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FHA Updates Appraisal Review Requirements

FHA Updates Appraisal Review Requirements

The Federal Housing Administration announced that it’s making field reviews an optional component of the appraisal quality control (QC) process.

Details were provided in Mortgagee Letter 2026-10, which took immediate effect.

  • FHA previously required mortgagees to obtain appraisal field reviews on at least ten percent of their origination and underwriting QC samples.
  • In its announcement, FHA said, “By making field reviews optional, FHA is maintaining its core appraisal compliance framework while giving mortgagees greater flexibility to tailor review methods based on case-specific risk.”

The big picture: FHA further noted that appraisal field reviews represent one of the most expensive quality control components of the lender appraisal review process, with an average cost of $425 per field review. FHA estimates that eliminating this requirement will save industry partners $3.3 million annually.

Published by

Darryl Hicks

Darryl Hicks is Vice President of Communications for the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association. In this capacity, Hicks writes for NRMLA's publications, manages the association's web sites and social media accounts, assists committees and the Board of Directors, and manages the Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional designation. Prior to joining NRMLA in 1999, Hicks spent three years in the Washington, D.C. bureau for National Mortgage News.