UAD - Appraisers Blogs

Flags Over Facts: The Road to Obsolescence

Desiree Mehbod — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:30:03 +0000

The latest round of modernization comes wrapped in friendly language, but the flags are hard to miss if you’ve been paying attention. For years, appraisers have been warning that the mortgage industry was slowly engineering us out of the process. We were told we were paranoid. Resistant to change. Stuck in the past. Then the newest Mortgage Credit Executive Order arrived, and the appraisal section opened with a single line that confirmed everything we’ve been saying: expand AVMs, desktops, hybrids, and AI. That’s the priority. Everything else in that section is just polite filler wrapped around a strategy to shrink...

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The Town With No Bank: How Rural America Lost Its Mortgage Lifeline

Dallas T. Kiedrowski, MNAA — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 12:30:24 +0000

For decades, we’ve been told that the problem is demand. That people don’t want to live in rural America anymore. That lending dried up because the buyers disappeared. That it’s just the market working as it should. But what if we’ve been telling the wrong story? Because when you look closely, when you actually follow the data, the decisions, and the people left behind, it turns out rural America didn’t walk away from mortgage credit. Mortgage credit walked away from rural America. The Collapse of Local Lending Up until the 1980s, a family in a small farming town could walk...

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UAD 3.6: The Appraisal Industry’s Shiny New Straightjacket

AppraisersBlogs — Fri, 30 May 2025 12:30:22 +0000

UAD 3.6, the appraisal industry’s shiny new straitjacket, promises efficiency but threatens to bury appraisers under a mountain of data demands and tech troubles, risking the integrity of valuations in a quest for modernization. The appraisal industry is bracing for the rollout of the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6, a supposed game-changer slated for an optional beta in September 2025 and a mandatory debut by November 2026. Promising to drag appraisal reporting into the modern age with a sleeker, property-specific framework, UAD 3.6 has appraisers across the country muttering a mix of cautious hope and outright skepticism. But let’s be...

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The Appraisal Profession’s Perfect Storm: A Veteran’s Take on a Dying Craft

Desiree Mehbod — Fri, 02 May 2025 12:30:49 +0000

The new UAD form, the AMC fee gouging, the waivers, the false bias claims. It’s a perfect storm of assaults. I’ve been an appraiser since 1993, back when fax machines were cutting-edge and the internet was a clunky novelty. Over three decades, I’ve seen this profession weather storms, economic crashes, regulatory overhauls, you name it. But what’s happening now? It’s not a storm; it’s a tsunami. Our industry is hemorrhaging talent, drowning under false accusations, and getting squeezed by corporate greed and bureaucratic overreach. As someone who’s stubbornly refused to bend the knee to Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs), I’m here...

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New UAD Overhaul: What Appraisers Can Expect in 2025 & Beyond

Dave Towne — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 12:30:42 +0000

Folks, I recently attended a Train the Trainer 1.5 day class about the new UAD/URAR, jointly facilitated by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Aloft. About 20 other instructors from across the US were also present. This class is required before this new UAD material can be taught to other appraisers, under contract with the GSEs. My info below is a limited high-level summary for the new UAD and URAR of what was presented, and what the appraiser community can expect to see, from now into 2026. It is not meant to be comprehensive; I may send out other info as...

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The Censorship of Appraisers

Jeremy Bagott — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:30:46 +0000

Thirty-seven hours after President Biden took the oath of office, White House officials met with executives at social media companies. The officials threatened restraint-of-trade lawsuits and regulatory action if the companies failed to censor what the White House deemed “misinformation.” In a parallel development, we can now connect the dots that similar talks occurred among White House officials, employees of government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and private vendors to throttle the protected speech of individuals and firms in the mortgage industry engaged specifically for their independence. The latter serve as bulwarks in federally backed mortgage transactions. In...

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Is the GSE’s “Appraisal Modernization” Really Just Mass Appraisal?

