Philadelphia RM-1 Appraised as Single Family for FHA
I have a RM-1 zoned multi-family property that used to be a single family home. The property is basically a single family as the upstairs "unit" only has kitchen cabinets, no kitchen appliances. There are two meters and doors separating the units that I plan to remove. Without those it flows just as a single family would.
Since it's listed as multi family, my lender is saying I will need to go FHA since I don't want to put 15% down, but that comes with upfront MIP and a large increase in monthly MIP compared to higher priced single families I've looked at.
Do you think that with only one kitchen and without the doors separating the two units, an appraiser would be able to value it as a single family so I can go conventional?