What Value Acceptance + Property Data Means for Your Loan
Value Acceptance + Property Data is Fannie Mae's alternative to a traditional appraisal. Instead of hiring an appraiser to determine your home's value, your lender submits an estimated value to Desktop Underwriter. If DU approves your loan and offers this option, you can proceed without an appraisal.
Here's how it works: A trained property data collector visits your home to document its condition, take photos, and create a floor plan. They're not determining value — they're verifying the property meets Fannie Mae's basic eligibility requirements. Your lender uses this data plus their own valuation methods to establish the home's worth.
Say you're buying a $400,000 single-family home with a conventional loan. Your lender runs your application through DU, which comes back with an approval and an offer for Value Acceptance + Property Data. Instead of ordering a $500-600 appraisal, your lender arranges for a property data collector to visit the home. This typically costs less and can be scheduled faster than a full appraisal.
Properties That Qualify
Only certain properties are eligible for this option. The home must be a single-family residence — no duplexes, triplexes, or fourplexes qualify. Condos and co-ops are also excluded, as are manufactured homes and any new construction projects.
The purchase price or estimated value cannot exceed $1 million. Investment properties where you're using rental income to qualify don't qualify either. Properties with resale restrictions, like community land trusts or homes using Fannie Mae's Affordable LTV feature, are also ineligible.
Your loan type matters too. HomeStyle Renovation loans, HomeStyle Refresh loans, and construction-to-permanent loans cannot use this option. If you're receiving a gift of equity from the seller, you'll need a traditional appraisal instead.
The Property Data Collection Process
The property data collector is a trained professional who visits your home to document its condition and features. They're not appraisers — they're data gatherers working with a handheld device that guides them through Fannie Mae's requirements.
During the visit, they'll photograph the interior and exterior, measure rooms to create a floor plan following ANSI standards, and note the home's condition and features. They're specifically looking for safety issues, structural problems, or incomplete construction that could affect the property's eligibility.
The collector must be independent from your loan transaction. They can't work for your real estate agent, have any financial interest in the property, or be connected to your loan in any way. Your lender is responsible for vetting these collectors through background checks and ongoing training.
After the inspection, the data gets submitted to Fannie Mae's Property Data API system. This must happen before your loan closes, and the data is only valid for 12 months from the collection date.
Your Lender's Responsibilities
When your lender chooses Value Acceptance + Property Data, they're taking on significant responsibility. They must represent and warrant to Fannie Mae that the property has no safety, soundness, or structural integrity issues. They're also certifying that there are no significant incomplete construction or renovation items.
If the property data collection reveals problems — like foundation issues, electrical problems, or mold — your lender must get professional reports to verify the property still meets Fannie Mae's requirements. Any necessary repairs must be completed before the loan can be sold to Fannie Mae.
Your lender also accepts full responsibility for the property's value. Unlike a traditional appraisal where an independent appraiser determines value, your lender is essentially saying "we believe this property is worth what we're lending against it."
Timeline and Deadlines
The property data collection must be completed and submitted before your loan closes. The DU offer for Value Acceptance + Property Data is only valid for four months, so you can't sit on this option indefinitely.
If something changes about your loan after the property data is collected — say your loan amount increases significantly — you might lose eligibility for this option. In some cases, your lender can provide the property data to an appraiser to complete a hybrid appraisal instead.
The property data itself expires 12 months after collection. If your loan doesn't close within that timeframe, you'll need a new property inspection or a traditional appraisal.
When Things Get Complicated
Value Acceptance + Property Data works best for straightforward transactions on typical single-family homes. If your property has unique features, recent additions, or condition issues, you're more likely to need a traditional appraisal.
Properties in declining markets or areas with limited comparable sales may not qualify for this option. DU considers market conditions and data availability when making the offer.
If you're doing a cash-out refinance or your loan has other complex features, DU may require a traditional appraisal instead. The system is designed to offer this option only when there's sufficient confidence in the property's value and condition.
Remember that even if DU offers this option, your lender can still choose to order a traditional appraisal. Some lenders prefer the additional protection that comes with an independent appraisal, especially on higher-value properties or in uncertain markets.
References
For the official guidelines, see B4-1.4-11: Value Acceptance + Property Data in the Fannie Mae Selling Guide.
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Original Fannie Mae Guideline Text
B4-1.4-11, Value Acceptance + Property Data (12/10/2025)
Property Data Collector
Exercising Value Acceptance + Property Data
Property Data Collection with Needed Repairs or Completion Verification
Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6 Policy
Overview
For certain loan casefiles, DU offers value acceptance + property data - an option that requires interior and exterior property data collection to verify property eligibility prior to the note date. An appraisal is not required.
