What Not to Say to a Real Estate Appraiser

The short answer to what not to say to a real estate appraiser: don’t name the number you need, don’t share your financial pressures, don’t volunteer unpermitted work, don’t point out neighborhood problems, and don’t question the appraiser’s credentials or offer anything that could look like an incentive. The appraiser’s job is to produce an independent opinion of market value, and anything that sounds like pressure, irrelevant personal detail, or a red flag about the property can drag the number down or stall your loan.

Don’t Name a Target Value or Loan Amount

The most common mistake is telling the appraiser what number you need. “We need at least $400,000 to refinance” or “the house down the street sold for $450,000” reads as asking the appraiser to work backward from a conclusion. Federal law treats that as attempted influence. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1639e, it is illegal to coerce, bribe, or otherwise push an appraiser toward a targeted value in connection with a mortgage loan, and the prohibition applies to anyone with an interest in the transaction. Civil penalties start at up to $10,000 per day and double for repeat offenses.¹

Even casual conversation can backfire. An appraiser who feels their independence has been compromised can document the interaction, recuse themselves, or terminate the assignment. That means paying for a second appraisal from a different professional, with the delay potentially jeopardizing your mortgage rate lock. Lenders also scrutinize appraisal reports for any sign of homeowner interference. If the appraiser notes an attempt to steer the outcome, the lender may reject the report, require a new one, or deny the loan application outright.

Don’t Share Financial Pressures or Personal Circumstances

Telling the appraiser you need a quick sale because of a divorce, that you’re behind on payments, or that you need the cash to cover debts does nothing to help your valuation and can quietly hurt it. These details are irrelevant to the square footage, condition, and location of your home, which are what actually drive the number.

The standard definition of market value assumes neither buyer nor seller is under unusual pressure and that the price is not affected by undue stimulus.² Announcing a distress situation signals that your circumstances don’t match the conditions the valuation framework assumes. A professional appraiser won’t consciously lower your value because of your divorce, but human bias exists and there’s no upside to testing it. Keep the conversation on the property.

Don’t Volunteer Unpermitted Work

If you finished a basement, added a deck, or enclosed a porch without pulling the required municipal permits, bringing it up during the appraisal creates problems that can be difficult to undo. One core test in any appraisal is whether the property’s use is legally permissible. An improvement that fails that test can’t be counted toward the property’s full value.

Fannie Mae’s guidelines require the appraiser to comment on any addition that lacks a required permit, including the quality of the work and its impact on market value.³ In practice, an unpermitted 500-square-foot basement might be excluded from the gross living area calculation, wiping out tens of thousands of dollars in appraised value.

For FHA and VA loans, the stakes climb. If the appraiser can’t confirm the property meets minimum property requirements, the appraisal gets flagged as “subject to” correction. You’ll need to obtain retroactive permits or remove the non-compliant structure before the loan can close. Retroactive permitting involves new inspections, potential code upgrades, and municipal fines. In some cases, the work can’t be permitted after the fact because it doesn’t meet current code, leaving demolition as the only option.

None of this means you should lie if asked directly. There’s a wide gap between answering a direct question honestly and volunteering information that triggers a review the appraiser wasn’t going to conduct.

Don’t Point Out Neighborhood Problems

Complaining about noisy neighbors, property-line disputes, nearby construction, or the cell tower that went up last year hands the appraiser a reason to discount your home. These issues fall under what appraisers call external obsolescence, a loss in value caused by negative factors outside the property’s boundaries that the owner can’t fix.⁴ Because the homeowner has no control over these factors, the value hit tends to be treated as permanent.

The appraiser will do their own neighborhood scan, drive the surrounding streets, and note anything obvious. Actively pointing out problems highlights negatives that might otherwise have been weighted less heavily or missed. Research on properties near high-voltage transmission lines has found value impacts ranging from about 2% to 15% depending on proximity and visibility. A nuisance you flag can produce a similar markdown. If there’s a genuine problem any buyer would discover during a standard inspection or title search, the appraiser will find it without your help.