Dallas T. Kiedrowski, MNAA — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 13:30:04 +0000

Mass Appraisal tend to exhibit a regressive nature… In the intricate landscape of real estate mortgage financing, the notion of appraisal waivers recently dubbed “Value Acceptance”, by the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), has stirred considerable debate. The most recent statistics show Value Acceptance accounts for up to 40% of all mortgage approvals. It is presented as part of the GSEs “Appraisal Modernization” initiative, which aims to streamline the mortgage appraisal process. However, a closer examination reveals potential drawbacks, raising questions about its efficacy and impact on the housing market. Despite its roots in a methodology designed to support appraisers, Value...

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UAD Redesign Timeline

Dave Towne — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 13:30:09 +0000

Appraisers, to see more about the upcoming new UAD currently in design, read the Updated Timeline link in the message below. My concern at this point is ‘training’ materials will be available in Q4 2024, but actual implementation of the ‘new reporting process’ won’t begin until Q3 2025 with limited production, into 2026. Note that in the future “form numbers” won’t be used. Instead, the assignment instructions will be based on a scope of work for the loan process on the particular Subject property. As someone who’s potentially interested in ‘training’ appraisers on the new process, it seems to me...

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Seller Filed a Racial Bias Complaint Against Me

Guest Author — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 13:30:08 +0000

So what’s caused the sudden loss of income? Could it be because of the racial bias complaint filed against me by an unhappy Seller… Fannie Mae accomplished what they set out to do in July 2011, when they initiated their Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) and the Uniform Collateral Data Portal. The goal was to collect enough property data to effectively remove appraisers from the home buying and refinancing process. It all started with Dodd-Frank Act, a several hundred pages Act signed into law by then President Obama, sold to unsuspecting Americans as a protection from the corrupt business practices of...

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The New & Improved Fannie Mae “FRAUDULATOR 2.0”

Michael Ford — Mon, 15 May 2023 12:30:53 +0000

Originally known as Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU), and subsequently Collateral Underwriter 2.0 (CU-2)i this always dubious product of Fannie Mae is increasingly being referred to by some, if not many American Appraisers as The Fraudulator / Underwriter 2.0 (FU-2). To be clear it is not limited to the Collateral Underwriter (CU & CU-2) software. The new Fraudulator (FU-2) combines the CU products with their numerous improper uses. The end result of which includes OUTRIGHT FRAUD being perpetrated against banks via the repurchase letters Fannie Mae now issues on a quota based system rather than because of legitimate appraisal defects....

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Sale Price vs Appraised Value Disconnect

Dave Towne — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 12:30:15 +0000

How can it be said that valuing a property lower than its eventual sale price based on current market evidence is tantamount to BIAS? The article titled “FHFA Data Fueling Looks into Appraisal Bias” was in the Inside Mortgage Finance Publications e-newsletter on 4/06/23. The Federal Housing Finance Agency is a is a critical provider of the data necessary for oversight, enforcement and research, FHFA Director Sandra Thompson noted during a discussion in late March. According to aggregate statistics from the Uniform Appraisal Dataset released by the FHFA, roughly 57% of appraisals were above the contract price in 2021. Just...

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New URAR Redesign Spec Released

AppraisersBlogs — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 12:30:42 +0000

The Appraisal Forms & UAD Redesign Spec has been released and the current forms are being retired. This means that appraisers will no longer be using individual forms for each property type, but instead will have to use a single dataset with output varying based on property characteristics. If you want to get an idea of what this looks like, take a look at Appendix D-1 of the spec document. The new URAR form is going to be used for all types of properties as well as hybrid & traditional appraisals. It is important to note that this redesign requires...

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Under-Valuations Unrelated to Racial Bias

AppraisersBlogs — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 13:30:52 +0000

Under-valuations that more accurately reflect the homes’ “true” value as opposed to the contract price will also alert the buyer, not just the lender, that he or she may be over-paying, which often triggers a renegotiation… when the seller and buyer settle on a new price after the appraisal, the new lower price reduces credit risk, costs to the borrower, and ultimately results in greater wealth for the buyer. The AEI Housing Center recently released an analysis revealing that reports by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and by Brookings, attributing the greater prevalence of under-valuations in home purchase appraisals...

