Is a home appraisal always required to qualify for a new mortgage loan?

No. Under federal appraisal rules, residential transactions of $400,000 or less generally qualify for a written estimate of value instead of a full appraisal, and NCUA rules require credit unions to obtain appraisals only for residential real estate loans of $400,000 or more. Cash purchases do not require an appraisal at all, and some government streamline refinance programs skip it. Most conventional purchase mortgages, however, do require one.