Common Fixes Required With FHA Purchase Loan Appraisals is a post from: FHA,VA and Conventional Home Loans in all 50 States

When you purchase a house with a FHA Loan as your financing, you will of course need to have the house appraised by an FHA roster appraiser prior to having the loan funded and closing.  Of course the primary reason for the appraisal is so the lender can be sure the value of the property.   But in additional to the home’s value, the FHA appraiser may note small items that will need to be fixed prior to the lender funding your loan.   If items are noted, these items will need to be fixed and the appraiser will go out to re-inspect to verify the items have been fixed before the lender funds the FHA loan.

Generally FHA appraisers are looking for “health & safety” issues.  FHA wants the home be free of health and safety issues before the FHA borrower moves in.  Below is a list of some of the more common items the appraiser could ask for to be fixed:

• All utilities (power, gas, water) will need to be on at the time of inspection and it working order
• If there is chipping or pealing paints on houses built prior to 1978, the appraiser will ask just those spots to be re-painted.  This is usually a really small and easy thing to fix.
• Crawl space free of debris and moisture
• The house must have a working heat source
• Strapped and raised hot water heater and the house must have hot water
• Working plumbing (bathrooms, etc…)
• Safety of the property (broken windows need to be fixed, if property has security bars they must have quick releases, etc…)
• Working smoke detectors
• Photo’s will be taken of the front, back, sides and at least 3 interior photo’s

So those are some of the more common items needed to be fixed that could pop up in a FHA appraisal.  When you are out looking at properties to buy, keep an eye out for these items and realize that the appraiser may ask for them to be fixed.

Remember, to complete your FHA Loan, you will not need a termite clearance report unless you asked for a termite report in your initial purchase contract.

If you have any questions or would like to be pre-approved for a FHA home loan, please don’t hesitate to call me at 858-922-7899 or email me at homeloan8@gmail.com

Warm Regards,

Rob Chomentowski

Sr. Loan Officer (and FHA specialist)

858-922-7899

homeloan8@gmail.com

Related posts:

1. Recent Changes to Appraisals and Effects on FHA Loans
2. Using a FHA Loan To Purchase and Profitably Fix-Up Your New Home
3. Typical Lender Required Repairs For FHA Loans

Top Myths About FHA Government Home Loans is a post from: FHA,VA and Conventional Home Loans in all 50 States

There are a lot of myths out there about FHA Home Loans out there that are NOT correct.  A lot of these myths are put out there by Realtors representing sellers (especially on banked owner REO’s) who really don’t understand FHA Loans.

Myth #1 FHA Loans Are Only for First Time Home Buyers:

Anyone can get a FHA Loan; you do NOT have to be a first time home buyer.  But you can only have one FHA Loan at a time and you can only get an FHA Loan on a primary residence.

Myth #2 FHA Loans take more time processing:

FHA Loans do NOT take any more time to process than a conventional loan.   There is nothing about them that would take them any more time to process than a conventional loan.   You can close on your new house with a FHA Loan just as fast as or faster than if you were to get a conventional loan.

Myth #3 More paperwork is required

There is no more paperwork involved in a FHA Loan then a conventional loan.  Both will require standard income, asset, property and credit documentation.

Myth #4 Interest Rates are Higher on FHA Loans

Interest rates on 30 year fixed FHA Loans are just as competitive as conventional loans, if not sometimes better.  In fact FHA does not penalize borrowers for lower credit scores as much as conventional loans do.

Myth #5  FHA Loans Are Too Restrictive

The opposite is actually true!  FHA Loans have more flexible credit and asset guidelines then conventional loans, (especially when a borrower is putting less than 20% down on a conventional loan).  Also, FHA Loans also still allow the mortgage company to choose the appraiser.  This means you are more likely to get an appraisal done by a local professional vs. conventional loans that require appraisals through the HVCC process which often assigns inexperienced out-of-area appraisers working for low wages.

Myth #6  FHA Loans Require Termite Clearance Reports

If the buyer does not ask for a pest inspection in the purchase contract, they will not be required to get a clearance for a FHA loan. 

Myth #7  FHA Loans Have Low Limits on Maximum Loan Amounts

You can get an FHA Loan all the way up to $729,750 in many areas of the county.  This is the same as the upper limit for conventional loans.

So there you have it.  Seven Myths about FHA Loans that are not true!  Please don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions.

Warm Regards,

Rob Chomentowski

Sr. Loan Officer (and FHA specialist)

rob@affinity-financial.com

858-922-7899 (direct)

Related posts:

1. FHA Loans and Termite Work
2. California Offers Own $10,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit On Top Of Federal Credit
3. U.S. FHA to apply $8,000 credit to home buying costs

FHA Loans and Termite Work is a post from: FHA,VA and Conventional Home Loans in all 50 States

Most older houses have some level of termite damage that exists in the house structure.   And most purchase offers made by buyers call out as a condition to their offer that the buyer will do a pest inspection and the seller will be responsible to fix any section 1 termite damage.  Section 2 termite damage is more serious and not generally paid for by the seller, but of course can be negotiated to be cleared by the seller.

In the old days of FHA loans you had to get a termite clearance before the lender would fund your loan regardless of whether you called for a termite inspection in your purchase contract or not.  But these days if you do not ask for a termite inspection in your purchase contract, you will not have to get a termite clearance to get the FHA loan.

Now if you feel that your seller will pay for the termite work, it can be helpful to call out the termite report inspection as a contingency of your purchase.  But if you feel the seller will not pay of the termite work, you may want to leave the termite inspection out of the contract.  Because once it is in the contract, you will need a clearance before you close.  And if the seller will not pay for the work, the buyer will have to pay for it.

If you have any questions about this topic or any other questions about FHA, VA or conventional home loans, feel free to email or call me.  My contact info is below.

Warm Regards,

Rob Chomentowski

Sr. Loan Officer

rob@affinity-financial.com

858-922-7899

Related posts:

1. Home Loans For Investors