You’re purchasing or refinancing a home and your Lender excitedly tells you that you qualify for a PIW, what do you do next and what does that mean for you?

A PIW is a property inspection waiver and when there are enough comparable sales within the automated underwriting system that your Lender runs your file, they may not require an actual physical appraisal of the property as they feel the sales price that you’ve agreed to pay is in fact a fair price for the property being purchased. This option is only available on Conventional loans, not on what we call Govy loans; meaning FHA, USDA, VA for purchase transactions of single-family properties and condos that are stick built. No manufactured homes, 2-4 unit properties or leasehold properties qualify.

There is some availability on refinances typically with lower loan to values.

As with everything, this option comes with some pros and some cons.

On the pro side, you just saved a little money by not having to pay for an appraisal and you just picked up some time as you no longer have to wait for an appraisal.

On the con side, there are no 2nd set of eyes looking out for you in the field so if you didn’t ask for something upfront because you figured you could circle back as you just knew the Appraiser would, you just lost your bargaining chip.

As is always the case, but even more so in this scenario, get a home inspection to ensure you aren’t buying someone else’s nightmare. Without an Appraiser to just call out safety concerns and obvious property deficiencies, it might be easy to take on an issue you weren’t anticipating.

Questions? Give me a call, 360-459-1200!

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