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Benicia-Vallejo FHA Buyers Get A 6-Week Reprieve On New Appraisal Rules
December 28th, 2009 categories: Buying, Loans / Financing
If you’ve read this blog, you know all about the mess that the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) has created with conventional loans since it was adopted in May.
Well, if you’re planning to buy a home in Benicia, Vallejo or anywhere else in the Solano-Contra Costa market area in the next six weeks and are financing it with an FHA loan, you’ll be glad to know that FHA last week announced it’s going to delay its own version of the HVCC until mid-February.
There have been all sorts of horror stories on Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac loans since the HVCC went into effect seven months ago.
Stories of inexperienced and out-of-area appraisers getting assignments instead of competent local appraisers who know the area and subtleties of the local market.
And numerous tales of appraisals coming in tens of thousands off of what the comps would indicate.
All of which has caused buyers, sellers and real estate agents to sweat the appraisal like never before.
Many appraisals in this new HVCC era seem to be based more on the dartboard approach than sound reason and logic. Sometimes they come in fine; other times they’re so far off, you have to wonder if the appraiser really even visited the property or the area.
Well, FHA was slated to adopt its own version of the HVCC on Jan. 1. But just last week, FHA said it was going to delay implementation of its new appraisal policy until Feb. 15.
FHA said it is doing so to “provide FHA and lenders additional time to adjust systems to accommodate the changes.”
So for the next six-plus weeks, FHA loan officers will still be able to order their own appraisals, which means that if you’re buying prior to Feb. 15, your lender should be able to select an appraiser they’re familiar with.
After Feb. 15, it’s anyone’s guess.
FHA supposedly has created safeguards in an attempt to avoid the same pitfalls that came about under the HVCC. One such requirement is that appraisers must certify they have local knowledge and appraisal experience in the property’s market area, as well as access to the necessary market data for that area.
In any event, if you’re an FHA buyer who’s been sweating FHA’s impending entry into the appraisal management arena, you’ve got a brief reprieve.
RECENT POSTS
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- Fannie Gives Owner-Occupants First Choice
- Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended & Expanded…But Only ‘Til April
- REOs Can’t Tell You Who To Use Any More…Or Can They?
- Will New FHA Appraisal Rules Mean More Headaches?
- Are Short Sales Really Selling In Solano County?
- Are We In An Artificial Boom Market?
- Is Better To Pay Points Or Take A Higher Interest Rate?
MARKET UPDATES
- 3rd Qtr Solano County Home Sale Statistics
- Monthly Solano Real Estate Report — Nov. ‘09
- Benicia & Vallejo Home Sales Report — Nov. ‘09
- Monthly Solano Real Estate Report — Oct. ‘09
- Benicia & Vallejo Home Sales Report — Oct. ‘09
- See All Archived Market Updates
And if its
