first-time buyers, sellers and investors especially. Please let me know if you have any questions. I am glad to help buyers, agents, investors, brokers and anyone else know more about FHA standards and the appraisal process. FHA loans have really dominated the market in the Sacramento Region, so it’s important to be aware of potential issues that might make or break a deal. You can reach me at 916-595-3735 or ryan@lundquistcompany.com.

Is your Condominium Approved by FHA/HUD?

By 6 Comments

I hit the jackpot yesterday when talking with a local realtor, and it ended up being a “two birds with one stone” situation. Here’s what happened.

Earlier in the day I emailed a Facebook Realtor friend and asked her if she ever sold a condo in a particular subdivision in the city of Folsom. There are ZERO recent condo sales in this subdivision in Empire Ranch, so I want to get as much firsthand information as possible. Well, my friend gave me a chunk of insight, but it turned out that she needed some help because she was having financing issues with one of her deals in the “Rivage” condo subdivision in Folsom.

Anyway, through the course of contacting listing agents for research for my appraisal, I talked with Realtor Ann Boswell of Insight Real Estate. I had never spoken with Ann before, but she ended up being a wealth of information for not only the subject subdivision, but for “Rivage” up the street. Ann spent a good 10-15 minutes on the phone with me (I love when Realtors take time like that. It’s good on so many levels). 

It turns out that since Rivage has not yet completed construction, some of the buildings are FHA approved and others are not. That could be an issue, don’t you think? It’s funny to think that despite these buildings being next door to each other in the same new development, some of them don’t make the cut (yet) to be guaranteed by HUD. More specifically, per HUD’s website, only buildings 1 and 13-26 are currently approved by HUD/FHA.

Two birds with one stone? One, I got insight into the subject subdivision. And Two, thanks to Ann Boswell I was able to resource my Facebook friend with information on Rivage and why her deal was maybe having some issues. But most of all, I was able to give my Facebook friend the name of someone at Wells Fargo who could help her get her condo on the HUD approved list.

You can search HERE to see the HUD/FHA approved condominium list.

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