Certainly, when you are seeking a Federal Housing Administration appraisal, you want to ensure everything goes through quickly and efficiently so that the FHA loan is approved without delay. It’s expected that you will have a home that can be passed through the FHA appraisal process with few issues. However, there are a series of factors that could potentially affect the outcome of the appraisal process:
Home value: During the appraisal process, it’s possible that the appraiser may determine that the home in question is lower in price than neighboring homes that are comparable in size, age and condition. To be sure, this would be a significant issue, as if a home is valued lower than what it’s listed as, the FHA loan would only be for the appraised amount. So, the appraisal of the home itself will have a significant impact on the result of the FHA appraisal.
Repair status: If the home is in need of repairs – and it may not really matter whether or not the home needs significant or minor repairs – the simple fact of the home needing repair could be significant enough to have an impact on the FHA appraisal.
Safety first! If the home seems not to meet the minimum standards for safety, including the health and safety standards for occupants, this will definitely affect the outcome of an FHA appraisal. There are certainly some fairly obvious details that need to be examined, such as wiring, insulation standards, and any structural issues of the house that would compromise the safety of its occupants. The appraiser will clearly consider all of these and more angles as he or she runs through the appraisal process, which can take a few hours to complete.
Security: The home should be able to protect the security of the property and the people buying the home. If the home is not secure, it is quite unlikely that the appraiser is going to approve the home as being safe for use. As such, all security features of the home, ranging from the door lock to the locker to the front door itself, need to be examined thoroughly to ensure that the person is going to be meeting minimum security requirements. If the homeowners’ security is going to come into question, odds are the FHA appraiser is going to find out sooner rather than later, and that may have an impact on your general appraisal overall.
Soundness: structural integrity is everything when it comes to a dwelling. If there is anything that could compromise the structural integrity of a building, this will definitely have an impact on the outcome of an FHA appraisal. The home buyer should ensure that all issues regarding the home’s soundness are resolved prior to even considering the home appraisal in order to help speed the process along.
Defects: Are there any clear defects with any facet of the house? Cracking or peeling paint, for instance, could indicate there is a leaky roof, and, depending on the age of the house, the paint could even be lead based. If that’s the case, there needs to be serious changes or alterations done to the home. The major systems of the house need to be in good working order in order to ensure that there are no significant repairs that need to be done prior to the home being approved for a loan.
Experience of the appraiser: Finally, one of the major issues that could have an influence on the outcome of an FHA home appraisal is the overall experience of the appraiser brought in to appraise the home’s value. If the appraiser is relatively new at the appraisal process, that means he or she may miss something throughout the appraisal process. It’s possible that the appraiser may not be aware of certain facets of the appraisal process that a more experienced appraiser may be well used to. That means the home going through the appraisal may not be appropriately valued; it may be significantly under-valued because of certain aspects of the home being under considered or possibly forgotten about in the process. It might be an idea to have the less experienced appraiser working with a more experienced appraiser to assist in the process.
The FHA home appraisal helps ensure that all requirements are met in ensuring that a speedy approval is put forth in the FHA loan process. It’s important that you do everything possible to help the appraisal and loan process along by ensuring things are in place to help the FHA appraisal process go smoothly.
NOTE: John Dudley is an FHA Approved Real Estate Appraiser in Amarillo TX and Surrounding Areas