203K Certification; HELP

[Geoffrey Murphy]

Hey Guys,

I need some further clarification on this topic.

What for it mean for a contractor to be "203K Certified"?
A contractor mentioned that he believes you only need to have "proper insurance" & "licensing"

Is this case?

As always, thanks a million to you guys for your commitments!!

Geoff

[Matt Devincenzo]

In short yes your contractor is correct, any licensed contractor can be used on a 203K loan.

The link below is not the official FHA site but has some good FAQs. The "certified 203k contractor" is a training course that is provided to educate contractors on the requirements and can be presented to your lender to show that the contractor's being chosen have a competence level that exceeds the 203k requirements that the lender has to verify in underwriting the loan. But it is not required and another contractor could be used and pass the underwriting guidelines as well.

http://203kcontractors.com/faqs

This is the official HUD site. It doesn't specifically call out that any licensed contractor can or cannot perform the work but hints to it as you read through as it doesn't place a "requirement" on your selection of contractor.

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/sfh/203k/203kabou

Ultimately your lender needs to be experienced with the 203k loans, and if they are they will be your best source of information to get started.

(No legal advice)