The Quick Read: Sometimes, but only if the loan you hold now and the lender’s automated system allow it. A condo owner has no right to skip the appraisal. An existing FHA loan can use the FHA Streamline, an existing VA loan can use the VA streamline refinance, and a conventional loan may get an automated waiver that the lender chooses whether to use. Skipping the appraisal does not skip the review of the condo project.
Which Loan Do You Hold Now?
The current loan decides the route. Most of the “no appraisal” outcomes on condo files come down to three paths, and they are not interchangeable.
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.
| Current loan | No-appraisal route | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| FHA | FHA Streamline | Program rules |
| VA | VA streamline refinance | Program rules |
| Conventional | Automated value waiver | Automated system, then lender |
If you hold a loan that is none of these, plan on an appraisal. A conventional, FHA or USDA loan cannot be refinanced into a VA loan through a VA streamline refinance. The VA's own handbook defines a VA streamline refinance as a VA-guaranteed loan refinancing an existing VA-guaranteed loan.
Lendmire arranges these loans through wholesale lenders, and the first thing a loan officer asks on a condo refinance is what the existing loan is. That one answer sorts the file.
How Does the FHA Streamline Work for a Condo Owner?
The FHA Streamline is for people who already have an FHA loan, and it needs no new appraisal. HUD describes it as a refinance of an existing FHA-insured mortgage with limited credit documentation and underwriting. HUD is also plain that "streamline" refers only to the paperwork and underwriting. It does not mean the transaction has no costs.
Three mechanics matter:
- The loan has to produce a net tangible benefit, which means a rate or term reduction. A summary from the FDIC says the Streamline relies on the property value from the previous FHA loan.
- HUD does not allow closing costs to be added into the new mortgage amount on a streamline.
- The program is built to lower the payment, not to pull out cash.
Across the wholesale programs placed through Lendmire, the FHA rate-and-term refinance with an appraisal sits at 97.75% LTV. The Streamline is the no-appraisal alternative for the same borrower, with a limited credit review. Final terms depend on lender guidelines, property type, leverage, and the borrower's complete credit picture.
Condo project approval is one point to confirm before you move forward. Don't assume it is waived on a Streamline. Ask the loan officer to verify it against HUD Handbook 4000.1 for your specific building.
How Does the VA Streamline Refinance Work?
A VA streamline refinance needs no appraisal and no full credit underwriting package. VA states that directly. It is for borrowers who already have a VA loan.
The program parameters Lendmire works with: a 0.5% funding fee unless the borrower is exempt, no VA appraisal, a net tangible benefit requirement, and seasoning of the later of 210 days and 6 payments.
The catch is that the program rule is not the lender's rule. The VA's refinancing pamphlet says appraisal and credit information are generally not required, and it also says a lender's customary and reasonable credit-report or appraisal expense may be charged to the borrower when the lender chooses to get one. A lender can still order an appraisal for its own reasons. Agency rules set the floor, not the ceiling.
VA also says a VA streamline refinance can be done with no money out of pocket, either by rolling costs into the new loan or through pricing that covers them. Rolling costs in raises the balance. That is a cost, not an absence of one.
Can a Conventional Condo Loan Skip the Appraisal?
Possibly, a conventional condo loan can skip the appraisal through a waiver. There is no program right to a waiver, though. The lender then decides whether to use it.
Fannie Mae path. The lender submits the loan to Desktop Underwriter. Fannie Mae's value acceptance rules require an Approve/Eligible finding, and the system generally needs to find a prior appraisal on the same address in its data. If the file isn't eligible, an appraisal is required. If an offer is issued and the lender uses it, Fannie Mae accepts the value the lender submits, which for a refinance is based on the lender's or borrower's estimate.
The offer is not always taken. Fannie Mae's condo FAQ notes that a lender may decline to exercise value acceptance when it believes an appraisal is warranted, with critical repairs and large special assessments given as examples.
Fannie Mae also has a "value acceptance plus property data" option, which was extended to attached and detached condos. A trained data collector, not an appraiser, gathers the property information. The lender still has to confirm the project is not ineligible.
