Top 10 Reasons Properties Fail FHA Appraisal Inspections
It's that time again: the top ten at ten!
Or maybe I'm on my second cup of coffee.
Either way, you benefit.
Here they are in no particular order:
10 - The home, which was built before 1978, has peeling paint on the exterior.
9 - The house was built prior to 1978, and it suffers from paint flaking or peeling off the walls.
8 - Paint is peeling on a home older than 32 years (Note: this post is in 2010).
7 - A shed that was built in 1999 has paint peeling off it, but the house was built in 1977.
6 - A deck that was built last year is peeling because of a severe storm season. It's attached to a house built int he early 70s.
5 - A door or window jam was replaced on an older home (pre-1978), and it has not been painted at all. It is simply bare wood.
4 - The house was built in 1955; then it was torn down and rebuilt in 2008. The tax records still show it was built in 1955. Paint is peeling off the fascia board or gutter or some small area.
3 - Interior doors, molding, walls, ceilings, etc., suffer from peeling paint, and the house was built before 1978.
2 - The house is being sold "strictly as-is," and the owner will make no repairs. It's up to the buyer to fix anything afterward. However, the home has peeling paint, inside, outside, anywhere, and it was built before 1978.
1 - By now, I think you realize I'm going to mention the words "paint" and "1978" somewhere on this line.
House Built < 1978 + Peeling Paint = Fail
Listing agents: Do yourselves a favor. The next time you accept an offer on a house that was built before 1978 that is for an FHA contract, walk around the house with your contractor. Paint any peeling surfaces. It doesn't have to be pretty.
The rule is that you must either test for lead (a very time-consuming and expensive prospect) or paint. Nine of the last ten homes I failed for one of these top ten reasons above involved a fix that required less than a gallon of paint and maybe an hour of work.
