Borrower’s should be prepared for some appraisal changes taking effect on February 15th 2010. All FHA loans, including Reverse Mortgages, will be required to comply and adopt the Appraial Independence rules that took affect in 2009 for all non FHA loans.

After the 15th of February all appraisals will be required to be ordered through an AMC ( Appraisal Management Company) the AMC will then contact a local appraiser and request the appraisal. The appraisal is then completed and submitted directly to the underwriter working on the loan. The loan officer and borrower are not allowed to have any direct contact with the appraiser. The idea behind the new rules is to eliminate any possibility of manipulating the appraisers estimation of value

Borrowers will want to make sure they have done thier homework on what similar homes are selling for in their neighborhood. Working with an experienced loan officer will be helpful in gathering this information.