You don't need to memorize guidelines. You need to know what's about to kill your deal.

Common Deal-Killers

The repair conditions and property issues that most often stall or sink a closing — know them before the appraiser's report does.

If the Appraisal Comes in Under Sale Price

An appraisal under the sale price doesn't have to end the deal — and it doesn't necessarily mean the appraisal was wrong; the sale price itself may simply have been high. The Reconsideration of Value (ROV) process is the formal path to challenge a number that's genuinely wrong — here's how it actually works, cited straight from Fannie Mae's own policy, plus Dave Radcliffe walking through it in plain terms.

Fair Housing & Appraisal Bias

A seller or buyer will sometimes ask directly whether an appraiser can factor in a neighborhood's race, ethnicity, or income level — the answer is no, under both federal law and USPAP's Ethics Rule, and it's worth being able to explain that plainly and point to the right next step if a client suspects bias affected their number.

Get Your Listing Ready

What to walk a seller through before the appraiser ever knocks — the small fixes that avoid a repair condition entirely.

Garage & Fire Safety

Garage conversions and attic access points can quietly compromise the fire-rated separation between the garage and the house — worth checking before a seller ever sees a repair addendum.

Solar Panels

Owned vs. leased is the single fact that decides whether solar panels count toward appraised value at all — it's worth confirming with the seller before you ever put a number to it. Chief Appraiser deliberately doesn't publish a typical dollar premium here (that's appraisal work), but does cover how ownership is determined and what a "kW" figure on a permit actually means.

Documenting Home Improvements for the Appraiser

If a seller has made significant upgrades since buying the property, don't assume the appraiser will just see it and give credit — photos and paperwork make it provable, not just visible. This is what real estate agent Dave Radcliffe collects from sellers on renovated properties before the appraisal appointment:

• Receipts or invoices for major work (kitchen, baths, roof, HVAC, additions)
• Before-and-after photos of each major improvement
• Permits pulled, if the work required one
• Approximate cost and completion date for each item

Hand this to the appraiser at the appointment, or have your seller have it ready — it's the single easiest thing you can do to make sure improvement value doesn't get missed.

Other Situations That Come Up

Tools Worth Knowing About

Software the appraisal side of the transaction actually relies on — worth understanding if you want to speak the same language as the appraiser on your deal.