Now seller concessions, gifts, other creative financing must be reported in FHA appraisals

Get ready for some extra work on FHA assignments. Months ago we reported on the trend of seller concessions and seller-assisted downpayments artificially inflating property values by being recorded as part of the "sale price" of homes. We told you that the State of Colorado warned its appraisers to take seller concessions into account to stanch this overvaluation phenomenon, as did the Appraisal Institute. Now, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will require such an analysis. Click to read more