The Quick Read: Sometimes, and it depends on the loan you hold now. An existing FHA loan can use the FHA Streamline, and an existing VA loan can use the VA streamline refinance. Both are built to lower the payment without a new appraisal. A conventional loan has no blanket waiver. The appraisal is skipped only if the lender’s automated underwriting system offers it, and you cannot request that offer. Every program is subject to lender guidelines and full file review, and nothing here is a commitment to lend.
Which Loan Do You Have Now?
Your current loan type decides the path. Start there before anything else.
Refinance savings and break-even estimate
The starting figures are an example value with a balance in proportion and a placeholder for costs. Replace them with yours, and enter the current rate from your statement.
Editable benchmark: 7.32% as of October 22, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a refinance quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $350,000 home value, a $245,000 current balance, a current rate you enter and a remaining term seeded at twenty-five years, closing costs seeded at $5,000 as an editable placeholder (not a fee quote) and rolled into the new loan, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, and property taxes and insurance estimated at typical national rates. Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The new rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conventional benchmark, a market reference and not a refinance quote; a refinance is priced by the lender at lock, and the current rate, the remaining term and the closing costs are figures you enter. The current payment is estimated from the balance, the current rate and the remaining term; the break-even divides the closing costs by the monthly saving and ignores the interest effect of a longer term. On the VA IRRRL the funding fee is added to the loan unless the veteran is exempt. Taxes and insurance are editable estimates. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages; Lendmire is a broker, never the lender.
| Your current loan | No-appraisal route | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| FHA | FHA Streamline | Program rules plus lender |
| VA | VA streamline refinance | Program rules plus lender |
| Conventional | Value acceptance or ACE offer | Automated underwriting system |
| Any loan, taking cash out | Rarely available | Appraisal is the norm |
The FHA Streamline and the VA streamline refinance only work when the existing loan is already FHA or VA. Moving from a conventional loan into FHA or VA is a different transaction. Plan on an appraisal for that one.
Why Lenders Order Appraisals (and Why a Lower Payment Changes the Risk)
A lender wants to know the home is worth enough to cover the new loan. A rate-and-term refinance does not add new debt on top of the old balance. It replaces the existing first mortgage, the closing costs and sometimes a purchase-money second lien, with only incidental cash back. The lender is swapping one loan for a similar one. That is why the rules bend on these files and stay tight on cash-out.
Across the wholesale programs this brokerage works with, the rate-and-term lane on a one-unit primary residence reaches 95% LTV. It reaches 97% where the existing loan is agency-owned and the first-time-buyer program allows it. Mortgage insurance applies above 80% LTV. Those are guidelines, not promises, and each lender applies its own review. Final terms depend on the lender's guidelines, the property type, and the borrower's complete credit picture.
The Three Routes Without an Appraisal
Conventional: value acceptance and ACE
Fannie Mae calls its version value acceptance. Desktop Underwriter can offer to accept the value the lender submits, with no appraisal requirement for eligible transactions. That offer lets lenders originate eligible loans without an appraisal report.
Here is how it runs on a file:
1. The lender submits the loan to the automated system before ordering an appraisal.
2. On a refinance, the value is an estimate from the lender or borrower. The system compares it against its own data.
3. The system returns a path: value acceptance, value acceptance with property data, or a traditional appraisal.
4. The lender decides whether to use the offer. If it declines a Fannie Mae offer, it must at minimum follow the appraisal recommendations from Desktop Underwriter to sell the loan to Fannie Mae.
5. The loan is still fully underwritten on income, credit and assets. Only the valuation step changes.
Any limit or cap you may have seen cited could come from an older document that has since been superseded, so treat it as history, not a current cap. Check the current guide with your loan officer. Each figure is subject to lender guidelines and a complete review of property type, leverage, and credit.
FHA Streamline
The FHA Streamline exists to lower the payment on a current FHA-insured mortgage. HUD's archived guidance says Streamlines can be insured with or without an appraisal. The current handbook text says appraisals are not required on Streamlines, but that wording changes with revisions. Check the current HUD handbook before relying on it.
Two versions exist. A credit-qualifying Streamline includes a credit and capacity review but no appraisal. A non-credit-qualifying one skips both. FHA also requires a net tangible benefit and a seasoning period. The exact thresholds belong to the handbook and your lender. The file must lower the existing FHA payment, with no meaningful cash back.
