i actually do have the regulation, but not a link to it here sorry.
the regulation is, as may be expected, almost unintelligible.
what it boils down to is,
for almost all loans (new and refi), the major banks like (need) to re-sell them to the secondary marketing outfits (in order for the banks to replenish their lendable cash funds).
these secondary agencies have adopted appraisal forms and regulations for the loan packages they are willing to purchase from the retail banks.
the newer regulations appear to require internal inspections. the form and most of the public information distributed do not emphasize this. But you can find references to internal inspections if you look hard enough. The instructions to the appraisers make this expectation clearer. For instance, a floor plan sketch is supposed to be attached. This was formerly pretty commonly supplied by the owners or residents or real estate sales agents, to the appraisers. That was easy enough because most normal houses have pretty normal floor plans and the floor plans do not ordinarily impact valuation much.
For most normal residences.
There are also references to “pictures”....
if pictures were appended formerly, they were almost always external pictures, mostly of the front of the home as seen from the sidewalk.
Often, pictures were not attached.
Now, the feds are requiring internal pictures, for instance....(regulation guide B-4-1.02-06 from Fannie Mae.....says they want pictures as follow:
“interior photographs, which must, at a minimum, include:
– the kitchen;
– all bathrooms;
– main living area;
– examples of physical deterioration, if present; and
– examples of recent updates, such as restoration, remodeling, and renovation, if present. “
there appears to be NO exception for occupied personal residences!!!!!
(the regs or guidelines do not appear to require that the pictures be “video movies” but a leading local bank Vice President advised that this is their practice in all cases. Still photos still would seem to satisfy the federal regs from what I can determine, however.)
so anyway,
if you can get a loan where the bank or lender is planning NOT to resell your promissory note to the federales, then you can probably skip the photographic invasion of your privacy. But take note that the major banks do want to resell the vast majority of their residential loan packages to the feds (to replenish the banks’ cash on hand so they can make further loans to other borrowers).
We had one poster here say that he used to always take pictures inside the houses. He may well have done that, but it was never commonplace (indeed, I cannot recall ever hearing of it for a normal single family residential appraisal... and I have been involved in this field for 40 years). It just wasn’t necessary and... the intrusion of personal privacy, plus the extra work...made it quite rare...we can leave it at that. Rare.
Now the Obama administration requires that a home owner open her door and let the federal agents in to take pictures throughout her personal residence. For the very same loan consideration she formerly normally did NOT have to admit strangers into her home.
Again, the police are worried sick about these pictures (or videos). The pictures of an occupied residence almost always will (whether intended or not) display personal property that burglars can steal. The pictures, coupled with the required floor plan, give a complete tour and layout of the interior of a residence, very very helpful for burglars. And pictures can (although may possibly not) reveal protective measures, burglar alarm system information and installation locations within the home, etc.
Just saying, there’s somethi8ng to think about with this one!
ps:
the specific requirements for internal photographs of your home... that I quoted from.....above.....were put into effect by the Obama administration on October 1, 2010.
FYI.
“The pictures, coupled with the required floor plan, give a complete tour and layout of the interior of a residence, very very helpful for burglars. And pictures can (although may possibly not) reveal protective measures, burglar alarm system information and installation locations within the home, etc.”
Thank you for the details! Wow. Not good news.