Contract Price

[J Grant]

Maybe break this down a bit.

The Buyer and Seller have agreed to a transfer of the property at a price based on an appraisal. That's none of your business except as a reportng requirement. Despite Fannie saying the Lender MUST provide a copy of the contract and the appraiser MUST review, analyze, and report the results of the analysis (USPAP says that too), there is no requirement that the Buyer and Seller have to play along. From the OPs post, there is a contract... which the appraiser can review and analyze. The appraiser's job is not and has never been to make sure that the borrower (if there is one) can get the sort of loan they would like to get.

Neither the Buyer nor the Seller is an Intended User. The Intended Use of your Client and Intended User is to support a mortage lending decision. Despite the fact that you have not identified the Buyer or Seller as an Intended User... once they, or anyone, have a copy of your appraisal report... they can use it anyway they want to.

Just do the appraisal, write the report including explanations of what you actually know about the contract, and submit it to your Client.

Agree.
The URAR says the intended use is to evaluate the subject property for mortgage lending purposes. There is no requirement for a contract price or even a contract in the URAR or USPAP. (The requirement is to review any agreements or contracts, and if they are not provided, explain efforts to get it )

A contract price is a UW or fannie overlay and can be added later, after the price is decided. We can revise reports when a contract fact changes, I have done it in the past.

The people quoting the MUSt language comes from the lender 's portion of the selling guide -

 

[alebrewer]

The people quoting the MUSt language comes from the lender 's portion of the selling guide -

Where, pray tell, is the appraiser portion of the guide, J?

 

[NC Appraising]

USPAP 2020-21 FAQ #153
REVISION TO THE CONTRACT PRICE

Question: I recently completed an appraisal for mortgage financing purposes in a purchase transaction and delivered the report to my client. My opinion of value was less than the pending sale price. One week later, the buyer and seller renegotiated the contract agreeing to a price equal to my appraised value. My client asked if I can provide a revised report wherein I replace the prior sale price with the newly agreed-upon sale price. How can I do this and comply with the requirements of USPAP?

Response: The appraiser may not simply replace the pending sale price information in the appraisal report and resubmit the report to the client, as this would be misleading.

Under Standards Rule 1-5(a) the appraiser is required (when the value opinion to be developed is market value, and if such information is available to the appraiser in the normal course of business) to “analyze all agreements of sale, options, and listings of the subject property current as of the effective date of the appraisal.”

If the new contract information is stated in a revised report, the appraiser should note that the second contract was provided after the effective date, and the information regarding the contract that was in place as of the effective date must remain in the report. Further, the revised report must have a new report date, as of the date the revised report is transmitted to the client.

 

[NC Appraising]

Amendments To Sales Contract - Contract Amendments; When? - AppraisersBlogs

Lenders have to provide appraisers with all amendments made to a sales contract, including amendments that are made after completion of the appraisal.

appraisersblogs.com

Amendments to Sales Contract & Updates to the Appraisal…​

Fannie Mae recently issued the following:

Currently, we require the lender to provide the appraiser with all amendments made to a sales contract, including amendments that are made after completion of the appraisal. With this update, we have clarified when the appraiser must be provided with updates to the sales contract and circumstances that warrant updates to the appraisal.

For example, if the contract is amended in a way that affects the description of the real property used by the appraiser, then the lender must provide the updated contract to the appraiser and the appraisal should be updated.

However, minor updates to the contract, such as changes to seller paid closing costs or changes to the contract price, do not require an updated appraisal.

In addition, we have updated the policy to require disclosure of changes to financing information (such as loan fees and charges, and subordinate financing provided by interested parties) to the appraiser only for purchase transactions.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

including amending the price and terms.

Either way, the appraiser will be asked to amend the report and add the contract price. Charge accordingly.

 

[J Grant]

Where, pray tell, is the appraiser portion of the guide, J?

You go find it, since you are the one claiming it exists.

USPAP verbiage wrt contracts is easy to post and I already referenced it.

 

[NC Appraising]

B4-1.1-05, Disclosure of Information to Appraisers (06/04/2025)

This topic contains information on lender disclosure of information to appraisers, including:

selling-guide.fanniemae.com

​

Contract Changes After the Appraisal is Completed​

If the contract is amended after the effective date of the appraisal in a way that does not affect the description of the property, then the lender is not required to provide the amended contract to the appraiser nor obtain a revised appraisal. Some examples of amendments that do not require the lender to provide the amended contract nor obtain revisions to the already-completed appraisal report include:

• sale price,
• transaction terms,
• financing concessions,
• seller-paid closing costs,
• names or initials,
• closing date, and
• correction of minor clerical errors such as misspellings.

 

[alebrewer]

You go find it, since you are the one claiming it exists.

USPAP verbiage wrt contracts is easy to post and I already referenced it.

You're the one claiming the lender portion exists. I guess if there's no appraiser portion, there are no rules.

 

[Mike Ault]

Appraisers don't always have to play by Fannie rules. Plenty of banks make loans that are held in-house, and I have done many appraisals where there was no contract price negotiated until they received the results of the appraisal. Appraisers are to explain their efforts to obtain the contract and the results thereof, and that is all. If a lender wants an appraisal under those circumstances, I provide one on the URAR, not the GP form. If the lender later decides they want to sell the loan on the secondary market, I provide a new appraisal report (in reality a simple revision) with the information, dates and disclosures necessary & appropriate for the scenario. And I do charge a revision request fee commensurate with the time and effort involved. The lack of a contract is not a "hard stop."

 

[J Grant]

Appraisers don't always have to play by Fannie rules. Plenty of banks make loans that are held in-house, and I have done many appraisals where there was no contract price negotiated until they received the results of the appraisal. Appraisers are to explain their efforts to obtain the contract and the results thereof, and that is all. If a lender wants an appraisal under those circumstances, I provide one on the URAR, not the GP form. If the lender later decides they want to sell the loan on the secondary market, I provide a new appraisal report (in reality a simple revision) with the information, dates and disclosures necessary & appropriate for the scenario. And I do charge a revision request fee commensurate with the time and effort involved. The lack of a contract is not a "hard stop."

I still do not see why a new appraisal is needed just because the contract price is provided after the appraisal is done. Just enter it as a revision and explain.