Is a home inspection required for a mortgage? Not in the ordinary case. FHA, VA, USDA and conventional lenders all require an appraisal, but none of the programs we checked makes the buyer’s own home inspection a condition of the loan. What they do ask for is more varied: a form that tells you to get an inspection, wood-destroying insect information in certain New York counties, a septic evaluation, or a professional’s inspection when an appraiser flags a problem. This guide goes program by program and says where each rule comes from.
We are Inspecwise, home inspectors licensed by New York State and certified by InterNACHI, working from South Ozone Park, Queens. Every program rule below is quoted or paraphrased from the agency or lender that wrote it, and linked where it appears. Rules change, and some of the documents are dated, so confirm the current version with your lender.
Is a home inspection required for a mortgage? Program by program
The table gives the short answer for each program. The sections after it explain the parts that matter in New York.
| Loan | Is the buyer’s home inspection required? | What the program does ask for |
|---|---|---|
| FHA | No. HUD’s form says an inspection “will only occur if you arrange for one; FHA does not perform home inspections” (HUD-92564-CN). | The lender must give you that form at first contact (Handbook 4000.1). The property must meet HUD’s minimum property requirements, existing properties must be confirmed free of wood-destroying insects and organisms, and an on-site sewage system must work and meet the local health department’s requirements. |
| VA | No. “Home inspections are not required by VA; however, a home inspection is highly recommended for every borrower” (VA Buyer’s Guide). | A VA appraisal with a Notice of Value, an escape clause in the contract, and wood-destroying insect information in the New York counties VA lists (VA local requirements). |
| USDA | Not by itself. Lenders must encourage you to get a detailed inspection. If the appraiser is not familiar with HUD’s standards, the lender should obtain a home inspection report (HB-1-3555, chapter 12). | An eligible rural area, an appraisal that certifies HUD’s handbook standards, HUD’s form for you, a septic evaluation for a private system, and a termite or pest inspection if the lender, appraiser, inspector or state law requires one. |
| Conventional (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) | Not always. Freddie Mac says lenders do not always require an inspection but do require an appraisal. | An appraisal that follows Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide. For safety, soundness or structural deficiencies the appraisal is made “subject to” repairs or a qualified professional’s inspection. |
| SONYMA (New York State) | Not on the list. The submission list in SONYMA’s underwriting notes names an appraisal with a full interior inspection and the sales contract with the disclosure form, not a buyer’s home inspection report. | The property must be in at least average condition (notes revised January 2023). |
FHA: what “For Your Protection: Get a Home Inspection” says
FHA’s answer is a disclosure, not a requirement. HUD’s Handbook 4000.1 requires the lender to give you form HUD-92564-CN, titled For Your Protection: Get a Home Inspection, “at first contact,” whether that is pre-qualification, pre-approval or the initial application (Handbook 4000.1). The form is short and worth reading in full. It says:
- The purpose of a home inspection “is to inform and educate you about the property before you make a financial commitment.”
- “A home inspection will only occur if you arrange for one; FHA does not perform home inspections.”
- “Appraisals are NOT Home Inspections! An appraisal is required to estimate the home’s value for your lender and does not replace a home inspection.”
- “FHA does not guarantee the value or condition of your new home.” If you find problems after closing, “FHA cannot give or lend you money for repairs, and FHA cannot buy the home back from you.”
- “If you request an inspection early in the process, you may be able to make your purchase contract contingent on its results.”
- It tells you to ask the inspector for the Standards of Practice or a sample report, and to ask whether extra tests, such as mold, water, asbestos, lead paint or pests, are relevant. It also repeats the EPA and Surgeon General recommendation that all houses be tested for radon.
That is FHA’s message to the buyer, and it is a firm nudge. Our older guide to a home inspection for an FHA loan covers the buying process. Here we stay with what the form and the handbook require of the lender.
The handbook also puts three property rules on the lender that you may meet in a New York purchase. For existing properties, the mortgagee “must confirm that the Property is free of wood destroying insects and organisms.” An existing on-site sewage system is acceptable “provided they are functioning properly and meet the requirements of the local health department.” And if the appraiser finds a structural, moisture or mechanical problem, an inspection by a qualified individual may be required. Our guide to home inspection vs appraisal lists the appraiser’s triggers. The PDF edition of the handbook that HUD posts carries a 2019 revision date and points to an online version, so ask your lender for the current wording of each of these.
