Often times a lender will grant an appraisal waiver or PIW as it is also known, property inspection waiver, if the home was recently appraised, usually within the last year, and there have been no significant market changes. These waivers are generated by lenders that use the automated underwriting systems of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. PIWs can be received on a purchase transaction, limited cash out refi or a cash out refi. The great things about an PIW are you won’t need to write an appraisal contingency into the purchase agreement. You’ll also be able to save the cost of the appraisal, usually between $500-$800 and it can reduce the amount of time it takes to close on a home. The drawbacks of a PIW are: you won’t have a third party’s opinion about the value of your home, you could end up borrowing money on a house that is priced too high, and you won’t have an up to date assessment of your homes condition. I’m Stewart Brown, a licensed Mortgage Loan Originator in Palm Springs, California here to simply topics in Real Estate and Mortgage Lending. Please, like, share, follow and subscribe!
