How Value Acceptance Works
Value acceptance is Fannie Mae's way of streamlining the mortgage process when they already have reliable property value data. Instead of ordering a new appraisal, Desktop Underwriter searches Fannie Mae's Collateral Underwriter database for a recent appraisal on your property.
Say you're refinancing a home that was appraised 18 months ago for another lender's loan that didn't close. If that appraisal meets Fannie Mae's quality standards and your loan qualifies, Desktop Underwriter might offer value acceptance. Your lender can then use the estimated value you provided instead of ordering a new appraisal.
The system won't offer value acceptance if the prior appraisal had problems. For example, if Collateral Underwriter flagged the previous appraisal for potential overvaluation or couldn't score it properly, you'll need a new appraisal.
What Properties and Loans Qualify
Value acceptance works for most standard residential transactions, but the rules are specific about what qualifies.
Eligible properties include single-family homes, townhomes, and condominiums used as primary residences or second homes. Investment property refinances also qualify, but investment property purchases do not.
You can use value acceptance for purchase transactions, limited cash-out refinances, and cash-out refinances. Construction loans, renovation loans like HomeStyle, and manufactured homes are not eligible.
Your loan must receive an Approve/Eligible recommendation from Desktop Underwriter. Manually underwritten loans cannot use value acceptance, and neither can loans that Desktop Underwriter marks as Ineligible.
Special Situations That Block Value Acceptance
Several circumstances prevent your lender from using value acceptance even if Desktop Underwriter offers it.
If you're using rental income from the subject property to qualify for the loan, your lender must order an appraisal. The same applies if you're using a gift of equity or if the property is worth $1 million or more.
Texas Section 50(a)(6) loans and properties with resale restrictions like community land trusts cannot use value acceptance. Co-op units and leasehold properties are also excluded.
Your lender might choose to order an appraisal anyway if they have concerns about the property or if they're required by law to get one. Once they order an appraisal, they cannot use the value acceptance offer.
Rural High-Needs Areas Get Special Treatment
Fannie Mae offers expanded value acceptance in certain rural high-needs areas, even without a prior appraisal in their database. This program targets underserved communities where appraisals can be difficult to obtain.
To qualify for rural high-needs value acceptance, you must be buying (not refinancing) a single-family home as your primary residence. Your income must be at or below 100% of the area median income, and you can finance up to 97% of the home's value.
Instead of an appraisal, your lender must arrange a professional home inspection. The inspector must have liability insurance and meet state licensing requirements. You'll receive a copy of the inspection report, and any safety or structural issues must be fixed before closing.
What Your Lender Must Do
When Desktop Underwriter offers value acceptance, your lender has a choice. They can accept the offer and skip the appraisal, or they can order an appraisal anyway.
If they accept value acceptance, they must include Special Feature Code 801 when they deliver your loan to Fannie Mae. This tells Fannie Mae that no appraisal was obtained and that they're relying on the estimated value from your loan application.
The value acceptance offer expires four months from the date it was issued. If your loan doesn't close within that timeframe, your lender will need to get a new Desktop Underwriter recommendation, which might not include value acceptance.
Your lender cannot pick and choose which value acceptance offers to use in a way that disadvantages Fannie Mae. They must apply their decision criteria consistently across all loans.
Why Fannie Mae Allows This
Value acceptance reduces costs and speeds up the mortgage process when Fannie Mae already has reliable property value data. Their Collateral Underwriter system has analyzed millions of appraisals and can identify properties where additional valuation isn't necessary.
The program also addresses appraisal capacity issues in some markets. In rural areas or during busy periods, appraisers can be scarce and expensive. Value acceptance helps keep loans moving when the risk is acceptable.
Fannie Mae takes on the valuation risk when they accept your estimated value instead of requiring an appraisal. That's why the eligibility requirements are strict and why they monitor lenders' use of the program.
Common Problems and Limitations
Value acceptance isn't available for every loan, even if you think your property should qualify. The prior appraisal in Fannie Mae's database might be too old, have quality issues, or not match your property exactly.
If you're buying a newly constructed home, value acceptance is rare but possible. There would need to be an existing "as is" appraisal for the property, perhaps from a previous buyer whose loan didn't close.
Investment properties face more restrictions. While investment property refinances can use value acceptance, investment property purchases cannot. This reflects the higher risk Fannie Mae sees in investment transactions.
Remember that value acceptance is the lender's choice, not yours. Even if Desktop Underwriter offers it, your lender might prefer to order an appraisal for their own risk management reasons.
References
For the official guidelines, see B4-1.4-10: Value Acceptance in the Fannie Mae Selling Guide.
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Original Fannie Mae Guideline Text
B4-1.4-10, Value Acceptance (12/10/2025)
Exercising Value Acceptance
Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6 Policy
Overview
For certain loan casefiles, DU offers value acceptance, in which case an appraisal is not required. For loan casefiles that are not eligible for value acceptance, DU will require an appraisal reported on the appropriate appraisal report form for the type of property being appraised.
