House buying questions

[Booner72]

Hi --- I thought that the house you buy had to pass an inspection in order for FHA to approve the house.  Now I'm hearing that nope, the inspection is only so I know what I am getting into.

I also am being told that I'm in "first position" for this short sale, and I will get it unless "I decide I can't or won't buy it."   but coworkers are having trouble buying because they keep getting outbid.

Why the conflicting info?

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

Home inspection is for you, the appraisal (which is done by a HUD approved appraiser who confirms the property meets FHA minimum property requirements) is for the lender.

[Anonymous]

Ok so I have a question?

I was told that because I am looking at a house that was built in 1930 and has some of the original windows that do not work, that the home would not pass inspection and would not get approved for an FHA loan. Is that true?

Sorry didn't mean to high jack the posting.

[Booner72]

stgiglio - I heard the same thing which is why I'm confused.    I'm happy you hijacked! 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Ok so I have a question?

I was told that because I am looking at a house that was built in 1930 and has some of the original windows that do not work, that the home would not pass inspection and would not get approved for an FHA loan. Is that true?

Sorry didn't mean to high jack the posting.

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Many of the homes in my city are very old, so I have heard this to. The way that my realtor explained it to me was that if the windows function, and look half way decent, no one will probably notice, and no one will probably care. However, if someone does take issue with them we would simply need to get them repaired. Obviously you could shell out cash from your own pocket, or you could work with the seller to get it repaired. Chances are the seller will be willing to fix them (but not thrilled) because if you can't get the approval, someone else probably wont be able to either.

[Anonymous]

Is there not a professional Home inspector on the forum that might be able to shed some light on this subject. Anyone?

[jefftca925]

I can chime in on my recent experience getting an FHA loan through Chase for the purchase of one of THEIR foreclosures that has had some good things but a lot of frustrating bad things.  To submit an offer, Chase required a pre-qualification letter from them.  Since they were my bank, I figured I might as well have them do my mortgage since it would be (what I thought) easier.  After a couple of weeks (app and appraisal submitted and reviewed) the underwriter gave a "clean approval" for my loan.  After I did my house inspection, a couple of issues came up that we wanted to go back and re-negotiate with the seller for a price adjustment.  The listing agent wouldn't cooperate because the "appraiser" didn't address the issues as they weren't an FHA compliance problem.  My agent wanted to have the "appraiser" to add his comments regarding the items in question.  Well, the underwriter got wind of this and demanded to see the inspection report.  Then the "can of worms" opened up and a long list of conditions were added.  Long story short, the seller, Chase, had to put out over $20k in repairs to get this loan to close as THEIR underwriter would not fund if they weren't corrected.  Unfortunately, this put the closing date out a whole month and has put a lot of stress on me as I need to get out of my apartment and move.  I signed my loan docs last Friday night and since I'm in CA, keys aren't given until the loan is funded and recorded.  Sooooo... I have to wait til Wed to get my keys and get moved.

All I can say is that anyone who is going the FHA route and buying a foreclosure, make sure you have a lot of time on your hands and are willing to jump through a lot of hoops.  I am ending up getting a fantastic deal on a nice place that I will love for many years to come, but the challenge to get there has been anything but easy.  The lenders are very strict right now and you better have your "house" in order if you are going through the process of buying your dream home.

Good luck to all!!

[Booner72]

Thanks for the info, Jeff!  It's a good thing in the long run that the UW got wind of that - now you have 20K more house than you would have had otherwise.  I'm sure once you are moved and settled you will look back on this and be grateful.

I think it's also good to have to wait to get the keys until the loan is funded.  I live in OR and we got the keys after closing.  BUT once they went to fund the loan, a lien from child support showed up on DH, so we didn't get the house.  This was 9 years ago and I'm just now climbing out of the hole I dug for myself after that happened by letting everything "go" credit wise.  I'm glad we didn't get that house because we have now moved and I have a great job I would not have had had we stayed in that location.

This time the mortgage is just thru me and I know I don't have anything weird like that that could come out of the woodwork.

Everything happens for a reason, right?  Congratulations on closing!!

[Booner72]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Is there not a professional Home inspector on the forum that might be able to shed some light on this subject. Anyone?

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+1 == anyone??

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Ok so I have a question?

I was told that because I am looking at a house that was built in 1930 and has some of the original windows that do not work, that the home would not pass inspection and would not get approved for an FHA loan. Is that true?

Sorry didn't mean to high jack the posting.

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If the windows are broken (as in broken glass), that is an issue.  Is that what you are talking about?  Or are you talking about if they are stuck closed?  I am having a tough time imagining what you mean, as some windows are fixed windows/do not slide open or out.

Yes, I do wish there were more appraisers here too.  A place that a ton of appraisers hang out and discuss stuff is http://appraisersforum.com/ - they have a specific question for consumers to ask questions at http://appraisersforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=169