Fannie Mae Form 1004, formally the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report, is the standard document an appraiser fills out to estimate the market value of a single-family home during a mortgage transaction. Your lender orders it to confirm the property is worth enough to secure the loan, and you’ll receive a free copy before closing. Reading that copy carefully is the single most useful thing you can do with it, because errors are common and a low value can be challenged.
Which Homes the 1004 Covers
The 1004 is built for one-unit properties and units in planned unit developments, including homes with an accessory dwelling unit. It also handles two-unit properties in limited situations: when each unit is occupied by a co-borrower as a primary residence, or when the second unit’s value is small compared to the whole property, like a basement apartment or a unit above a garage. Detached dwellings inside a condominium project can go on a 1004 as long as the appraiser adequately describes the project and its HOA fees.1Fannie Mae. Appraisal Report Forms and Exhibits
If your property doesn’t fit, a different form applies:
- Condominium units use Form 1073, the Individual Condominium Unit Appraisal Report, because shared ownership and common elements need a different analysis.1Fannie Mae. Appraisal Report Forms and Exhibits
- Two-to-four-unit properties that don’t meet the 1004 exceptions use Form 1025, the Small Residential Income Property Appraisal Report.2U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Description for Common SAR Forms
- Manufactured homes use Form 1004C, which addresses factory-built construction and siting.3Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae Form 1004C – Manufactured Home Appraisal Report
Two newer variants exist as well. The Form 1004 Desktop lets the appraiser complete the report without visiting the home, working from secondary data. The Form 1004 Hybrid splits the job: a trained third party collects the on-site data and the appraiser analyzes it remotely. Whether a lender can use either option depends on how Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter system rates the loan’s risk.4Fannie Mae. Hybrid Appraisals
What’s Inside the Report
The 1004 moves through the property in a predictable order. Knowing what each section covers helps you review your copy for mistakes.
Subject and Contract
The opening section lists the property address, legal description, tax identification number, and the borrower’s name. For a purchase, the contract section captures the sale price, the contract date, and any seller concessions such as closing-cost credits. Much of this comes straight from county records and the purchase agreement, which means a typo at the source carries through.
Neighborhood
The appraiser defines the neighborhood’s boundaries and classifies the area as urban, suburban, or rural. This section records property value trends (increasing, stable, or declining), the pace of sales activity, and the predominant price range. A census tract number is included so lenders can meet fair-lending reporting requirements. If the description labels your clearly growing area as “declining,” flag it with your lender.
Site
Site details include lot size, shape, topography, and zoning. Zoning matters because it governs legal use and whether your home conforms. The appraiser also records whether the property has public water, public sewer, and electricity, and notes adverse conditions such as flood zone designations or environmental hazards.
Improvements
This is the longest section. It records the year built, foundation type (slab, crawl space, or full basement), exterior wall material, roof surface, and general layout. Room counts follow a standard format: total rooms above grade, then bedrooms, then bathrooms. Square footage is calculated from exterior measurements of the above-grade living area. Basement space is reported separately, with finished and unfinished areas broken out. Heating, cooling, and mechanical systems are described, along with any recent updates. This is where measurement and room-count errors tend to surface.
UAD Condition and Quality Ratings
Every 1004 assigns a condition rating from C1 to C6 under the Uniform Appraisal Dataset. These codes drive how underwriters see your property, so they’re worth understanding.
- C1: new construction, never occupied, no physical wear.
- C2: no deferred maintenance, outdated components updated or replaced, little to no wear.
- C3: well maintained, limited wear from normal use, some but not necessarily all components updated.
- C4: adequately maintained with some minor deferred maintenance and normal wear. Only minimal cosmetic or mechanical repairs needed. Most lived-in homes land here.
- C5: obvious deferred maintenance, significant repairs needed, some components require rehab. Still livable, but condition reduces appeal.
- C6: major damage or uninhabitable, serious structural or safety issues. If any part of the dwelling warrants a C6, the entire property gets a C6 rating.
