FHA requirements for heat source

[CANative]

What does the governing municipality require for year round occupancy?

For new or existing construction?

 

[Mr Rex]

Baseboard electric heat is cheap & acceptable
- given there is large enough electric service & distribution panel in the house.
There *is* electricity - Yes?

Baseboard is cheap to install, close if not the most expensive to operate.

 

[Riick]

Baseboard is cheap to install, close if not the most expensive to operate.

True, but don't tell the Feds that.
They've killed off woodstoves; Can fireplaces be far behind?
I think, they think, electricity produces itself, no need for *any* energy source to turn the generators.

As far as the house under discussion, unless this is a sale, guess that current owners happy with fireplace heating the place, and would put in baseboard only to make lender happy & qualify home for mortgage.

 

[Alpine]

I've appraised a lot of properties wherein folks have, or have recently installed, woodstoves as primary heat sources. For those who still have older baseboard or wall units, I make sure to tell them to keep them in for loan purposes, even if they never use them. Many folks respond by saying they had planned to take them out, and some already have and it snags their loan.

I tend to feel a sense of responsibility to advise people on the complexities of the lending realm. So many folks have good intentions, but don't foresee how something they've done to their property might impact obtaining financing. Today, I appraised a very large (for my area) rural home with an ADU. The couple built a 2,300sf home about five years ago, then recently doubled the size of it by an addition which includes a 3-car garage with a 2-story mother-in-law (literally) apartment alongside and above it. It is a well-designed blend of essentially two separate homes connected by a carport on the main level, and a shared "bridge" family room on the upper. Some functional utility issues going from one end to the other, but offset by a great lay-out to accommodate extended family.
I inquired whether the ADU was separately metered, and the guy said no, they have one external utility company meter, but he installed an internal, private meter which tracts how much power the ADU uses so his in-law can pay their share. I asked for details, as I wasn't familiar with such a device, and I've seen other folks set up separate meters which can be a red flag for lenders who want to then classify it as a duplex. Smart guy, and I appreciated his savvy in not making my life more difficult.

A couple years ago, I appraised a newer, upgraded doublewide on a rural acreage. The guy had just begun building a small storage shed by attaching the framing to the wall and soffit of the manufactured home. I had just walked a tight-rope with another manufactured home loan wherein the underwriter went uber-stickler over "modifications" regarding a deck cover, so I advised him to frame it free-standing and attach it only with shingles and/or flashing.

There are so many nuances in this business, and we've seen a growing numbers of lender wrenches thrown into the mix over the last several years. These types of fanatical "standards" will only increase in the future, so I try to pass on the tidbits when I see someone about to do something that will earn them a monkey wrench...