VA: not required, with a New York wrinkle on wood-destroying insects
The VA Buyer’s Guide is plain: home inspections are not required by VA, and a home inspection is highly recommended for every borrower. VA’s quick-reference sheet for real estate professionals asks, “Is a home inspection required with a VA home loan?” and answers, “No, a home inspection is not required to obtain a VA home loan” (VA loan toolkit). The guide adds that you should choose an inspector with no conflict of interest in the sale, and that you may want a satisfactory home inspection contingency in the contract alongside VA’s own escape clause.
The escape clause speaks to value, not condition. It lets you leave without losing your earnest money if the price exceeds the reasonable value VA establishes, and it must be in the sales contract for every VA-guaranteed loan. A home inspection contingency is what addresses condition, and VA’s guide suggests considering one.
VA also has a local requirement that reaches New York. On its page of local requirements, VA says that only states requiring a wood-destroying insect inspection are listed, and that where a state is not listed none is required unless specific issues are noted in the appraisal report. For New York, the page says wood-destroying insect information is required for the following counties: Bronx, Broome, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester (VA local requirements, last updated July 2025). That covers all five boroughs, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester.
Two cautions. The page describes the information as something to be considered before VA issues the Notice of Value, and it does not say who orders it or in what form, so ask your lender. And by statute a New York home inspection does not include pests (Real Property Law 444-b), so this is a separate service. See our guide to termite inspection in New York.
One more line in the VA guide is worth knowing if you are buying an older house: “it may be in your best interest to hire a structural engineer for your inspection, especially for an older property.” We explain the difference between the two professionals in home inspector vs structural engineer.
USDA: encouragement, a septic evaluation and rural eligibility
USDA’s guaranteed loan program covers only property in areas the agency designates as rural (HB-1-3555, chapter 12). Whether a given address qualifies is USDA’s call, so check the address against the agency’s eligibility tool before you count on this program. We cannot tell you from here.
For inspections, the USDA lender handbook says three things. Lenders “must encourage applicants to obtain a detailed home inspection of the property” on their own. Lenders must give applicants form HUD-92564-CN. And an existing dwelling must be inspected to determine that it meets the HUD handbook’s minimum property requirements, which a qualified appraiser can certify. If the appraiser is unfamiliar with those standards, the lender “should obtain a home inspection report provided by a home inspector deemed qualified by the lender.” That is a case where a home inspector’s report enters the file as a program step, and it is the lender’s inspector, not yours.
The same chapter requires the lender to obtain a septic evaluation for an individual privately owned wastewater system. A qualified appraiser who certifies the HUD standards can supply it, and so can a government health authority, a licensed septic system professional or a qualified home inspector. New York’s Standards of Practice do not require a home inspector to evaluate on-site sewage systems such as cesspools, septic tanks and drain fields (19 NYCRR 197-5.8), so whether a given inspector offers a septic evaluation is a separate question. Termite and pest inspections are required if the lender, appraiser, inspector or state law requires one.
Conventional loans: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Most conventional loans are written to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac rules. Freddie Mac’s consumer page says a home inspection is “strongly recommended as part of the homebuying process” and, in the same page, that lenders “don’t always require” one but “do require an appraisal, which considers both the value of the property and its condition.” It also says the inspection belongs between the offer and closing, and that you are responsible for hiring the inspector and scheduling the visit.
The section of Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide we read does not ask for the buyer’s own inspection, but it does let a lender call for a professional one. If the appraisal shows evidence of infestation, dampness or abnormal settlement, the lender must either provide satisfactory evidence that the condition was corrected or submit a professionally prepared report. For safety, soundness or structural deficiencies the appraisal is conditioned on the repairs, or on a qualified professional’s satisfactory inspection when the appraiser cannot judge them, and the guide leaves it to the lender to decide whether that inspection is required (Selling Guide B4-1.3-06). In plain terms, a home inspection required for a mortgage is rare on the conventional side, but if the appraiser sees a structural or moisture problem, the lender may make a professional report a condition.
What a New York lender may still ask for: pests, septic, structure
Put the programs side by side and four items keep recurring. Each can land in a New York file, and none of them is the same as the buyer’s home inspection.
| Item | Where a program asks for it | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| Wood-destroying insect information | VA: listed New York counties, including all five boroughs, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester. FHA: the mortgagee must confirm existing properties are free of wood-destroying insects. USDA: if the lender, appraiser, inspector or state law requires. | A pest inspection. Excluded from a New York home inspection by statute. |
| On-site sewage and private wells | FHA: an on-site system must work and meet local health department requirements. USDA: the lender must obtain a septic evaluation. | A health authority or licensed septic professional, or an inspector who offers it. Not required of inspectors by the Standards. |
| Structural, settlement or dampness opinion | Fannie Mae: the appraisal is made “subject to” a qualified professional’s inspection when the appraiser sees evidence. FHA: an inspection by a qualified individual or entity may be required. | A qualified professional the lender accepts. For structure, often a structural engineer. |
| Repairs flagged by the appraiser | All programs, in different words. The lender decides what is required and how completion is shown. | A contractor, then a completion report or the lender’s own proof. |
Homes that are not on a public sewer or public water are where the second row matters. If you are not sure how a house is connected, ask the seller’s attorney, and note that the Standards require an inspector’s report to say whether water supply and waste disposal are public, private or unknown (197-5.8(d)).
