April 1, 2016
We get many questions about the FHA home loan appraisal process, including specific questions about certain conditions that may or may not affect the sale of a given home. Here’s one of the most recent: “Can I get an FHA Loan on a house if it has 2 layers of shingles, and the 2nd layer is less than 20 years old?”
What borrowers should know in these cases is that there are FHA minimum standards, and then there are Federal, State, and local building codes which also may apply.
FHA minimum standards are not intended to address every single possible condition of the home or the various components of a home, but there are some areas that are specifically addressed as common issues. Regardless, FHA loan appraisal requirements such as these never overrule building code requirements, so it’s up to the borrower to consult with the local authority where applicable to determine what building code issues may need to be addressed in a given situation.
So the simple answer to the reader question here is that it depends greatly on building codes which may apply–FHA does not keep or publish these codes (just their own minimum appraisal requirements) so the borrower will need to check locally to see what may be needed.
But FHA loan appraisal standards in HUD 4000.1 do have a few things to say about the roof:
“The Appraiser must notify the Mortgagee of the deficiency of MPR or MPS if the roof covering does not prevent entrance of moisture or provide reasonable future utility, durability and economy of maintenance and does not have a remaining physical life of at least two years…The Appraiser must observe the roof to determine whether there are deficiencies that present a health and safety hazard or do not allow for reasonable future utility. The Appraiser must identify the roofing material type and the condition observed in the Improvements section of the report.”
As you can see from the above, the roof must have a specific functionality–to keep out moisture–and to have a specific minimum future utility. If the roof does not meet those standards, corrections may be required as a condition of loan approval depending on the severity of the condition.
Do you work in residential real estate? You should know about the free tool offered by FHA.com. It is designed especially for real estate websites; a widget that displays FHA loan limits for the counties serviced by those sites. It is simple to spend a few seconds customizing the state, counties, and widget size for the tool; you can copy the code and paste it into your website with ease. Get yours today:
http://www.fha.com/fha_loan_limits_widget
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
Browse by Date: