Obtaining a mortgage to finance the purchase of a new home or to refinance a mortgage on an existing one is a pretty straightforward process. First, you get in touch with one of our mortgage loan officers to have all of your questions answers. After the consultation and completing the necessary information we need for the mortgage application, we submit your loan to the lender offering you the best terms, and then we all wait for the appraisal to be completed.

Depending upon where the property is located, a borrower could wait weeks for an appraisal. Meanwhile, the lender and everyone else involved in the transaction must wait. If it seems as though there must be a better way to do things, there is, and we at MortgageDepot have lenders that will issue an appraisal waiver.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac put an end to the appraisal waiting game

As a mortgage broker we work with lenders that bow to the realities of modern technology by waiving appraisals when there is sufficient market data available on a particular property to permit them to determine its value. The two government-sponsored mortgage entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac use algorithms and something Freddie Mac calls an automated collateral evaluation system.

The ACE system collects information from multiple listing services, public records and other data about homes bought and sold in a particular area and conducts an analysis. The result is a value estimate for the property being purchased or refinanced.

Time is not the only thing being saved by the new appraisal waiver program. Homeowners refinancing their existing mortgages and buyers purchasing will save the cost of the appraisal, which can be hundreds of dollars.

Eligibility guidelines for appraisal waivers

Expansion of the program refinance transactions to mortgages on home purchases required Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to publish guidelines for eligibility, include the following:

  • Restricted to one-unit properties
  • Permitted for condominium unit purchases
  • Property must be used as primary or second home
  • Loan-to-value ratio up to 80 percent
  • Value of property cannot exceed $1 million

Appraisal waivers are not permitted for the following types of properties or loans:

Property owners who refinance an existing loan will not be allowed to use the appraisal waiver program if the amount they are borrowing exceeds what is necessary to pay the current mortgage. So-called “cash-out” refinancing will still require an appraisal.

How MortgageDepot can help

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac estimate that only 5 percent of the transactions they handle will be eligible for appraisal waivers. Our loan originators at MortgageDepot work for our borrowers to obtain the best deals in financing, including new loan programs. Whether through appraisal waiver programs, government-backed loans or conventional mortgage programs, we’ll find the loan and the program best suited to the specific needs of each borrower.

Our loan officers specialize in finding solutions for borrowers presenting us with unique circumstances or situations. For the buyers whose dream home needs a lot of work, we have the FHA 203K loan program to give them the money they need to complete the purchase and to do the renovations after the closing. Contact MortgageDepot now for more information about appraisal waivers and the other loan programs we offer.

*This product is not regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services

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