Notice what "no appraisal" can mean. It may be a pure automated value, a reused prior appraisal, or a visit from a data collector. Ask which one you were offered.
Why Do Condos Behave Differently?
Because the unit is only half the file. The other half is the building, and an appraisal waiver does not remove the project review.
A lender still has to confirm the project is eligible. A project with critical repairs, large special assessments or an "Unavailable" status in Fannie Mae's condo project system can derail a no-appraisal refinance. Fannie Mae's critical-repair review applies to projects with eleven or more attached units, and to five-to-ten-unit projects that sit inside a larger development or master association.
There is one narrow exception. Fannie Mae waives project review for units in condo projects on Fannie Mae-owned loans refinanced as limited cash-out, with a maximum LTV of 80% for that waiver. It does not apply to co-ops. Even with the waiver, the project can't be "Unavailable," can't be a condo hotel, houseboat or timeshare project, and can't have unaddressed critical repairs or evacuation orders. These specifics are subject to lender guidelines and a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
The common failure mode on condo files is simple. The borrower hears "no appraisal" and assumes "no review." Then the HOA questionnaire comes back incomplete, or the building has a pending special assessment, and the file stalls on the project, not the value.
What Property and Loan Types Are Excluded?
Several situations rule out an automated value waiver regardless of how clean the condo looks.
- Fannie Mae value acceptance excludes two- to four-unit properties, co-op units, manufactured homes, leasehold properties and Texas 50(a)(6) loans.
- A flagged prior appraisal. If the earlier appraisal carried an overvaluation flag or couldn't be scored, value acceptance won't be offered.
- Cash-out requests. The streamline and waiver routes are built for payment reduction. Cash-out pulls in tighter rules. On a VA loan, taking cash out means a full appraisal.
Occupancy matters too. For a primary residence, the conventional rate-and-term refinance runs to 95% LTV on a one-unit home. A second home or investment property carries lower leverage under the agency rules, so occupancy decides the leverage. Terms depend on the lender's guidelines, the property type, the leverage, and a full review of the credit profile.
Will Skipping the Appraisal Actually Lower Your Payment?
Not by itself. Skipping the appraisal saves the fee and removes the wait for an inspection. Fannie Mae frames appraisal alternatives as a way to streamline the process for lenders and save borrowers money, with timing that varies by file and lender. It does not lower the payment.
The payment drops only if the new loan carries a rate or term benefit. The FHA Streamline requires a net tangible benefit. The IRRRL has its own benefit test under VA's rules. Run three checks:
1. Compare the full cost, not the appraisal fee. Financed costs raise the balance. A lower payment on a bigger balance may take longer to pay back.
2. Count the HOA dues. Condo dues sit on top of the loan payment and don't change when you refinance. A lower mortgage payment shrinks as a share of the real monthly housing cost.
3. Check mortgage insurance. Above 80% LTV, conventional mortgage insurance applies. You can request cancellation at 80% of the original value with good payment history, no subordinate liens and no decline in value, and the servicer must end it automatically at 78%. The exact numbers vary by lender and program and follow a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Here is a scenario with no dollar figures. Say a condo owner holds a conventional loan at about 90% of the home's value. A waiver saves the appraisal fee, but with no new valuation, the system works from older data. If the unit has gained value, the owner may miss the chance to show lower leverage and drop mortgage insurance sooner. That is a real tradeoff, and it argues for asking about an appraisal even when a waiver is on the table.
When Should You Order the Appraisal Anyway?
When the new value could do something for you. Three cases come up often:
- You think the unit has risen in value and you want to be below the mortgage insurance threshold.
- The automated value looks too low, or the building has thin comparable sales.
- The lender thinks an appraisal is warranted because of building conditions.
Condo comparables can be sparse, which can make an appraisal harder, not easier. If you do go that route and the number comes in light, an appraisal reconsideration request with recent in-building sales is a normal step.
What Happens If No Waiver Is Offered?