A separate quality scale (Q1 through Q6) grades construction quality and architectural design, from custom luxury at Q1 down to basic economy at Q6. The two scales measure different things: condition is current maintenance, quality is how the home was built in the first place. Borrowers sometimes mix them up when reviewing a report.
How the Value Is Calculated
The sales comparison grid is the heart of the valuation. The appraiser selects at least three recent sales of similar nearby properties and lines them up in a grid, listing each comparable’s sale price, sale date, location, lot size, living area, room count, and features. The form also requires a three-year transaction history for your home and a twelve-month sales history for each comparable.5Fannie Mae. Sales Comparison Approach Section of the Appraisal Report
Where a comparable differs from your home, the appraiser makes a dollar adjustment. An extra full bathroom on a comparable, for example, gets subtracted from that comparable’s sale price so the comparison is fair. Adjustments run both ways: features your home has that a comparable lacks add value, and the reverse. Every adjustment should be backed by market evidence rather than guesswork. The appraiser then reconciles the adjusted prices to arrive at an indicated value for your home.
Most appraisal disputes start here. Comparables that are too far away, too old, or too dissimilar weaken the analysis. When you read your report, check whether the comparables are genuinely similar in size, age, and neighborhood. A sale from eight months ago used without a time adjustment in a rising market is a legitimate concern.
Getting Your Copy
Federal law requires your lender to give you a free copy of the completed appraisal. Under Regulation B, which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the lender must deliver the report either promptly after it’s completed or at least three business days before closing, whichever is earlier.6eCFR. 12 CFR 1002.14 – Rules on Providing Appraisals and Other Valuations You can waive the three-day timing requirement, but the waiver has to be signed at least three business days before closing. If the loan falls through, the lender still has to send you the appraisal within 30 days of deciding the transaction won’t close.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1002.14 – Rules on Providing Appraisals and Other Valuations
Appraisers are human and errors in square footage, room counts, and condition ratings happen regularly. Read the report with your own records in hand: the year built, the finished square footage, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, any renovations the appraiser should have credited. Catching a mistake early gives you time to request a correction before it affects your loan approval or interest rate. It also helps if the appraiser had clear access to every room, including the basement and attic, so the interior photos and descriptions are accurate.
Challenging a Low Appraisal
If the appraised value comes in lower than expected, you can ask your lender for a reconsideration of value. Fannie Mae limits you to one ROV per appraisal report, so prepare before you file.8Fannie Mae. Reconsideration of Value
Your lender provides the ROV form. A complete request includes:9Fannie Mae. Appraisal Quality Matters
- Basic identifiers: your name, the property address, the appraisal’s effective date, the appraiser’s name, and the date of your request.
- Specific problems: a clear description of what’s unsupported, inaccurate, or deficient. Saying the value is “too low” doesn’t help; pointing to a particular error does.
- Supporting data: up to five additional comparable properties with MLS numbers or other verifiable sources that you believe better reflect your home’s market position.
- Explanation: a written statement connecting your data to the value dispute and why the new comparables or corrections support a different conclusion.
If anything is missing, the lender has to work with you to complete the request before sending it to the appraiser. Even minor factual errors that don’t change the value, such as a wrong year built or an incorrect room count, must be corrected once identified. For material deficiencies that do affect value, the lender has to work with the appraiser to resolve them.8Fannie Mae. Reconsideration of Value
The strongest ROV requests focus on concrete, verifiable problems: a comparable sale the appraiser missed that closed last week two blocks away, a finished basement recorded as unfinished, or an adjustment that contradicts paired-sales data from the same neighborhood. One well-documented request with specific comparables and a clear explanation does more than a long complaint about the overall number.
One other channel is worth knowing about. Fannie Mae’s Appraiser Independence Requirements bar loan officers, real estate agents, and others paid at closing from pressuring the appraiser or suggesting a target value. The rules do allow any party, through an independent intermediary, to ask the appraiser to explain the basis for the valuation or to correct factual errors.10Fannie Mae. Appraiser Independence Requirements That’s the formal path your ROV follows.