New Appraisal Standards Effective 9/1/2011 for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

New appraisal standards went to effect for most loans as of September 1st.  Appraisers now have to take into account all the following factors:

• All the Days on Market including previous days that a property was listed even if removed from the market
• Offering Price as the original offering price despite price reductions
• Property Style now has to be classified by architectural design such as Victorian, Colonial, Townhouse, etc
• Condition must now be determined by predefined categories
• Quality of Construction has to be rated into one of six predefined quality levels

The impact on buyers is that it is going to make it harder to value properties and cause delays in appraisals so you should allow at least two weeks for an appraisal.