The upside is real. With no appraisal, a drop in home value cannot sink the loan.
VA IRRRL
The VA's IRRRL page states that no appraisal or credit underwriting package is required when applying. It is a VA-to-VA refinance. Across the programs placed through the network, the IRRRL carries a 0.5% funding fee unless the veteran is exempt. It also requires a net tangible benefit, plus seasoning of the later of 210 days and 6 payments.
The catch is lender discretion. A lender may still charge for a customary appraisal or credit report it orders to meet its own requirements. "VA doesn't require it" is not the same as "your lender won't ask."
What Counts as a "Lower Payment"?
A lower payment comes from one of three levers, or a mix:
- A lower interest rate on the same balance and term.
- A longer term, which spreads the balance over more months.
- Dropping mortgage insurance, where the loan is reviewed.
Each lever has a trade-off. A longer term lowers the monthly bill and usually raises total interest paid over the life of the loan. Rolling closing costs into the balance means a "no out-of-pocket" refinance still carries the cost, just inside the loan. The VA pamphlet confirms costs can be rolled in. The same logic applies to anything marketed as a "no-cost" refinance: the costs are built into the rate or the balance. They are not gone.
Mortgage insurance deserves its own look. On a conventional loan, it is required above 80% LTV. You can request cancellation at 80% of the original value with good payment history, no subordinate liens and no decline in value. The servicer must end it automatically at 78%. A skipped appraisal means no new valuation to prove you have reached those thresholds. That is the quiet downside of a waiver. Leverage, reserves, and pricing vary by lender and program; the final terms follow the full file review.
A Worked Example, in Percentages
Take a borrower with a conventional loan who bought with about 5% down. The balance has dropped a little and the home has likely gained value. The lender runs the file through the automated system with a value estimate. The system offers value acceptance. No appraisal is ordered, the appraisal fee is avoided, and the new loan goes in at a lower rate on the same term. The payment falls. But the loan is still above 80% of the value the system accepted, so mortgage insurance stays on. Terms vary by lender guidelines, property type, leverage, credit profile, and full file review.
Now flip it. The same borrower pays for an appraisal. It comes back strong, and the loan lands at or under 80% LTV. Mortgage insurance drops off. The payment falls further than the no-appraisal version. Exact terms depend on the lender's guidelines, property type, leverage, and a full review of the borrower's file.
That is the contrarian case, and it is a genuine toss-up. If your mortgage insurance is the biggest piece of the payment, a paid appraisal can pay for itself. If it is not, the waiver is usually the cleaner path. Run both versions with your loan officer before choosing.
When a No-Appraisal Refinance Falls Through
These are the failure points on real files.
- No offer from the system. You cannot force a waiver. If the system returns an appraisal path, you get an appraisal.
- A recent appraisal. Fannie Mae notes that Desktop Underwriter will not offer value acceptance when an appraisal was uploaded to its collateral portal within the prior 120 days from any lender. Shopping several lenders can close the door if one of them already ordered an appraisal. Pick your lender before anyone orders a valuation.
- The offer disappears. If the loan's characteristics change midstream, value acceptance can be withdrawn and a full appraisal is required.
- Property type and transaction. Eligibility is limited to certain property types and transaction categories. Cash-out is the strictest end.
- Property data still means a visit. Fannie Mae's value acceptance plus property data option sends a trained third party to collect interior and exterior details. No appraisal does not always mean no one looks at the house.
- Lender overlays. A lender can require an appraisal even where the program does not.
If you hold a conventional loan with thin equity and no waiver offer, your realistic options are an appraisal, waiting until equity improves, or staying put.
What Does Skipping the Appraisal Save?
Skipping the appraisal removes a step from the file. That is the whole benefit. Income, credit and assets are still verified, and the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure rules still apply.
You also keep your rights. The CFPB says that if the lender obtains an appraisal or other opinion of value on a typical first-lien home loan, you are entitled to a copy.
How to Find Out Which Path You're On
1. Pull your current loan type from your mortgage statement. FHA, VA or conventional decides everything else.
2. Confirm the goal. If the target is a lower payment, a rate-and-term refinance is the right lane. Cash-out is a different file.
3. Ask the lender whether the file will be run through the automated system before an appraisal is ordered.
4. Ask whether the lender adds its own requirement for an appraisal or credit report.
5. Ask for the break-even on your own numbers: total closing costs against the monthly savings. If you plan to move before the savings repay the costs, the refinance does not pay.
