Prepare for an FHA Inspection

It is important to prepare for an FHA Appraisal Inspection of your property. Preparation for an appraisal will save time and money for you. Below is a list of the most common problems found in an FHA inspection.

• Make sure that there is adequate and safe access to your property and dwelling.

 Access to your property should be free of hazards for pedestrians and vehicles. This would mean, no piles of debris, open trenches, or other hazardous conditions.

• Your property must have an adequate, working, permanent heating system.

Your home must have a heating system that is adequate for the heating of the entire home and it must be permanently installed.

• Your property must have all relevant utilities.

This means that water, electric, gas (or propane), and sewage disposal must all be connected and turned on for the inspection. .

• All electrical in the home should be proper and to local code.

There should be no open wiring connections or junctions. All switch plates and outlet covers should be in place. All electrical systems must be functioning as designed.

• Crawl spaces and basements must be free of debris and adequately accessible.

Crawl space, if on a raised foundation, but must be adequate. The distance between the ground and the bottom of the floor joist must be at least 18 inches. All vent screens must be intact and there must be no pooling water in the crawl space.  Basement should be free of deficiencies, such as, defective sump pump, dampness, or pooling water. 

• Attic space must be accessible and free of defects.

The attic space must be accessible with at least a scuttle that is of adequate size for access to the attic space. The attic must be free of moisture, signs of active roof leaks or electrical and plumbing defects.

• Exterior and interior paint must be adequate.

The exterior of the home and all out buildings must be properly treated to protect from the elements. There can be no bare wood that is untreated and exposed to the elements. For the interior and exterior, if the home was constructed prior to 1979, any peeling or chipping paint could be lead based and must be corrected. With lead base paint, cautions must be made to prevent exposure to the dust or paint chips to humans or to the ground.

• Water heater must be installed to code. CO and smoke detectors must be present and installed.

Unless the water heater is tank-less, the tank of the water heater must be earthquake strapped in the upper third and bottom third of the water heater or solar hot water storage tank. The straps must be to current plumbing code. The temperature and pressure valve must be properly installed to code. It should not exhaust into the living area of the home. The gas water heater combustion exhaust must be properly vented to local code. CO and smoke detectors must be installed to local code.   

• .Observed health and safety items. 

There are several items that are considered by FHA as health and safety concerns. The most common issues that would require correction are: Holes or damage in the garage firewall between the garage and living area, interior door to the garage closer not fully closing the door or the door is not one hour fire rated, security bars on the bedroom windows without releases, mold present on the walls of the home interior, stair railings must be present on steep stairs or stairs with three or more steps and  the garage door, if automated must be operational and have the emergency features operational to prevent injury. 

This is not an exhaustive list but, only items that are most common. The key to this is observable heath and safety issues. If your home has any items that could be a health and safety issue, the best advice is to correct the issue.