Appraisals Guaranteed

The Three S's in FHA Appraising

FHA guidelines require that a house meet a basic level of livability before it can be approved for a loan.  A way to conduct your own preliminary test as to whether a home will pass an FHA appraisal inspection is to use the three S's: Safety, Security, and Soundness.

Safety - Perhaps the most common reason a house fails this test is that it was both built prior to 1978 and has some amount of peeling paint.  By the way, the law against lead paint was passed even before that, in 1973; however, apparently, cans remained on store shelves until 1978.

Other safety issues come in the form of site hazards, undesirable topography, outdated well or septic systems, abandoned gas wells, industrial areas, and flood zones.
 
Safety problems within the improvement itself can be seen in areas where there are steps but no handrail, broken glass, exposed outlets or wires, or outdated utilities.

Ask yourself it the home would be safe enough for playing kids--for your playing kids?

Security - This ought to be a no-brainer, but often a house can be entered via a back door with no lock, a broken door, or a broken window.  Sometimes new construction or recent improvement have a section of a wall missing.  Whatever the case, a home must be able to be sealed off and locked in order to be called "secure."

Lock the home and pretend to be a burglar.  If you can get in (without the use of a crowbar or tools), then the home is not secure.

Soundness - This is more difficult to detect as faulty construction is sometimes well covered.  Leaks, foundation cracks, termite tunnels and holes, a worn roof, and water in the basement or attic often reveal themselves with less than a little bit of looking around.  Obvious physical deficiencies are going to be flagged by the appraiser.

So there it is in a nutshell.  Sure, there are broader problems a home could suffer (like proximity to industry, noise, etc.), but these are things that are far less likely.  Make sure the home is safe, secure, and sound, then you are unlikely to have any issues with the FHA portion of the appraisal.