FHA mortgage appraisals are more rigorous than standard home appraisals. Whether you're looking at refinancing an FHA loan, buying a house with an FHA loan or even selling to someone who will be using an FHA loan, you'll want to understand what these appraisals entail.
Structure Quality. The overall structure of the property must be in good enough condition to keep its occupants safe. This means severe structural damage, leakage, dampness, decay or termite damage can cause the property to fail inspection. In such a case, repairs must be made in order for the FHA loan to move forward.
Low home appraisals do not occur often. According to Fannie Mae, appraisals come in low less than 8 percent of the time, and many of these low appraisals are renegotiated higher after an appeal, Graham says.
The FHA Appraisal
The Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees the FHA, mandates that any aspect of the property that falls short of these requirements must be repaired before the FHA loan can proceed. As such, FHA appraisals are usually more strict than conventional appraisals.
Once you apply for an FHA loan, one of the loan requirements is that the home appraisal is done at a higher standard as compared to the conventional appraisal.
Homes Must Be Primarily Residential
It is possible to purchase a mixed-use property using an FHA home loan and its' low down payment requirements, but if the home is not primarily used as a residence and has 50% or more floor space taken up by non-residential use it cannot qualify for an FHA mortgage.
Therefore, the appraiser will most likely know the selling price of a home but this is not always the case. There are times that we have appraised properties for private sales where both the buyer and seller have declined to provide this information.
Reasons Sellers Don't Like FHA Loans
Both reasons have to do with the strict guidelines imposed because FHA loans are government-insured loans. For one, if the home is appraised for less than the agreed-upon price, the seller must reduce the selling price to match the appraised price, or the deal will fall through.
Borrowers who find the appraised value of the home is lower than the asking price will either need to make up the difference in case, renegotiate with the seller, or walk away from the deal. The difference between the asking price and the sales price can't be rolled into the loan amount.
Checklist of FHA appraisal requirements
Must have safe and reasonable property access. Must not contain loose wiring and exposed electrical systems. Must be free from damaged underground storage tanks and soil contaminants. Must have a working, permanent heating system that can heat the property adequately.
When you apply for this type of mortgage, the underwriter will make sure that your application meets both the lender's standards as well as the standards set forth by the FHA. FHA loans take an average of 55 days to close. For home purchases, the average is 54 days. For refinances, it's 59 days.
Another common question is: How long does the FHA home appraisal process take? In most cases, the appraisal can be completed within a matter of days. But this will depend on the appraiser's workload, efficiency, and other factors. The property visit itself usually only takes a few hours.
Reasons for an FHA Rejection
There are three popular reasons you have been denied for an FHA loan–bad credit, high debt-to-income ratio, and overall insufficient money to cover the down payment and closing costs.
An FHA loan has less-restrictive qualifications compared to a conventional loan, which is not backed by a government agency. You need to have a higher credit score, lower debt-to-income (DTI) ratio and higher down payment to qualify for a conventional loan.
Appraisal is lower than the offer: If the home appraises for less than the agreed-upon sale price, the lender won't approve the loan. In this situation, buyers and sellers need to come to a mutually beneficial solution that will hold the deal together — more on that later.
Maybe. Some sellers still look at FHA loans negatively, viewing them as loans of last resort for borrowers with weak credit. They worry that FHA deals are less likely to close because of this.
With that being said, yes, FHA loans can fall through for a number of reasons. It often happens during the underwriting process (explained here), when the borrower's application is scrutinized. They can also fall through shortly before the closing, though this is more rate.
Yes, a seller can refuse an FHA loan offer from a home buyer. You can refuse any offer that doesn't meet your needs or expectations. Housing discrimination, on the other hand, is prohibited by law. FHA loans have a closing success rate similar to conventional mortgages.
Things that can hurt a home appraisal
A cluttered yard, bad paint job, overgrown grass and an overall neglected aesthetic may hurt your home appraisal. Broken appliances and outdated systems. By systems we mean plumbing, heating and cooling, and electrical systems.
Let's be clear: a Zillow estimate is not an appraisal. It's a computer-generated estimate based on the available data. While many home buyers will consider Zestimate when looking for a home, they should also factor in a professional real estate estimate.
In some limited cases an FHA appraisal may be appealed, but this would be handled on a case-by-case basis and would be at the FHA's discretion. FHA loan rules do not permit borrowers to appeal an appraisal simply because they disagree with the appraisal's findings.
Sellers often prefer conventional buyers because of their own financial views. Because a conventional loan typically requires higher credit and more money down, sellers often deem these reasons as a lower risk to default and traits of a trustworthy buyer.
Typically, once your appraiser completes an FHA appraisal, they release it on the FHA website. In that way, your home's appraisal becomes a quasi-public record. The uploaded FHA appraisal stays attached to your property for the next six months. Most lenders avoid uploading bad appraisals.
FHA loans tend to have higher closing costs than conventional loans, but because FHA loans allow the seller to pay for more of your closing costs than conventional loans, they may actually be cheaper.