Looking for a lender NOT requiring "old-school" appraisals.

[Patrick Britton]

Are there any lenders out there that don't require an old school appraisal? I'm not talking about appraisal waivers. I'm talking about a lender that sees no value in a traditional, in-person appraisal and is satisfied with either a couple of CMA's or some kind of AVM or other program?

[Chris Mason]

Originally posted by @Patrick Britton:

Are there any lenders out there that don't require an old school appraisal? I'm not talking about appraisal waivers. I'm talking about a lender that sees no value in a traditional, in-person appraisal and is satisfied with either a couple of CMA's or some kind of AVM or other program?

 In theory anyone could offer that. It just wouldn't be eligible for any back end subsidy from Fannie/Freddie. A $500k loan might sell to one of those two for $515k, or maybe Wells Fargo is on a buying spree and offering $518k for it. That's the profit center right there (not the $999 or $1200 origination charge). Without that Fannie/Freddie backing, you'd have to make up for that $15k difference (in your rate, terms, fees, etc), or it wouldn't make sense to lend the money to you rather than someone else.

Here's where it's even more challenging...

Is it worth $15,000 (cash value of whatever differences there are to the rate/points/fees/etc) to avoid paying a <$1k appraisal fee? Sure, to someone hiding the fact that the property is in near tear-down condition, making it a stunningly high risk loan, and now all of a sudden a reasonable risk premium needs to be added to that $15k.

Now that I've correctly set your expectations, your next 2 google searches are "non-qm" and "hard money lender near me."