FR-6609-N-01 Request for Information Regarding Single Family Minimum Property Requirements (MPR)

The International Code Council (ICC) supports HUD's efforts to modernize single-family minimum property requirements (MPRs) and strongly encourages the agency to adopt the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) as its baseline standard. They argue that leveraging this existing, privately developed consensus standard would improve safety, standardize compliance across jurisdictions, and fulfill federal mandates to use voluntary consensus standards.

The commenter suggests that FHA should modernize and streamline its Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs) by aligning them with other governmental and non-governmental financing programs. They argue that standardizing these requirements would reduce transaction delays, lower costs for borrowers, and provide greater clarity for lenders and appraisers while still maintaining safety and soundness.

An individual appraiser (implied by the context of navigating appraisal guidelines) suggests that HUD should make its Minimum Property Requirements (MPR) more accessible, clearer, and more regionally specific. The commenter advocates for public transparency and the creation of a basic checklist for borrowers to reduce ambiguity during the appraisal process.

The commenter suggests that Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs) that do not affect a property's value or marketability should be noted in the appraisal rather than enforced as strict requirements. They argue that this approach would reduce costs and time for owners by allowing borrowers to either fix the issues or sign a waiver of liability.

The commenter is a private appraiser who argues that FHA regulations are overly cumbersome and expensive. They support the proposed action of reducing "red tape" and allowing the free market to dictate mortgage principles to make FHA products more competitive.