Disclaimer

The material and information contained on this website is the copyrighted property of Ryan Lundquist and Lundquist Appraisal Company. Content on this website may not be reproduced or republished without prior written permission from Ryan Lundquist. The information on this website is meant soley for educational purposes and is not intended in any way to support an opinion of value for your appraisal needs or any sort of value conclusion for a loan, litigation or any other potential appraisal-related purpose. The material found on this website is meant for casual reading only. For more detailed market analysis to be used for an appraisal report or any appraisal-related purpose, please contact us for more information. Thank you.

Does FHA Allow Bare Wood? – A Tidbit for FHA Appraisal Inspections in the Sacramento Area

July 8, 2009 in FHA Appraisal | 10 comments

Here is one quick tid-bit for FHA appraisal inspections:

Does FHA allow bare wood on the exterior of a house? No. Regardless of the age of the house (pre-1978 or newer), wood must not be bare and exposed directly to the elements. This goes for both the house and any structure on the property (outbuilding, shed, barn…).

Regarding required repairs, it is common for HUD to require repairs when there is bare wood, a defective paint surface (chipping, flaking, cracking or peeling paint) or evidence of active infestation by wood destroying insects. In these instances, the first step is to cure the defective paint surface or replace the damaged wood if applicable and make sure to properly seal the structure (sealant or paint).

Please let me know if you have any questions. I am experienced with FHA appraisals and I am doing quite a few of them these days. Lenders, banks, loan officers, brokers and home owners can still choose their own appraiser for FHA deals and I would be very glad to be selected by you.

http://www.lundquistcompany.com/blog Does FHA Allow Bare Wood? – A Tidbit for FHA Appraisal Inspections in the Sacramento Area

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Win a FREE Natural Hazards Disclosure Report: A Christmas Gift from The Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Tags: Does FHA allow bare wood?, Sacramento FHA Appraiser, Sacramento FHA Home Appraiser, Sacramento FHA House Appraiser Inspector, Sacramento FHA Real Estate Appraisal

10 comments

Comments feed for this article

Trackback link: http://lundquistcompany.com/blog/2009/07/08/does-fha-allow-bare-wood-a-tidbit-for-fha-appraisal-inspections-in-the-sacramento-area/trackback/

Nathan Akers on July 28, 2009 at 5:16 pm

will they allow a shed to have bare wood???
Ryan Lundquist on July 28, 2009 at 11:07 pm

Nathan, HUD requires all structures within the confines of the parcel to be properly sealed (whether that would be proper paint or sealant). Bare wood is not allowed on the house or other structures. This would mean that a wooden storage shed, barn, outbuilding, or any other wood structure would need to be properly sealed. Good luck to you.
Kelly on November 3, 2009 at 3:41 pm

Does the “no bare wood” requirement apply to unpainted eves on a newer house?

Thanks,

Kelley C.
Ryan Lundquist on November 3, 2009 at 4:05 pm

Kelly, technically the wood should be “sealed”. This means that either the bare wood must be painted or some sort of approved sealant must be on the wood. Usually builders paint eaves. I wonder whey they would not.
Kelly on November 3, 2009 at 4:15 pm

“I wonder whey they would not”: It’s a REO…who knows what happened; possibly a different color was originally envisioned. My thoughts on this unpainted eve issue are similar to that of unpainted deck sub-structure in that this wood is protected by the structure above it; the 4×6′s typically seen under a deck are rarely painted, but are protected the decking. Does that mean that they should painted be for FHA?
Ryan Lundquist on November 3, 2009 at 4:33 pm

The eaves are visible and exposed to the elements, and so they may be in a different category than underneath a deck. Hopefully mostly everything else has been completed and this one issue is all that is left. Have you had the house appraised yet? You may considering calling 800-CALL-FHA if you have questions regarding the deck (and of course ask about eaves).
Kelly on November 3, 2009 at 6:30 pm

The deck scenario I was thinking of would be on a multi level house where from the lower level patio i am looking up at the unpainted beams of the deck above me… not an unusual circumstance. I resepctfully disagree that the eves of a house do not have the same level of “protection” from the elements. I shall make that call to FHA for clarification. Thank you so much for your time Ryan!
Ryan Lundquist on November 3, 2009 at 7:45 pm

The eaves may or may not have the same level of protection, but the key factor is what HUD says. All I am saying is that they may view eaves differently. What counts is what they say. It’s always a good bet to call HUD at the number I gave or even call your specific regional center, wherever that might be. They are the local authority for HUD issues, and anyone working in the field as an appraiser is likely familiar with calling them because there is much to know with FHA. There are surely some interesting property conditions, characterstics and circumstances out there that must be filtered through what HUD says about the particular circumstance found. Best of luck.
Kelly on November 3, 2009 at 8:05 pm

Official word from a very helpful FHA/HUD Santa Ana office: ALL bare wood MUST be coated with protective coating. Period. Moving on…

Thanks again Ryan!
Ryan Lundquist on November 3, 2009 at 9:05 pm

And there you have it…… the official word. It sounds like unless you are able to cure this issue before escrow somehow, that you’ll have to find another property. Best wishes Kelly.