November 18, 2015
The FHA loan rules for minimum property standards in HUD 4000.1 include a section describing general requirements for “the living unit”. These instructions would be considered by the appraiser in addition to, but in replacement of, state and/or local building code.
According to HUD 4000.1, “The Mortgagee must confirm that each living unit contains:
–a continuing and sufficient supply of safe and potable water under adequate pressure and of appropriate quality for all household uses;
–sanitary facilities and a safe method of sewage disposal. Every living unit must have at least one bathroom, which must include, at a minimum, a water closet, lavatory, and a bathtub or shower;
–adequate space for healthful and comfortable living conditions; heating adequate for healthful and comfortable living conditions;
–domestic hot water; and
–electricity adequate for lighting, cooking and for mechanical equipment used in the living unit.”
Additionally, “The Mortgagee must ensure that cabinets and built-in appliances that are considered Real Property are present and operational.” HUD 4000.1 does not list any minimum size requirement for one- to four-family dwellings and condominium units.
The FHA loan rule book also has a list of general guidelines for structural conditions of the property, including a requirement that the structure is “serviceable” for the duration of the FHA home loan.
The same applies to foundations: “The Mortgagee must confirm that all foundations will be serviceable for the life of the Mortgage and adequate to withstand all normal loads imposed.”
We’ll cover more about the rules for minimum property requirements as listed in HUD 4000.1 in future blog posts.
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.
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