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UAD Composite Property Data Info Released to the Public

Dave Towne — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 12:30:08 +0000

Appraisers, since 2011, the GSEs (called the ‘Enterprises’) have been collecting and analyzing appraisal data using their proprietary Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) which was overlaid on four of the standard GSE appraisal forms, SFR’s and Condo’s only. Ever since then, appraisers and other users have complained that none of that data was available. Well, now it is available, but not highly detailed down to specific properties. See below for the web site link. Some of that data is granular down to specific Census Tracts, which appraisers seldom, if ever, use in their market analysis to determine comparable sales and their...

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The Appraisal Problem

Guest Author — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 12:30:37 +0000

Gone are the days of hiring a professional appraiser to solve the appraisal problem. For decades lenders have taken on the responsibility of shaping the appraisal process and dictating the solutions to the appraisal problem. Savvy appraisers push back in a positive fashion to try and enable the lender to receive a report that not only meets USPAP, FIRREA, Fannie Mae, or HUD/FHA/VA an UAD reporting guidelines, but also provides the client with a report that is clear, concise, accurate and not misleading. An appraisal report can be on time, have all the boxes checked, no inconsistencies, meet all the...

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Proposed Design of the URAR

Dave Towne — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 12:30:03 +0000

Here’s the link to the ‘slide show’ the GSE’s have produced showing proposed design of the future, revised, URAR appraisal form. In my initial very quick observation of the proposed changes, there is FAR MORE INFO REQUESTED about the subject and comparable sales than the ‘current’ 2005 URAR form has on it. If this is what the final version will be like, the appraiser’s time to ‘complete the form report’ may increase exponentially. It may mean that the cost of the appraisal will increase. I hope people involved with this will be more sensitive to this aspect, unlike what was...

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UAD to Assist Local Assessors?

Dave Towne — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 13:30:32 +0000

Folks, 16 local Assessors across the US have requested to FHFA that the GSE’s UAD property rating data be provided to Assessors, with the belief that UAD will help them be more accurate in their local tax assessments. This info has been circulating the past few days, in the link below: Kaegi, other tax officials want access to Uniform Appraisal Database to help make property taxes fairer | Crain’s Chicago Business From the article: Kaegi (Cook County, Illinois) has suggested that the Uniform Appraisal Database maintained by the federally chartered mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac might help plug...

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Forms Redesign Extended Into 2023-24

Dave Towne — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 12:30:50 +0000

What once was a ‘three year’ project to redesign and implement revised appraisal forms has morphed into one taking far longer. Actual implementation and use of ‘new forms’ are not scheduled to happen until (presumably) early in 2024, but could be extended even further. By 2024, the currently used ‘forms’ will be 19 years old, and the current UAD overlay entering ‘teenage hood’ at 13. For context, the current Planet Mars Perseverance Rover mission to successfully plan and land scientific instruments took only 9 years! Details for the ‘forms redesign extension’ are based on the announcement from Fannie Mae (and Freddie...

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FHFA RFI on Hybrids, Waivers, AVMS, Racism

AppraisersBlogs — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 13:30:27 +0000

The FHFA is requesting input on appraisal related policies, practices and processes. We encourage everyone to submit comments. The Request for Input (RFI) is open to comment until February 26, 2021. The input received in response to the RFI will be used by FHFA to determine the necessary modifications needed to ensure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) operate in a safe and sound manner. “Modernizing the appraisal process has the potential to create a more streamlined and accurate collateral valuation process. But if modernization is not properly adopted, it could have negative unintended consequences,” said Director Mark Calabria....

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Photos in Gated Communities Can be Tricky

Dustin Harris — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 12:30:36 +0000

Let’s talk about assignments in private neighborhoods, gated communities, or secure communities. Rich folks buy, sell, and refinance their homes, too, so they need appraisals. You have an assignment in a security community. There is security at the entrances, you must be on security’s authorized visitor list to get in, and your permission to enter this private community extends solely to visit your subject. So, here is the question: while inside this gated, secure community, do you also drive around and take photos of the comps? Now, even though you are reading this, I can see you looking at me...

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