Form 1004, the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report, is the standardized document a licensed appraiser completes to estimate the market value of a single-family home for mortgage lending. Fannie Mae calls it Form 1004; Freddie Mac calls the identical document Form 70.1Fannie Mae. URAR Hybrid and Desktop Appraisal Forms Quick Reference As the borrower, you don’t fill it out — the appraiser your lender hires does — but the report drives whether your loan closes, at what value, and on what conditions. Knowing what goes into it helps you prepare for the visit, read the finished report, and push back when something looks wrong.
What the Appraiser Records
The appraiser performs a complete visual inspection of both the interior and exterior of the home.1Fannie Mae. URAR Hybrid and Desktop Appraisal Forms Quick Reference They note foundation type, exterior wall and roof materials, windows, room and bathroom counts, heating and cooling systems, and amenities like fireplaces or patios. On the lot side, they record dimensions, zoning, utility access, and any easements or encroachments, and they check FEMA flood maps to see whether the property sits inside a special flood hazard area, which would require flood insurance.2FEMA. Flood Maps
Zoning gets a specific call-out. The report states whether the home is a legal conforming use, a legal nonconforming (grandfathered) use, or an illegal use, and Fannie Mae will only buy the loan if the current improvements represent the highest and best use of the site.3Fannie Mae. Site Section of the Appraisal Report
One measurement matters more than most: Gross Living Area, the finished, heated square footage above grade. Fannie Mae requires appraisers to follow the ANSI Z765-2021 standard. Below-grade space doesn’t count toward GLA, ceilings must be at least seven feet for finished space to count (with at least half the room meeting that height where ceilings slope), and the floor plan sketch must be computer-generated.4Fannie Mae. Standardizing Property Measuring Guidelines If your finished basement isn’t showing up in the square footage, that’s why.
Quality and Condition Ratings
Every Form 1004 assigns two alphanumeric codes drawn from the Uniform Appraisal Dataset: a quality rating (Q1–Q6) for materials and craftsmanship, and a condition rating (C1–C6) for maintenance and wear.5Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Uniform Appraisal Dataset Specification Lenders feed these codes into automated underwriting, so they carry weight beyond the descriptions themselves.
On quality, Q1 is custom architecture with premium materials, Q2 is custom-built with high-quality materials and detailed finish work, and Q3 is solid construction blending upgraded and standard finishes. Q4, the most common rating, covers standard builder-grade construction that meets normal community expectations. Q5 is basic construction with economy-grade finishes, and Q6 covers homes often built without professional plans, sometimes with rudimentary electrical, plumbing, or mechanical systems.
On condition, C1 is new construction that has never been occupied, and C2 is a home with no deferred maintenance where components are new or recently renovated. C3 covers well-maintained homes with limited wear. C4, where most resale homes land, has minor deferred maintenance and needs only minimal cosmetic or mechanical repairs. C5 means obvious deferred maintenance requiring significant repairs, and C6 means damage or deferred maintenance severe enough to affect safety, soundness, or structural integrity.6Fannie Mae. Property Condition and Quality of Construction of the Improvements A C5 or C6 almost always triggers required repairs before the loan can close.
How Comparable Sales Set the Value
The sales comparison grid is where the value opinion actually gets built. The appraiser selects at least three recently sold properties similar to yours in location, size, age, and features, then lists the sale price, transaction date, distance from your home, square footage, lot size, bedroom count, and view for each one.
Where the comparable differs from your home, the appraiser adjusts its price up or down. A comparable with a two-car garage against your one-car garage gets a downward adjustment to reflect what it would have sold for without the extra bay. Every adjustment has to be backed by market evidence — paired sales, cost data, or other verifiable support — and the appraiser reconciles the adjusted prices into a single value opinion, explaining which comparables carried more weight and why. The report includes clear color photographs of the front, back, and a street scene of your home, plus a front photo of each comparable.7Fannie Mae. Appraisal Report Forms and Exhibits
What You Pay and What You Receive
You pay for the appraisal as part of your loan costs, and the fee appears on the Loan Estimate the lender gives you early in the process. Fees for a standard single-family home generally run $300 to $450, with larger, rural, or complex properties costing more.
You have a legal right to a copy of the report. Under Regulation B of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the lender must give you a copy of every appraisal and written valuation developed in connection with your application, promptly on completion or at least three business days before closing, whichever comes first — and this applies whether or not the loan closes.8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1002.14 – Rules on Providing Appraisals and Other Valuations Within three business days of receiving your application, the lender must notify you of that right.9Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Factsheet – Delivery of Appraisals
Challenging a Low Value
If the value comes in lower than expected, you can submit a reconsideration of value through your lender. The request must include your name, the property address, the appraisal’s effective date, the appraiser’s name, and a clear description of what you believe is unsupported, inaccurate, or deficient. The core of a successful challenge is evidence: up to five additional comparable sales, with their data sources such as MLS listing numbers, and an explanation of why those sales support a higher value.10Fannie Mae. Appraiser Update June 2024 Vague disagreement won’t move the number. A designated underwriter or appraisal expert at the lender reviews your evidence before anything goes back to the appraiser.
You get one borrower-initiated reconsideration per appraisal, and it must be submitted before the loan closes.10Fannie Mae. Appraiser Update June 2024 If the lender validates the request, the appraiser must deliver a revised report with commentary on the outcome regardless of whether the value ultimately changes.
Reporting Appraisal Bias
If you believe the value was influenced by your race, ethnicity, or another protected characteristic rather than market data, you have several places to file. The Appraisal Subcommittee runs a national hotline at refermyappraisalcomplaint.asc.gov.11Appraisal Subcommittee. Appraisal Complaint National Hotline HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity handles fair housing complaints, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accepts complaints about lenders that rely on discriminatory appraisals. Complaints should also go to your state’s appraiser regulatory agency, which licenses the individual appraiser.
When No Appraisal Is Required
Not every mortgage triggers a Form 1004. Fannie Mae’s automated underwriting system may offer “value acceptance” — an appraisal waiver — for certain lower-risk loans. Eligible transactions include one-unit principal residences, second homes, and some investment property refinances that receive an Approve/Eligible recommendation from Desktop Underwriter.12Fannie Mae. Value Acceptance
Value acceptance is not available for properties with a purchase price or estimated value of $1,000,000 or more, two- to four-unit properties, co-ops, manufactured homes, new construction, or manually underwritten loans.12Fannie Mae. Value Acceptance In selected rural high-needs areas, Fannie Mae offers expanded value acceptance on purchase transactions for borrowers with income at or below 100 percent of the area median income, though the lender must obtain a home inspection.
The 2026 UAD Transition
The legacy Form 1004 is being replaced. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have developed a redesigned Uniform Residential Appraisal Report built on the UAD 3.6 dataset, a data-driven, dynamic format aligned with MISMO v3.6 standards that accommodates all residential property types in a single report structure.13Fannie Mae. Uniform Appraisal Dataset
The mandatory transition date is November 2, 2026. After that date, every appraisal on a loan sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac must use UAD 3.6.13Fannie Mae. Uniform Appraisal Dataset Lenders have been able to submit UAD 3.6 reports voluntarily through the Uniform Collateral Data Portal since January 26, 2026. The redesign brings updated inspection and reporting requirements, new guidance on adjustments in the sales comparison approach, and expanded financing options for accessory dwelling units and manufactured housing as of March 2026. If your appraisal is ordered close to the transition, ask your lender which version you’re getting.