Jay Sondhi

FHA appraisals part 1 – Siding Inspection
October 13, 2011 · · 2 Comments

I am writing this post to help you understand what the FHA does and does not require in regard to the condition of a property being purchased using an FHA loan.  The guidelines have changed in this area as the FHA has loosened up on its property requirements.  While these guidelines dictate what the Federal Housing Authority will accept to insure a loan, lenders will generally have “overlays” above and beyond these requirements so it is best to check in with a qualified FHA mortgage specialist with questions about a specific property.

There is a common mis-conception that an inspection by a government inspector is required to close an FHA loan.  This is not the case.  To close an FHA  loan, the appraiser must be FHA certified, and the appraiser must make a some extra warranties on their report.  We spent some time with Bob Singer with TracAppraisals here in San Francisco to show us what he looks for when completing an appraisal for an FHA loan.

Here, Bob Singer from TRACAppraisals.com explains the FHA visual appraisal inspection of siding in the first of this series.

Jay Sondhi
Guarantee Mortgage
http://www.jaysondhi.com/

Nicole Machado

Are you even trying to close this deal??
March 5, 2009 · · 8 Comments

 string_phone1I recently entered escrow on an REO property (Foreclosure) representing the buyers. With any escrow you enter you want to make sure you have your ducks in a row, but when it comes to REO transactions make sure you read the fine print. Some include passive contingencies which mean that if you don’t pull contingencies in writing on the said date written in the contract, they will pull them for you. This runs the risk of potentially forfeiting your client’s good faith deposit, if for some reason you have to end up canceling the transaction. Read more