Eligible Transactions
Loan casefiles for certain one-unit properties will be considered for value acceptance + property data.
Ineligible Transactions
The following transactions are not eligible for value acceptance + property data:
two- to four-unit properties;
co-op units;
manufactured homes;
proposed construction;
construction-to-permanent loans (single-close and two-close);
investment properties when rental income is used to qualify the borrower;
HomeStyle Renovation and HomeStyle Refresh loans;
Texas 50(a)(6) loans;
leasehold properties;
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.
Representations and Warranties
When a loan casefile is eligible for value acceptance + property data and 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.
Property Data Collection
The property data collection consists of a visual observation of the interior and exterior areas of the subject property. It must be performed by a trained and vetted property data collector and must adhere to the Uniform Property Dataset (UPD). This dataset consists of all required, conditionally required, and optional data elements for property data collection of subject property data including photos and a floor plan conforming to the ANSI Standard. See Above- and Below-Grade Area(s) in B4-1.3-05, Improvements Section of the Appraisal Report for ANSI standards, the Property Data Collection User Guide and Uniform Property Dataset (UPD) Specificationfor more information.
After the property data collection is completed, it must be successfully submitted to Fannie Mae's Property Data API. See Fannie Mae's website for more information about the UPD and the Fannie Mae Property Data API and access.
Property Data Collector
The property data collector is the individual who personally visits the subject property to perform the property data collection guided by an application on a hand-held device developed in compliance with the UPD. The property data collector must identify and communicate any safety, soundness, or structural integrity issues and significant items of incomplete construction or renovation.
Lender Vetting of Property Data Collectors
The lender must verify and be able to demonstrate that the data collectors are
selected in accordance with Fannie Mae requirements, including the Property Data Collector Independence Requirements,
vetted through an annual background check,
professionally trained, and
they possess the essential knowledge to competently complete the property data collection.
The lender must ensure that the data collectors are trained to comply with their fair lending laws and deliver accurate results unaffected by personal biases. To avoid conflict of interest, the lender must ensure that the data collector has no interest in or ties to the underlying loan origination transaction, participants, or subject property.
The lender (or its authorized agent) must review the data collector's credentials and qualifications on an annual basis to ensure ongoing compliance. Evidence of the reviews must be available to Fannie Mae upon request. The lender must also have a procedure for suspending or terminating business with individual property data collectors.
The lender must monitor and assess the work performed by the data collector through the lender's quality control program including prefunding and post-closing reviews. See Subpart D1, Lender QC Process, for additional information.
Exercising Value Acceptance + Property Data
A lender may only exercise value acceptance + property data when
the final submission of the loan casefile to DU resulted in an eligibility message for value acceptance + property data,
property data collection is submitted to the Property Data API prior to the note date,
an appraisal is not obtained for the transaction, and
the offer is not more than four months old on the date of the note and mortgage.
Lenders that elect to exercise value acceptance + property data must include Special Feature Code 774 at loan delivery. The property data collection is only valid for 12 months from date of collection and must be performed prior to the note date.
If the value acceptance + property data offer is lost due to changes in qualifying loan characteristics after the property data collection was obtained, in some cases it may be possible for the lender to provide the property data collection to an appraiser to perform a hybrid appraisal assignment. See B4-1.2-03, Hybrid Appraisals for specific requirements. Alternatively, the lender may obtain a desktop or traditional appraisal report as specified by DU.
Property Data Collection with Needed Repairs or Completion Verification
The lender must represent and warrant that the property
does not have safety, soundness, or structural integrity issues;
does not have significant items of incomplete construction or renovation; and
meets Fannie Mae's property eligibility requirements (see B2-3-01, General Property Eligibility).
To make these representations and warranties in the absence of an appraisal, the lender must examine the descriptive information and photo exhibits from the property data collection to determine whether the property meets the above requirements.
When the property data collection evidences any items failing eligibility requirements, the lender may need to obtain a professionally prepared report from a qualified professional to confirm the eligibility of the property and if repairs are required (well, septic, foundation, roof, electrical, mold, etc.). If repairs or alterations are necessary to bring the property into compliance with Fannie Mae's eligibility requirements, the lender must provide satisfactory evidence and documentation showing the condition has been corrected or completed prior to sale of the loan to Fannie Mae.
See Form 1004D and Completion Alternatives in B4-1.2-05, Requirements for Verifying Completion and Postponed Improvements for the applicable requirements to verify completion of repairs, alterations, or inspections.
Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6 Policy
Lenders using UAD 3.6 must follow the requirements in the UAD 3.6 Policy Supplement.
