By Daniel Ambrose, MAI, Executive Vice President, Tax Services — The Ambrose Group
Most homeowners see their appraisal once. The lender orders it, a report shows up, and somewhere in those pages is the number that decides whether the deal moves forward. If you’ve ever flipped through one and had no idea what you were looking at, that’s understandable. We hear it all the time.
That report just changed. The Uniform Residential Appraisal Report, known in the industry as the URAR or Form 1004, has been used on most conventional home loans for years. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac redesigned it from the ground up, and the new version is now required for new appraisals delivered to them.
You don’t need to learn the new form. But it helps to know what changed, what didn’t, and what it means if you’re buying, selling, or refinancing.
Key takeaways
- The new Uniform Residential Appraisal Report replaces 14 older appraisal forms with one report that adapts to the property type.
- It is now required for all new appraisals submitted to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, under a data standard called UAD 3.6.
- Condition and quality ratings use the same scale, but the definitions were rewritten and now cover the interior and exterior separately.
- Kitchens, bathrooms, and flooring are reported in more detail, and so are accessory dwelling units and rental information.
- The fundamentals didn’t change: an independent appraiser, a site inspection, the ANSI measurement standard, and USPAP.
What the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report is
The Uniform Residential Appraisal Report is the standard report lenders use when a home loan will be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. It records what the appraiser found about the property, the neighborhood, and the market. Then it shows how the appraiser reached an opinion of value, usually through comparable sales.
For years, it was a fixed form. A single-family home got Form 1004. A condominium got Form 1073. A two- to four-unit property got Form 1025. Exterior-only inspections, manufactured homes, and co-ops each had their own form. The appraiser picked the form, then filled in the boxes.
If you want the bigger picture of what an appraisal is and who needs one, our real estate appraisal guide covers it. Here, I’m focused on the report itself.
Why the report was redesigned
The old forms were built for paper. Over time, the industry added fixed abbreviations and data rules so software could read them. The forms themselves stayed rigid. A rental duplex and a new-construction home often had to fit into boxes they weren’t built for.
The new version works the other way around. Under the new Uniform Appraisal Dataset, UAD 3.6, property data drives the report, not a form number. The report is built on the MISMO 3.6 data standard used across the mortgage industry. That lets the same information move from the appraiser to the lender to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac without being retyped or reshaped.
What changed: one report instead of 14 forms
The largest change is the format itself. According to Freddie Mac, the new Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR) retires 14 older reports, including:
- Form 1004, the standard single-family report, along with its desktop and hybrid versions
- Form 1073, the condominium report, and its desktop, hybrid, and exterior-only versions
- Form 2055, the exterior-only single-family report
- Form 1025, the small residential income property report for two to four units
- Form 1004C for manufactured homes, and the co-op forms
- Form 1007, the rent schedule, which now lives inside the report
- Form 1004D, the update and completion report, which is now split into two separate reports
One reporting structure now covers traditional, hybrid, desktop, and exterior-only assignments. Sections show up when the property calls for them. A condo report includes project information. A rental includes rental information. A home without a basement doesn’t carry an empty basement section.
The General Addendum is also gone. In the old report, most of the appraiser’s comments ended up on those back pages. Now the commentary sits inside each section, right next to the number it explains.
How condition and quality ratings changed
Appraisers have rated homes for years on a condition scale (C1 to C6) and a quality scale (Q1 to Q6). Those scales are still in place. Freddie Mac notes that the definitions were rewritten.
The new report also asks for separate interior and exterior ratings. This helps when the two differ, for example, a house with an older exterior and a remodeled kitchen and baths. Manufactured homes now receive condition and quality ratings as well, which wasn’t the case under the old dataset.
Kitchens, bathrooms, and updates
Kitchens, bathrooms, and flooring are reported in more detail. The report records an update status for these areas, and individual components get their own update and condition status.
