FHA Handbook Updates Confusion And Clarification

[CANative]

reminded me of a Nancy Pelosi response

I read the transcript and I wasn't confused. Maybe you're too busy being resentful and afraid of the government.

 

[bugknuckles]

Yeah that's it .

 

[bugknuckles]

Obviously you are confused.. no where did I use the word confused

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

The webinar presenters confirmed this. The caller questioned what will happen if the Appraiser's judgment is different than the Handbook requirements, the webinar presenters did not have an answer.

That's goober mint at its finest hour.

 

[Stephen Wood]

I attended the one day appraiser training at the HUD Atlanta office on September 17th. There were some 50 appraisers and underwriters in attendance. I don't know of this Rob person that is talked about here nor did I watch the webinar. I can tell you that confusion reigns supreme in Atlanta. There were many questions asked that could not be or would not be given a straight answer by the HUD staff. I can tell you that there was no "use your best judgment" statements. I was not left with the impression that the 4000.1 does not mean what it says and that appraisers and underwriters are free to interpret it. CANative you may be absolutely right and there is nothing to fear. We know how these things have gone in the past. I can tell you though that I and many of the appraisers I spoke to at the end of the day did not leave the building with that impression. One of the HUD senior review appraisers that took part in the training seemed almost embarrassed after a few hours of give and take. Questions were collected from the attendees and we were promised a FAQ document in a month or so. Perhaps that will provide some clarification.

 

[Mike Ault]

One clarification in the latest webinar was regarding conveyed appliances, the handbook requirement on page 485 which states – “The Appraiser must note appliances present in the house at the time of observation and indicate whether that appliance is considered Personal Property or Real Property. The Appraiser must operate all conveyed appliances and observe their performance. The Appraiser must notify the Mortgagee of the deficiency of MPR or MPS if any conveyed appliances are inoperable.” was the subject of some discussion, one caller asked “what about washers and dryers and hot tubs?” At that point the speaker seemed to indicate that they were going to take another look at that portion of the handbook and issue a clarification limiting that inspection/observation requirement to “real property” items only. There never was a good resolution to the dishwasher inspection issue, the suggestion was to call ahead and have the owner start a load of dishes in the dishwasher so you could show up when they’re finished and report on the performance of said item, questions regarding vacant homes where that is not possible were met with vague musings.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

One of the HUD senior review appraisers that took part in the training seemed almost embarrassed after a few hours of give and take. Questions were collected from the attendees and we were promised a FAQ document in a month or so. Perhaps that will provide some clarification.

...or the opposite.

 

[Peter LeQuire]

2, 4, 6, 8.

Now's the time to obfuscate.

 

[CANative]

8,6,4,2

READ the book and get a clue.

lol

 

[Peter LeQuire]

I ain't clueless. I've read the book, and its predecessors. I've been doing FHA work since lender select was put in place - 1994, perhaps?

HUD employees dang well ought to know what the MPRs and the inspection protocols mean, how they are to be interpreted, how they are to be acted upon. And they ought to be able to answer questions about them. Nor should they be defended because of their lack of knowledge and their inability to communicate what's required.

Yep, nothing much has changed (the major one, IMO is the movement from "should" to "must"), but from many of the deer in the headlight questions that have surfaced, the fact that the requirements haven't changed appears lost on some folks.