The deal works to a standard appraisal. You can ask for a waiver, but you can't require one. The lender's system decides, and some lenders won't use an offer even when the system issues one.
Plan for the fallback early. Tell the loan officer upfront that you'll accept an appraisal if needed, and gather the condo paperwork now: HOA contact information, the budget, and any notice of special assessments. If the system withdraws an offer midway, the file doesn't restart from nothing, but it does need a valuation.
You also have rights if a valuation is developed. Under the federal valuations rule, the lender must tell you that you can receive a copy of appraisals and other written valuations, and must give you free copies of valuations developed for a first-lien dwelling loan. That includes automated valuation reports. The rule doesn't require a lender to obtain an appraisal. It covers valuations the lender does develop.
Key Terms Defined
Value acceptance: Fannie Mae's offer to accept the lender's submitted value in place of a new appraisal.
FHA Streamline: A refinance of an existing FHA loan with limited credit review and no new appraisal.
IRRRL: The VA's interest rate reduction refinance loan, available only on an existing VA loan.
Net tangible benefit: A required improvement to the borrower, such as a lower rate or a changed term.
Project review: The lender's check that the condo building itself is eligible.
What Should You Do This Week?
1. Pull your current loan type. Check the closing documents for FHA, VA or conventional. This sorts the file.
2. Gather condo documents. HOA contact, current budget, and any special assessment notices.
3. Ask the lender five questions. Which no-appraisal route applies to my loan? Will you use a waiver if offered? What does the building review need? What costs are financed? What is the break-even on the new payment?
4. Compare programs on the same home. Lendmire's refinance programs cover conventional, FHA, VA and jumbo options, subject to lender guidelines and full file review.
5. Decide whether to accept an appraisal. If equity or mortgage insurance is part of the goal, an appraisal may be worth the fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I ask my lender to waive the appraisal on my condo?
You can ask, but you can't require it. On a conventional loan, the automated system decides whether to offer a waiver, and the lender decides whether to use it. FHA and VA streamlines work differently because the program itself removes the appraisal requirement for eligible existing loans.
Does skipping the appraisal also skip the condo project review?
No, with one narrow exception. Fannie Mae waives project review for certain Fannie-to-Fannie limited cash-out condo refinances, up to an 80% maximum LTV, and conditions still apply. Otherwise the building still has to be eligible.
Can I take cash out and skip the appraisal?
Generally not. The streamline and waiver routes are designed for payment reduction. Cash-out brings tighter rules, and on a VA loan it means a full appraisal. A conventional cash-out on a one-unit primary residence runs to 80% LTV under the program parameters, subject to lender guidelines.
If the agency allows no appraisal, can my lender still order one?
Yes. Agency rules set what is allowed, not what a lender must do. The VA's pamphlet confirms that lenders may charge for an appraisal they order for their own requirements.
Is a "streamline" refinance free of closing costs?
No. HUD says the term refers to documentation and underwriting only. Costs still exist, and fees financed into the loan raise the balance. On an FHA Streamline, closing costs can't be added to the new mortgage amount.
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. Condo files reward early document gathering, because the building, not the unit, is usually where a no-appraisal refinance gets stuck.
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
2. FDIC FHA Streamline summary
5. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.4-10, Value Acceptance
7. Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-02, Waiver of Project Review
8. Fannie Mae Value Acceptance page
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: Should an ARM Holder Refinance Into a Fixed Before the Adjustment? · Can You Cash-Out Refinance a Condo? · How to Handle a Low Cash-Out Refinance Appraisal After an All-Cash Buy
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Compliance and disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a licensed mortgage broker and is not a direct lender, depository institution, financial advisor, or tax professional. Content in this article is general market analysis and educational information — not financial, legal, or tax advice for any specific situation. Lendmire does not guarantee loan approval; every transaction is subject to underwriting by the funding lender. Mortgage pricing and loan program guidelines are subject to change at any time without notice and vary by borrower characteristics, property type, and state regulations. Lendmire complies with Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensure verification: NMLS Consumer Access.