Anthony Blackburn, of Apple Appraisal, Inc., in Martinez, CA responded recently to a WinTOTAL Users Group forum question about common errors with FHA appraisals. The following was his response.  At the bottom of this blog post is a "bookmarked" pdf highlighting the references to his list.

"I'm reviewing a batch of about 25 reverse mortgage appraisals, post funding. Not a single one complies will all of HUD's guidelines!"

Most commonly, the reports that I review fail to:

1. Include patios, porches, garages, breezeways and other offsets on the sketch. Failure to state "covered" or "uncovered" to indicate a roof or no roof (such as over a patio).
2. Have the street scene photo include a portion of the subject site.
3. Enter a legal description of the property.
4. To state that the use of the appraisal is to support FHA's decision to provide mortgage insurance on the real property that is the subject of the appraisal; and intended users include the lender/client and FHA.
5. Clearly define the boundaries - north, south, east and west - of the subject's neighborhood. Providing a description of neighborhood boundaries by physical features such as streets, rail lines, other man-made barriers or well defined natural barriers (i.e. rivers, lakes, etc.) details the make up and understanding regarding neighborhood composition.
6. To adequately and accurately describe current market conditions in the subject's neighborhood.
7. List all dimensions of the site beginning with the frontage. If the shape of the site is irregular, show the boundary dimensions (85' X 150' X 195' X 250')
8. Describe the view from the property (None is not an acceptable response).
9. Include the CORRECT zoning
10. To correctly report the number of COMPARABLE sales in the past 12 months and active listings on page 2.
11. To correctly calculate time adjustments from the contract date of the sale, and report both the contract and closing dates when time adjustments are made.
12. Enter the name of the subdivision or PUD in the location field of the sales comparison approach.
13. Describe the view from the site on the sales comparison approach, i.e. similar homes, commercial area, water view, scenic view, etc. Such terms as "Average" or "Good" are only to be used as adjuncts, i.e. "Residential/Average", "Water view/Good".
14. To enter ONLY the actual age of the subject in the age field of the sales comparison approach.
15. To accurately report the subject's condition as "Fair" when it is indeed "Fair".
16. Research prior sales or transfers of comparable sales
17. To analyze and report the analysis of the subject's prior sales

Download 41502appdHSGH.pdf - This appendix to HUD's 4150.2 has been bookmarked to correspond to the list above.

Thanks to Anthony Blackburn, of Apple Appraisal, Inc., of Martinez, CA for compiling and sharing this list!