Here’s one change I like. New construction is now reported as “Fully Updated.” Under the old approach, a brand-new kitchen could show up as “Not Updated” because nothing had been remodeled yet. The new wording describes the home as it is.
ADUs, rentals, and multi-unit properties
Accessory dwelling units, such as a garage apartment or a backyard cottage, get more detailed reporting. Rental information that used to need a separate rent schedule is now part of the report. For two- to four-unit properties, comparable sales now include a total units line, so the grid compares like with like.
What stayed the same
A new form doesn’t change the work behind it.
- Measurement. For most single-family appraisals, Fannie Mae has required the ANSI Z765-2021 standard for square footage since 2022. Any level that is partly below grade is reported as below grade, so a walk-out basement isn’t counted in the above-grade living area. Measurement is where every other number starts. See our page on measuring improved property.
- Standards and independence. The appraisal is still developed under USPAP, the professional standards every credible appraisal follows. We cover what those standards require in What Is USPAP. The appraiser stays independent of the buyer, the seller, and the lender.
- The inspection and the analysis. Someone still has to see the property, research the market, and support the value with evidence. The new report changes how that work is recorded, not whether it gets done.
What it means if you’re buying, selling, or refinancing
For most homeowners, the practical effect is simple. The appraisal report your lender orders will look different, and it should be easier to follow.
- If you’re buying, the report gives a clearer picture of condition, updates, and any accessory unit or rental space you’re paying for.
- If you’re selling, updates to kitchens, baths, and flooring are now reported more specifically. Keep records of what was done and when. It helps the appraiser describe the home accurately.
- If you’re refinancing, expect the same process with a different-looking report.
Your appraisal is not your property tax value
This is where I hear the most confusion. Many owners assume the value in their lender’s appraisal, or the price they just paid, becomes their property tax value. That is not true.
The appraisal district sets its own value as of January 1. Texas is a non-disclosure state, so the district often doesn’t know what you paid, and it doesn’t see your lender’s report. It estimates. Sometimes it lands close. Sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, that number can be protested, even in the year you bought. A purchase year is not a dead year. If you’re not sure where your value stands, that’s what our property tax consulting team does every day.
When the new report doesn’t apply
The URAR is a mortgage report. It’s built for lenders and loans delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Freddie Mac notes that land-only appraisals are outside its scope.
Plenty of residential appraisals have nothing to do with a new loan: divorce and estate matters, property tax appeals, insurance, or simply knowing what a home is worth. Those assignments are scoped to their own purpose and intended users. If that’s your situation, our residential appraisal services cover appraisals for buying, selling, refinancing, and the legal and tax matters where an independent value matters most.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Uniform Residential Appraisal Report? It’s the standard appraisal report lenders use for home loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It documents the property, the market, and the appraiser’s opinion of value. The redesigned version replaces the long-used Form 1004 and 13 other forms.
Is the new URAR required? Yes, for new appraisals delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the UAD 3.6 standard. Lenders that can’t meet the requirement must request an exception from each agency.
Does the new report change my home’s value? No. The Uniform Residential Appraisal Report changes how information is organized and recorded. Value still comes from the property, the market, and the evidence the appraiser gathers.
Do I need a new appraisal if mine was done on the old form? Not because of the form change alone. Ask your lender, since lenders set their own rules on how recent an appraisal needs to be.
Is my lender’s appraisal the same as my property tax value? No. The appraisal district sets its own value as of January 1, and in Texas it usually doesn’t see your sale price or your lender’s report. That value can be protested.
If you have a question about an appraisal or your property value, there’s no such thing as a question that’s too basic. Call us. Talk to our team.
Nothing here is lending, legal, tax, or appraisal advice for your specific property.
Daniel Ambrose is Executive Vice President of Tax Services at The Ambrose Group, where he leads property tax consulting and cost segregation for commercial owners across Texas. With 16 years in real estate, Daniel built his practice on a simple premise: property tax firms aren’t interchangeable, and the ones that win value are the ones that understand it.