When you are talking about FHA and Conventional, you would be speaking to different types of home mortgage loans. When you buy a home, no matter how it is financed, the bank will require an appraisal. The lender needs to make sure that you are not financing more than the appraised value of the home. Traditionally the FHA loan, which is backed by the Federal Housing Authority, tends to have a more stringent appraisal than the Conventional private institution company, which is not to say that a conventional lender will allow specific safety issues to be overlooked.
With traditional loan appraisals, repair items and outdated improvements to the subject property can affect the value of the home appraisals. The FHA appraisal is much more stringent because it includes inspection of railings, outlets, electrical appliances, and it checks for mold and peeling paint. Also, an FHA home appraisal can be transformed from one lender to another in the event of the borrower deciding to change lenders during the mortgage process. An FHA can be transformed into a conventional home appraisal. However, a traditional assessment of a home cannot be transformed into an FHA appraisal.