All loans are not created equal. Neither are all lenders. That also means that no two appraisals are going to be alike. As I mentioned in Part 1 of the series, it’s always best to approach the appraisal process with the understanding that the type of loan you apply for may place additional hurdles in your path.
As a Wake County area home buyer, try to research the types of loans you would best qualify for and know some of your own strengths regarding credit and employment before applying.
Once you and the mortgage broker or lender are on the same page regarding what types of loans you could receive, you can begin to get an idea of how strict or lenient the actual appraisal process will be.
Fix This, Paint That
Many of the Wake County home buyers I work with ask, “How will I know if the loan type I’ll receive requires more in the appraisal?” It’s not an exact science, however, based on my many years of experience in both Wake County home buying and home selling I can speak to some consistencies that I’ve seen.
For example, FHA and VA mortgages allow borrowers to purchase homes with higher debt to income ratios than conventional mortgages and are widely used. They’re more lenient with the amount they will loan but are far more stringent with the appraisal process.
Their guidelines include a visual inspection of the property and they are notorious for having conditions that must be met before the bank will allow funding. These conditions could be replace the roof, add hand rails, repair windows or paint areas with peeling paint and more. These loans also have a separate addendum that all parties must sign.
When some of these FHA appraisals are ordered they’re also assigned a case number that stays with the property for 6 months. This eliminates flipping and ordering second appraisals if the first one comes in low.
Choose Wisely on your Wake County Home Appraisal
When it comes to navigating the landscape of the appraisal process, there can be a lot that’s required to be done to the property before the lender would be willing to move forward. Wake County home buyers should never go it alone.
At Linda Craft & Team we have a great working knowledge of how appraisals work and local appraisers communicate with us regularly on our listings to get the right appraisal done every time.
If you’re haven’t found your new Wake County area home yet and aren’t quite at this stage of the process, that’s fine. We welcome you to search our site for available listings in the Greater Raleigh area and once your new home calls out to you, call out to us. We’ll be happy to work towards putting you in it.
Have a great day!
Linda