No, a seller does not have to disclose the appraisal to a buyer. An appraised value is treated as one professional’s opinion of what a home is worth on a given date, not a material fact about the property’s physical condition, so it sits outside the mandatory seller disclosure laws in virtually every state. A seller who commissioned a pre-listing appraisal, or who saw a low number kill an earlier deal, can keep that figure to themselves. What a seller cannot keep to themselves is a physical defect the appraiser noticed along the way, and there are several situations — contract contingencies, federal lending rules, and loan-program quirks — where the number ends up on the table whether the seller wants it there or not.
Who Owns the Appraisal and Who Sees It
Whoever orders and pays for an appraisal owns the report. A seller who pays for a pre-listing appraisal owns that report and chooses whether to share it. A buyer whose lender ordered an appraisal is entitled to a copy from the lender, not from the seller. Professional appraisal standards reinforce this: an appraiser can share findings only with the client who hired them, anyone the client specifically authorizes, or a party with legal authority such as a court order.
The practical consequence for sellers is useful to understand. If an earlier buyer walked away after a low appraisal, the seller has no automatic right to see that report. The buyer paid for it, and it belongs to them. The reverse is also true. A buyer cannot demand to see the seller’s pre-listing appraisal just because they suspect one exists.
Opinion of Value Versus Physical Condition
Seller disclosure laws focus on material facts about the property’s condition: structural problems, water damage, faulty electrical, environmental hazards, code issues. An appraised dollar figure is not one of those facts. A seller asking $365,000 has no duty to reveal that a prior appraisal came in at $340,000.
The line runs through the report, not around it. If the appraiser flagged a cracked foundation, evidence of past flooding, an unpermitted addition, or a failing retaining wall, those observations are facts about the property’s condition. Once the seller knows, they belong on the standard transfer disclosure form given to future buyers, regardless of who paid for the appraisal or whether the report itself ever changes hands. Sellers get in trouble when they treat the whole report as private in order to bury something inside it.
When the Purchase Contract Forces Disclosure
Contracts do what statutes don’t. Most standard purchase agreements include an appraisal contingency letting the buyer cancel or renegotiate if the property appraises below the contract price. When a buyer uses that contingency to ask for a price cut, the contract typically requires them to hand the seller a copy of the appraisal as proof of the number they’re relying on.
Sellers can, and generally should, refuse to negotiate anything off the price until they see the actual report. Many standard forms also require the buyer to deliver the appraisal before a cancellation based on low value becomes final. The logic is straightforward. A party breaking or reworking a contract because of a number has to show the number. Sellers who receive these reports pick up valuable information for re-listing, because they now know what at least one appraiser thought the home was worth and why.
The Buyer’s Federal Right to the Lender’s Appraisal
Buyers sometimes come to this question backward, expecting the seller to hand over an appraisal when the real source is their own lender. Under Regulation B, any lender making a loan secured by a first lien on a home must give the applicant a copy of every appraisal and written valuation prepared for that application. Delivery has to happen promptly after the appraisal is completed or at least three business days before closing, whichever comes first.1eCFR. 12 CFR 1002.14 – Rules on Providing Appraisals and Other Valuations
That right applies whether the loan is approved, denied, withdrawn, or never closed. If the deal falls apart, the lender still owes the applicant a copy within 30 days of determining the loan won’t go through, and the lender must notify the applicant in writing within three business days of the application that this right exists.1eCFR. 12 CFR 1002.14 – Rules on Providing Appraisals and Other Valuations So the seller has no duty to share their appraisal. The buyer’s lender has a firm duty to share the one the buyer is paying for.
Loan Program Rules That Put the Number in Front of the Seller
Government-backed loans often surface the appraised value to the seller by way of the transaction mechanics, not by a disclosure rule.
On an FHA loan, the appraisal is logged into HUD’s central system under a case number tied to the borrower and property.2HUD. Appraisal Logging – Business Background – Help – FHA Connection The report is valid for 180 days from its effective date and can be extended up to one year with an update report.3HUD. Mortgagee Letter 2022-11 A common assumption is that a new FHA buyer can pick up a prior FHA appraisal on the same property. That is not how the current rules work. Each new FHA case number assignment requires a new appraisal, even inside the 180-day window. Portability applies only when the same borrower switches lenders, in which case the first lender must transfer the existing appraisal to the new lender within five business days at the borrower’s request.4HUD. FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook For sellers, that means a low FHA appraisal from a dead deal does not automatically follow the property to the next FHA buyer.
On a VA loan, the lender must issue a Notice of Value to the veteran and provide a copy of the full appraisal report, with no more than five business days between receipt of the appraiser’s report and the notice.5eCFR. 38 CFR Part 36 – Loan Guaranty The Notice of Value is generally good for six months. Sellers aren’t handed the notice, but they effectively learn the figure because it caps what the VA will guarantee. If the value comes in below contract, the veteran usually has to renegotiate, cover the gap in cash, or walk. That conversation reveals the number either way. VA transactions also include the Tidewater process, which alerts a designated point of contact when a value looks likely to come in low and allows two working days to submit additional comparable sales before the report is finalized.
On a USDA Rural Development loan, the appraisal is valid for 150 days from its effective date, with a one-time extension to 240 days available through an update report.6Rural Development – USDA. Appraisals – Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program Notes If the borrower changes lenders during the process, the appraisal transfers to the new lender and the expiration date does not reset.
The Line Between Keeping a Number Private and Concealing a Defect
Sellers occasionally treat the whole appraisal report as a single confidential document and reason that if the number is private, everything in the report is private. That reasoning creates real legal exposure. If an appraiser noted water intrusion, foundation cracks, or code violations, and the seller learned about those items, they belong on the disclosure form. The dollar figure is an opinion the seller can keep. The physical findings are facts the seller cannot.
Buyers who discover undisclosed defects after closing can bring misrepresentation claims ranging from negligence to fraud, depending on how deliberately the problem was hidden, and damages can climb well into six figures. A workable rule for sellers is to treat physical findings from an appraisal the same way they would treat findings from a home inspection. Anything about condition gets disclosed. Anything about price is the seller’s business.