What items are on a home appraisal checklist?

During an inspection, an appraiser records the property's size, number and type of rooms, building materials, age, amenities, and any updates or renovations, and photographs the interior and exterior. They also note the structure, foundation, roof, and overall condition. They then compare the home against recent sales of similar properties, matched on condition, age, square footage, location, and number of rooms.

For an FHA appraisal, the appraiser inspects the property inside and out, completes the Valuation Conditions form, photographs the front, sides, rear, and street frontage, and provides a photo of each comparable sale. The checklist covers hazards, septic systems, drainage, water supply, wood-destroying insects, ventilation, foundations, crawl spaces (18-inch access minimum), roofs, mechanical systems, heating, electricity, and safety deficiencies. In homes built before 1978, the appraiser notes all chipping, flaking, or peeling paint.

For an FHA appraisal, the appraiser checks safety items such as exposed wiring, missing handrails, and unsafe heating, plus structural soundness, working utilities, and roof condition (at least two years of remaining economic life). The appraisal also covers lead-based paint in pre-1978 homes, drainage sloping away from the foundation, ventilation, safe access to attics and crawl spaces, and signs of pest infestation. Problems that fall short of HUD's Minimum Property Standards become Required Repairs, and the FHA loan cannot close until they are finished.

In Delaware, the Council's appraisal checklist itemizes the work that goes into an appraisal: a property inspection (interior or exterior), data gathering, highest and best use analysis, comparable sales research, the cost and income approaches, sketching, reconciliation, and final report review. The report must comply with USPAP and must disclose any significant appraisal assistance, such as work performed by a trainee.

A home appraisal documents the property's condition and features to support a value opinion for the lender; it is not a home inspection. For an FHA loan, the appraiser checks HUD's minimum standards for safety, soundness, and security, including the foundation, roof, drainage, utilities, heating, paint condition, and signs of termites or environmental hazards.

A home appraisal examines both the site and the improvements. Outside, the appraiser reviews neighborhood characteristics, zoning, lot size, utilities, and the driveway. Inside, the appraiser reviews square footage, the number of bathrooms and bedrooms, the foundation, the basement, and building materials. The appraiser must be a licensed third party with no connection to the buyer, seller, or lender.

For an FHA appraisal, the appraiser checks the property against HUD's General Acceptability Criteria. Items include hazards and adverse conditions, soil contamination, positive drainage away from the foundation, well setbacks (50 feet from a septic tank, 100 feet from a drain field, 10 feet from a property line), roof condition, heating that can maintain 50 degrees F, 18-inch crawl space access, attic and crawl space ventilation, and defective paint in homes built before 1978.

Appraisers review the home's physical features, its systems, and the site. For FHA appraisals, that includes the foundation, roof, siding, chimneys, drywall, and unremediated lead paint; utilities and systems such as water, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, sewage, appliances, and pools; and environmental factors like hazards, power lines, pests, and soil grading.