Why buyers inspect when the lender does not ask
Where no home inspection is required for a mortgage, the program’s silence is not the same as protection. The programs say so themselves.
- The appraisal serves the lender. HUD: it “does not replace a home inspection.” Freddie Mac: the appraisal “may not reveal underlying issues that a home inspection would” (Freddie Mac).
- The program will not fix it later. HUD: after closing, FHA “cannot give or lend you money for repairs” and cannot buy the home back.
- The seller’s form does not substitute. New York’s property condition disclosure statement says it is “not a substitute for any inspections or tests,” and the statute does not require a seller to inspect (Real Property Law 462). See our guide to the disclosure statement.
- The contingency has a clock. A contingency can let you renegotiate or walk away without penalty if the inspector finds problems, but only inside the window your contract sets. Our contingency guide explains how to read it.
- The report has a legal deadline and is private. A New York inspector owes you the written report within five business days, and it stays confidential unless you consent to sharing it (Real Property Law 444-g).
If you are paying cash, no lender will ask for anything, and the other reasons above still apply. What a home inspection includes, and what it leaves out, is in our guide to what a New York home inspection includes, and the extra tests lenders and buyers ask about are in which add-on tests you may need.
Questions to put to your lender and attorney
- Which program and which edition of its handbook governs my loan?
- Will the appraisal be ordered “as is,” or can it be made “subject to” repairs, and how will I hear about a condition before closing?
- Does this program, or this lender, require wood-destroying insect information for this address?
- Is the house on a public sewer and public water? If not, what evaluation do you require, and from whom?
- If an appraisal condition calls for a “qualified professional,” whose report will you accept?
- What does my contract say about the inspection deadline and about repairs a lender requires?
- When will I receive the appraisal? The CFPB says first-lien lenders must send it no later than three days before closing (CFPB).
Short answers to common questions
Do I need a home inspection to get an FHA loan?
No. HUD’s form says an inspection happens only if you arrange one. What FHA requires is that your lender hand you the form at first contact, and that the property meet HUD’s minimum property requirements through the appraisal.
Does a VA loan require a home inspection?
No. VA’s buyer’s guide says home inspections are not required but highly recommended for every borrower. VA does require its own appraisal, and wood-destroying insect information in the New York counties it lists.
Is a termite inspection required for a mortgage in New York?
It depends on the program. VA lists every New York City borough, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester among the counties where wood-destroying insect information is required. FHA says the mortgagee must confirm existing properties are free of wood-destroying insects, and USDA requires it if the lender, appraiser, inspector or state law does. The Fannie Mae section we read asks for evidence of correction or a professional report when the appraisal shows infestation, and we did not find a general termite-report rule on it, so ask your lender.
Does the lender need a septic inspection?
For FHA, an existing on-site sewage system must work and meet local health department requirements. USDA requires a septic evaluation. A New York home inspection to the State’s Standards does not require the inspector to evaluate septic systems, so treat it as a separate service.
Will a home inspector’s report satisfy a lender’s “qualified professional” condition?
Only if the lender says so. Fannie Mae and HUD leave it to the lender to decide whether an inspection is required and what clears the condition. For a structural question the lender may want an engineer, and for pests a pest control specialist.
Does New York law require a buyer to get a home inspection?
The sources we read do not. The property condition disclosure statement says it is not a substitute for inspections and encourages the buyer to obtain independent professional inspections, but no provision we found makes an inspection a legal requirement of buying a house.
If you decide to inspect, tell us the loan type
An inspection from us is a visual, non-invasive examination of the readily accessible systems under the State’s Standards of Practice, written for you, and the statute requires the report within five business days. From South Ozone Park we inspect in the five boroughs, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester, and elsewhere on request, in English, Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi.
When you book, tell us the address, the loan program if you know it and the inspection deadline in your contract. Pest, septic and engineering opinions are separate services or separate professionals, and we will say so plainly when your file calls for one.
Questions about your file? Call 718-925-7071.