6. Have recent pay stubs, the current mortgage statement and homeowners insurance ready. Credit and income are reviewed even when the appraisal is waived.
Credit matters too. The wholesale conventional programs generally start at a 620 decision score, and the automated finding governs most files. Jumbo lanes above the conforming limit start higher, at 660. Those are guidelines, subject to review.
Key Terms Defined
Value acceptance: Fannie Mae's offer to accept the lender-submitted home value with no appraisal on eligible loans.
Net tangible benefit: The test that a refinance must actually improve the borrower's position, such as a lower payment.
Rate-and-term refinance: A refinance that replaces the existing first mortgage with only incidental cash back.
Seasoning: The minimum time or number of payments on a loan before it can be refinanced.
LTV: Loan-to-value, the loan balance as a percentage of the home's value.
Where Lendmire Fits
Lendmire is a mortgage broker licensed for consumer lending in 16 states. It arranges FHA, VA, conventional and jumbo refinances through wholesale lenders, so one file can be compared across several programs. Its refinance programs cover the existing-loan paths described above. For borrowers who hold a rental on a lower payment goal, Lendmire's piece How to Refinance a Rental Into a Lower Payment Without Resetting to Day One covers that separate situation. Occupancy decides the leverage, and the rules differ from a home you live in.
If you are weighing a refinance and want the break-even run on your own numbers, Lendmire can help you compare the programs on the same home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every refinance need an appraisal?
No. FHA Streamlines and VA IRRRLs are designed to skip it, and conventional loans can skip it when the automated system offers value acceptance or ACE. Most other refinances still order one, and a lender can require one even where the program does not.
Can I get this done with a conventional loan?
Only if the lender's automated system makes the offer. You cannot request it. The lender submits the value, the system decides, and the lender chooses whether to use the offer. A recent appraisal from any lender in the prior 120 days can block it.
What if my home lost value?
On an FHA Streamline or VA IRRRL, a value drop generally cannot sink the loan, because no appraisal drives eligibility. On a conventional loan, a lower value matters more. If the system does not offer a waiver, the appraisal will show it, and the new loan has to fit the leverage limits.
Can I roll closing costs into the new loan?
Often yes, and VA says an IRRRL can be done with no money out of pocket. The costs then sit in the balance, or are absorbed through a higher rate. A rolled-in cost is still a cost, so judge the refinance by its break-even.
Does skipping the appraisal help me remove mortgage insurance?
No. Without a new appraisal there is no fresh value to test against the 80% request threshold. If insurance is a big part of your payment, a paid appraisal may lower the payment further than a waiver would.
For your own numbers, request a scenario review with Lendmire.
About Lendmire
Lendmire, NMLS# 2371349, is a mortgage brokerage with consumer lending licenses in 16 states. FHA, VA, conventional and jumbo purchase and refinance loans are arranged through wholesale lending partners, and each application is reviewed individually by the lender. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Fannie Mae – Value Acceptance
2. HUD Archive – HOC Reference Guide, Appraising Refinances
4. Fannie Mae – Selling Guide announcement SEL-2023-02
5. CFPB
This article is part of Lendmire’s Refinance series — every loan program’s qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the loan options page.
Related reading: How to Document Your Rehab so the Refinance Appraisal Credits It · Smaller Cash-Out Refinance Now vs Waiting for a Higher Appraisal · How Much Does a Cash-Out Refinance Cost?
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
- Mortgage Loan Originator · NMLS# 1129696 · Verify on NMLS Consumer Access
- North Carolina Real Estate Broker · License# 343312 · Verify on NCREC
- North Carolina Insurance Producer · License# 19053198 · Property, Casualty, Life, Health · Verify on NAIC SBS
- Lendmire LLC · Firm NMLS# 2371349 · Verify firm licensure
Disclosure information. Lendmire is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage under NMLS# 2371349. Lendmire is not a depository institution, direct lender, or financial advisor — all loans referenced are placed through wholesale lender partners and are subject to each lender's underwriting standards. This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not a commitment to lend, nor does it constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Loan programs, terms, rates, and qualification standards change without notice and depend on borrower profile, property type, and the state in which the subject property is located. Equal Housing Opportunity provider. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.