Challenge a low appraisal with a reconsideration of value

  1. Obtain your appraisal report from the lender
    15 min

    Your work begins with the full appraisal report in hand — the lender's copy of the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR), not a summary. The trap: loan officers sometimes share only the one-page appraisal disclosure or a value summary, and you cannot audit comparables you cannot see. Federal rules are on your side: under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B), the lender must give you a free copy of the appraisal and every other written valuation it received — promptly on completion, and in every case no later than three business days before closing.

    1. Email or call your loan officer or mortgage broker and ask for the full appraisal report, including the sales comparison grid and the adjustment pages, as a PDF.
    2. Check the lender's borrower portal first — most post the report under “Loan Documents” or “Disclosures.”
    3. If the file you receive is a one-page summary, reply that you need the complete report with the comparable grid — your right to the full document comes from Regulation B.
    4. Open the PDF and confirm it contains the subject summary with the appraised value, the neighborhood and site sections, the sales comparison grid (Fannie Mae Form 1004 / Freddie Mac Form 70), the adjustment pages, photos, and the appraiser's license page.
    5. Save the file as appraisal_report_.pdf and note the report date.