September 21, 2015
There are many readers who ask us appraisal-related questions in the comments section here; some are general questions, while others get quite specific. Here’s an example of one of the more specific FHA appraisal questions we’ve been asked recently:
“If a bedroom has two windows with keyed burglar bars do both have to be replaced with quick release burglar bars?”.
The FHA has recently issued HUD 4000.1, which is a comprehensive policy guidebook for FHA single family loans including references to FHA appraisal standards. Those references do include a mention of bars on windows:
“The Appraiser must report when the Property has security bars on bedroom windows or doors.”
Note that this reference says nothing about replacement or removal, however state or local building code might. So what all borrowers with questions like these should know is that answers to these questions are two-fold. One part of the answer may or may not be found in the FHA loan policy handbook, while the other part may be found in state or local building codes.
The appraiser may or may not recommend corrections of fixes of such a condition depending on circumstances.
We can’t speak to state or local code–we have no knowledge of what may apply in your local area. However, referencing FHA loan regulations as found in HUD 4000.1 is something we do quite often. But it is very good to remember that these regulations may not have the final say and that more research may be required to get the answers to questions like the one above.
An experienced real estate agent or appraiser in your local area may be able to shed some light on such issues in a general way based on previous experience with similar conditions, but in the end, the local authority would have the final say.
Do you work in residential real estate? You should know about the free tool offered by FHA.com, designed especially for real estate websites; a widget that displays FHA loan limits for the counties serviced by those websites.
It’s 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 at 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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