Your Appraisal Report Looks Different Now

If you’re buying or refinancing a home this fall, the appraisal your lender sends you may not look like the one you got last time. Starting November 2, 2026, most appraisals for loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac move to a new appraisal report. The work behind it is the same. The paperwork just reads differently.

Why the New Appraisal Report Is Showing Up Now

For years, mortgage appraisals came on a set of fixed forms. A house had one form, a condo had another, and a small rental building had a third. Anything extra went into a free-form addendum at the back.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are replacing that system. According to Freddie Mac’s UAD 3.6 FAQ, the two companies are retiring more than a dozen older forms. One redesigned Uniform Residential Appraisal Report, or URAR, takes their place. You may also see the name of its data standard, UAD 3.6, in lender emails.

The new report becomes the rule for new appraisals submitted on or after November 2. Still, lenders could start using it in January, so you may have seen one already.

What Looks Different on the Page

The biggest change is that the report now follows your home instead of a form number. Freddie Mac says the property’s own data drives the report. So a condo, a bungalow with a coach house, and a two-flat all use the same report, and it adjusts to what the property actually has.

It may also feel more familiar. Freddie Mac says the redesigned report has a similar look and feel to the loan application and the Closing Disclosure you already sign. The old General Addendum also disappears. Instead, the appraiser’s comments sit inside each section, right next to the details they explain.

Condition and quality ratings got clearer definitions. The report can now rate the inside and outside of a home separately, which helps when one is in much better shape than the other. Accessory units, like a coach house, also show up in a more consistent way.

Finally, if your loan officer ever called it “a 1004,” that label is on its way out. The form numbers retire along with the forms.

See What the New Appraisal Report Looks Like

Reading about a report only goes so far, so here’s how to see one. Fannie Mae publishes sample reports on its UAD webpage. Scroll to the UAD Documentation section and choose Appendix D-1, URAR Sample Scenarios and XML Files. It downloads as a zip file, and each sample inside comes as a PDF.

If you only open one, start with the sample labeled SF5. Fannie Mae calls it the best example of a typical, straightforward appraisal in the new format. Two others, SF3 and SF4, show a home with an accessory unit, one in a separate building and one in the basement.

Still, don’t expect yours to match the samples exactly. The report only shows what applies to your home and the work the appraiser did, so no two will look the same.

What Stays the Same

This redesign changes the report’s layout and the way it’s delivered. Freddie Mac says the purpose of the report has not changed. It is still an appraiser’s opinion of value for a mortgage decision. The condition and quality rating scale is also the same, even though Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rewrote its definitions.

The new format also covers every kind of assignment. It handles a full inspection, a hybrid, a desktop, or an exterior-only appraisal. Our guide to the types of home appraisals explains how those differ.

You also keep the right to see it. The CFPB explains that for a first-lien mortgage, your lender must give you a free copy. It has to arrive promptly after the appraiser finishes and no later than three days before closing. If this is your first appraisal, our home appraisal process guide walks through each step.

Why Some Loans Will Still Get the Old Version

Not every report switches on the same day. The rule depends on when the report is first submitted to the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac portal, not on when you applied for the loan.

Some lenders also asked for more time. Under the published transition timeline, a lender with an approved exception can keep sending the old format until May 19, 2027.

Government-backed loans run on their own schedule. FHA began accepting the new format on October 1, 2026. But lenders can still send FHA appraisals in the old one, and FHA has not set a mandatory date. VA and USDA set their own timelines as well.

So if you refinance in December and the report looks like the old version, that’s not a mistake. It may just be your lender’s timing or your loan type.

For Lenders, the Submission Date Is What Counts

If you’re a lender or loan officer, the real risk sits in your pipeline. The mandate follows the first UCDP submission date, so an old-format report ordered in October but submitted after November 2 needs an exception.

Three habits help. First, state UAD 2.6 or 3.6 in the engagement letter, which is where Freddie Mac says the appraiser should find it. Second, match formats on follow-up work. UCDP won’t accept mixed standards under one Doc File ID, so an update or completion report has to match the original. For FHA cases, keep one format for every submission on a case number.

Third, mark March 1, 2027 on the calendar. If you’re working under an exception, UAD 2.6 reports lose collateral rep and warranty relief for value from that date.

Reading Your Report When It Arrives

Give the new layout a few minutes before you judge it. Find the opinion of value first. Then check the basics, like the address, square footage, and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. If something looks wrong, raise it with your lender, since the appraiser prepared the report for the loan. A clear question about a specific fact is easier to resolve than a general worry about the number.

A Chicago Team Already Working in the New Format

PahRoo Appraisal & Consultancy appraises homes and condos for homeowners, lenders, and attorneys across Chicago and Cook County, and our residential team already produces reports in the new format. Michael Hobbs, MAI, SRA, signs our Illinois reports. See our Chicago appraisal services to learn how we work.