Don’t Question Credentials or Offer Incentives

Asking “how long have you been doing this?” in a skeptical tone, or suggesting you’ll “take care of” the appraiser for a favorable number, are both bad ideas for different reasons. Questioning competence puts the appraiser on the defensive before they’ve measured the house. Offering any kind of financial incentive crosses from awkward into illegal.

Federal appraisal independence rules specifically prohibit compensating, bribing, or intimidating an appraiser to influence the outcome of a valuation tied to a mortgage.¹ A gift card, a cash tip, even an overly generous lunch spread could be read as an attempt to influence the result. If the appraiser reports it, your loan application is effectively dead and you could face civil penalties. An appraiser whose objectivity feels compromised will typically recuse, leaving you to wait for a new appraiser through your lender’s appraisal management company and pay for the second appraisal out of pocket.

What to Provide Instead

Staying quiet about the wrong things doesn’t mean staying silent. There’s a category of factual, objective information that appraisers appreciate and that can support a more accurate valuation.

Renovation documentation. Receipts, contractor invoices, and before-and-after photos for permitted improvements. Kitchen and bathroom remodels, roof replacements, HVAC upgrades, and new windows are the upgrades most likely to affect appraised value. The key word is permitted. A building permit alongside the contractor invoice is evidence the appraiser can actually use.
A one-page property fact sheet. Age, square footage, lot size, bedroom and bathroom count, and any features that aren’t immediately visible like a newer water heater, updated electrical panel, or recent sewer line replacement. Appraisers spend limited time on-site, and mechanical systems hidden behind walls are easy to overlook.
Recent comparable sales. You’re allowed to share a list of nearby sales you think are relevant. Frame it as information, not instruction: “Here are a few recent sales in the neighborhood that seemed comparable.” The appraiser isn’t obligated to use your suggestions, and pushing too hard turns helpful data into perceived pressure.
HOA details and special assessments. If your neighborhood has amenities like a pool, clubhouse, or maintained common areas, mention them. If there’s a pending special assessment, the appraiser should know, since it will surface during the lender’s review anyway.

Everything you provide should be factual, documented, and about the property rather than about your financial situation or the number you’re hoping to see.

If the Appraisal Comes In Low

A low number isn’t the end of the conversation. Federal agencies and the major mortgage-backing entities have formalized a process called a Reconsideration of Value, giving borrowers a structured way to push back with evidence.

A successful challenge is built on objective errors, not disagreement with the bottom line. HUD’s guidance identifies several categories of material deficiency that justify a reconsideration request: the appraiser relied on outdated or dissimilar comparable sales when better ones were available, failed to report observable defects accurately, or made statements that don’t hold up under review.⁵ You need to show the appraiser got a fact wrong or missed relevant data, not that you simply disagree with their professional judgment. The strongest evidence is usually better comparable sales the appraiser didn’t consider.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with HUD for FHA loans, published standardized ROV policies effective in late 2024 that remain current.⁶ Your lender is required to have a borrower-initiated ROV process in place and must disclose it to you at loan application and again when the appraisal report is delivered.⁷ For FHA loans, you can submit up to five alternative comparable sales for the appraiser to consider, and you’re limited to one ROV request per appraisal.⁵ No costs associated with the ROV process can be charged to you. If the appraiser can’t or won’t resolve a material deficiency, the lender may order a second appraisal.

If you believe the valuation reflects bias based on race, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability rather than property characteristics, HUD’s ROV guidance treats statements related to protected-class characteristics as a category of material deficiency that justifies a formal challenge.⁵ You can also file a housing discrimination complaint with HUD at 1-800-669-9777.⁸

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1639e – Appraisal Independence Requirements
2
FDIC. Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines – Glossary of Terms
3
Fannie Mae. Improvements Section of the Appraisal Report
4
WSU Center for Real Estate. Land Values and External Obsolescence
5
HUD. Appraisal Review and Reconsideration of Value Updates – Mortgagee Letter 2024-07
6
FHFA. FHFA Announces Enterprise Reconsideration of Value Policies
7
Fannie Mae. Reconsideration of Value
8
HUD. Report Housing Discrimination