For an eligible Fannie Mae loan, a credentialed appraiser analyzes reliable alternative property information and issues a value opinion without a current personal inspection. How does this differ from value acceptance?
Correct Answer
D) The desktop process still produces an appraisal; value acceptance can proceed without an appraisal.
The stated process includes an appraiser’s development and reporting of a value opinion and is therefore an appraisal. Fannie Mae value acceptance is a different eligible-loan option under which an appraisal is not required. Neither the absence of a personal inspection nor reliance on alternative information makes an appraisal into a waiver.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option D is correct because the desktop process includes an appraiser developing and reporting a value opinion, which makes it an appraisal. For certain loan casefiles, Fannie Mae's DU offers value acceptance, in which case an appraisal is not required. The lack of a personal inspection does not turn an appraisal into a waiver.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: Both are waiver decisions requiring no appraiser’s value opinion.
Option A says both are waiver decisions requiring no appraiser's value opinion. The desktop process does involve an appraiser's value opinion and is an appraisal; only value acceptance proceeds without one.
Option B: A desktop appraisal is a property data collection report with no valuation analysis by an appraiser.
Option B describes a desktop appraisal as a property data collection report with no valuation analysis by an appraiser. A desktop appraisal is reported on a desktop appraisal form and includes the appraiser's analysis and value opinion.
Option C: Value acceptance is another name for the appraiser’s desktop report.
Option C says value acceptance is another name for the appraiser's desktop report. They are different options: one is an appraisal, while value acceptance is an option in which an appraisal is not required.
Opinion present means appraisal
Ask whether an appraiser formed a value opinion. If yes, it is an appraisal, desktop or not; if no appraisal is required, it is value acceptance.
How to use: Use this test to separate desktop, hybrid and waiver options on exam questions.
Exam Tip
Inspection method does not define an appraisal; the appraiser's development of a value opinion does. Keep waiver options separate from desktop and hybrid appraisals.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Treating a desktop appraisal as an appraisal waiver
- -Assuming no personal inspection means no appraisal
- -Confusing a property data collection report with the appraisal itself
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
This question tests the difference between a desktop appraisal and a value acceptance (appraisal waiver) option. In the stated process, an appraiser develops and reports a value opinion, so it is an appraisal even without a current personal inspection. Value acceptance is a separate option under which an appraisal is not required.
Background Knowledge
Under USPAP, an appraisal is the act or process of developing an opinion of value, regardless of whether the appraiser inspects the property in person. Fannie Mae permits desktop appraisals for certain transactions, where the appraiser relies on alternative data sources. Value acceptance is an eligibility-based option that allows certain loans to proceed without an appraisal.
Real-World Application
A lender receives a DU finding offering value acceptance on one refinance, so no appraisal is ordered. On another eligible loan without that offer, the lender orders a desktop appraisal, and the appraiser uses public records, MLS data and floor plans to develop a value opinion. The second file contains an appraisal; the first does not.
More Emerging Methods Questions
A loan is eligible for Fannie Mae's value acceptance + property data option, and the lender elects that option. What does the lender obtain in place of an appraisal?
An appraiser uses a building-permit file to investigate an addition. What is an important limitation of that source?
A real estate salesperson, acting solely in a brokerage role, prepares a CMA to help a listing client choose an asking price. Which statement is best?
An appropriately credentialed appraiser is offered a desktop assignment on an unfamiliar property type. A necessary competency gap is known before agreement. If the appraiser elects to proceed, what is required?
How should an appraiser identify potentially distressed transactions in a data set?
Why should an appraiser identify the data sources used in the report?
How should an appraiser treat a value estimate found on a consumer real estate website?
An appraiser builds a spreadsheet regression to support adjustments. How is it treated?
May an appraiser use data from a prior assignment for a different client?
The intended lender’s applicable assignment conditions require an interior inspection. The client asks the appraiser to deliver a desktop appraisal instead, and the inspection condition has not been authorized for modification. What should the appraiser do?