For certain home purchase transactions in rural high-needs areas, Fannie Mae may offer to waive the appraisal in exchange for a mandatory home property inspection, Fannie Mae announced.
The rural-needs appraisal waiver seeks to help low- to moderate-income borrowers avoid unanticipated, potentially high-cost, post-purchase repairs with benefits, Fannie stated, including:
“Appraisal waiver offers are issued through DU,” Fannie Mae said in its release. “If an offer is received and the lender and borrower agree to accept the offer, the lender must follow the steps of obtaining a home property inspection report from a state-licensed inspector or from a professionally designated inspector in locales that do not have licensure, reviewing the property inspection report and represent and warrant that the property is safe, sound, and structurally secure and that the property is not in C6 condition, provide a copy of the property inspection report to the borrower, who signs an affidavit that they have been given a copy, read the report, and have been notified of any lender-required repairs and provide Special Feature Code (SFC) 801 at the time of loan delivery and maintain a copy of the inspection report in the loan file.”