Prior Appraisal Requirements
For value acceptance to be considered, generally a prior appraisal must be found for the subject property in Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU) data. When required, DU will compare the address for the subject property to the property addresses found in CU. DU will use the information from the prior appraisal to determine if the loan casefile is eligible for value acceptance. In some cases, the prior appraisal may not be acceptable. For example, if a CU “Overvaluation Flag” was issued on the prior appraisal, or the appraisal could not be scored, that prior appraisal will not be used and value acceptance will not be offered on the new loan casefile.
Eligible Transactions
A value acceptance offer will be considered for the following transactions:
one-unit properties, including condos;
principal residence and second home transactions;
investment property refinance transactions;
certain purchase, limited cash-out, and cash-out refinance transactions; and
DU loan casefiles that receive an Approve/Eligible recommendation.
Ineligible Transactions
The following transactions are not eligible for a value acceptance offer:
two- to four-unit properties;
co-op units and manufactured homes;
proposed construction;
construction-to-permanent loans (single-close and two-close);
HomeStyle Renovation and HomeStyle Refresh loans;
leasehold properties;
Texas Section 50(a)(6) loans;
community land trusts or other properties with resale price restrictions, which include loan casefiles using the Affordable LTV feature;
transactions where either the purchase price or estimated value provided to DU is $1,000,000 or more;
transactions using gifts of equity;
DU loan casefiles that receive an Ineligible recommendation; and
manually underwritten loans.
Note: DU may offer value acceptance on a recently constructed property (i.e., new construction) when there is an existing “as is” prior appraisal for the subject property. For example, an appraisal of the subject property may have been performed for a different lender or borrower, but that loan did not close. The lender may execute the value acceptance offer when the loan meets all other eligibility criteria for the transaction.
Furthermore, the lender may not exercise a value acceptance offer and must order an appraisal if one or more of the following applies:
DU was unable to identify ineligible criteria in the list above (for example, Texas Section 50(a)(6) loans);
the lender is required by law to obtain an appraisal (see A3-2-01, Compliance With Laws);
the lender is using rental income from the subject property to qualify the borrower; or
the lender believes that an appraisal is warranted based on additional information the lender has about the property or subsequent events.
Note: The lender may not exercise a value acceptance offer if an appraisal is obtained for the transaction.
See B5-7-02, High LTV Refinance Underwriting, Documentation, and Collateral Requirements for the New Loan for additional information about high LTV refinance value acceptance.
Representations and Warranties
When a loan casefile is eligible for value acceptance and the offer is exercised by the lender, Fannie Mae accepts the value estimate submitted by the lender as the value for the subject property. See A2-2-06, Representations and Warranties on Property Value for more information.
Rural High-Needs Value Acceptance
In selected rural high-needs areas, Fannie Mae may offer value acceptance through DU for certain transactions. This value acceptance may be combined with other loan products, such as HomeReady.
The rural high-needs value acceptance offer will be considered for the following transactions only:
loan casefiles that receive an Approve/Eligible recommendation;
purchase transactions;
one-unit principal residence properties (excluding manufactured homes);
borrowers with income at or below 100% of the area median income; and
LTV ratios up to 97% and CLTV ratios up to 105% with a Community Seconds.
The following are ineligible for rural high-needs value acceptance:
cash-out or limited cash-out refinances;
second homes and investment properties; and
all other transactions that are ineligible for value acceptance as listed above.
The following table provides the requirements related to the home inspection. These requirements must be met for the lender to exercise the rural high-needs value acceptance offer.
✓
The lender must
obtain a home inspection to determine the property condition. The inspection report must be retained in the loan file and made available to Fannie Mae upon request.
review the inspection report to verify the property condition. The content of the inspection report must be sufficient for the lender to determine whether the property is safe, sound, and structurally secure. Any issues that compromise safety, soundness, or structural integrity must be repaired before loan delivery.
obtain an affidavit signed by the borrower(s) confirming that they received a copy of the property inspection report, read the report, and were notified of any lender-required repairs.
confirm that the purchase contract contains an inspection contingency that offers the borrower(s) enough time to cancel the contract without penalty if they so choose, should the inspection reveal an issue with the property.
confirm that the inspector has liability insurance.
use a professional inspector that meets the state license and education requirements for those states that regulate inspectors.
represent and warrant that the property is safe, sound, and structurally secure and that the property is not in C6 condition. See
Exercising Value Acceptance
A lender may only exercise value acceptance if
the final submission of the loan casefile to DU resulted in a value acceptance offer,
an appraisal is not obtained for the transaction, and
the value acceptance offer is not more than four months old on the date of the note and the mortgage.
Lenders that elect to exercise value acceptance must include SFC 801 at delivery. Lenders may not adversely select against Fannie Mae in determining which value acceptance offers to accept. Fannie Mae may monitor the lender’s exercise of value acceptance offers and delivery of loans to Fannie Mae, and may take appropriate measures if adverse selection is identified.
Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6 Policy
Lenders using UAD 3.6 must follow the requirements in the UAD 3.6 Policy Supplement.
