Home Appraisals change Today

Big appraisal changes are affective today called the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD). This new rule requires appraisals to be done in specific ways if the loan is to be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The goal is to standardize reports to be more consistent. It requires new software, new coding, and new data to be collected, so the changes may initially slow delivery times as appraisers get familiar with the new requirements.

Key Changes to Appraisals Include:

Standardized descriptions of property:
Today, one appraiser might input "brick" for a home's condition and another may write "average." The UAD requires standard descriptions for a property's condition, quality, view, and location. Condition and quality will be scored on a scale of 1 to 6 (C1-C6 and Q1-Q6) with 1 being the best. Property location will use standard codes of A, N, or B -  adverse, neutral or beneficial. A further list of codes provides more information, such as Mtn = Mountain view or BsyRd = Busy Road.

New information:

Additional data that must be included by the appraiser includes number of days on the market for subject property and comparables. Also bathroom and kitchen improvements, including type of work and when it was done.

Numeric data inputs:

Dates, dollar amounts, number of rooms, lot size must be entered in specific ways. For example, appraisers that describe a bath and a half as 1 1/2 must now input it as 1.1... 1 full and 1 half. Two and a half baths will now be 2.2... two full and two half baths. Lot sizes below one acre must be converted to square feet.

What am I doing to help?

A key thing is to include necessary information in my listings to save appraisers time hunting it down themselves. I continue to do everything with in the law to help the homes that I sell appraise. [where: 75230]