The Ambrose Group has published a guide to the redesigned Uniform Residential Appraisal Report, which replaces 14 older appraisal forms with one report and is now required for new appraisals delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
-- https://theambrosegroup.com/uniform-residential-appraisal-report/ on its website. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began requiring the new version for new appraisals on November 2, 2026.
The guide was written by Daniel Ambrose, MAI, Executive Vice President of Tax Services. It explains what changed in the report, what stayed the same, and what the change means for Texas owners who are buying, selling, or refinancing a home.
Lenders and appraisers know it as the URAR, or Form 1004. “That report just changed,” Ambrose writes. According to Freddie Mac, the redesign retires 14 older reports, including the single-family Form 1004, the condominium Form 1073, the exterior-only Form 2055, the small income property Form 1025, and the Form 1007 rent schedule.
The old system gave each property type its own form. The new one starts with the property. Under a data standard known as UAD 3.6, a condo appraisal pulls in project details, a rental pulls in rent data, and a house with no basement skips the basement section entirely. The same report handles traditional, hybrid, desktop, and exterior-only assignments. The General Addendum, where appraiser comments used to pile up at the back, has been dropped. Comments now appear in the section they refer to.
Condition and quality ratings still run from C1 to C6 and Q1 to Q6, but Freddie Mac notes that the definitions were rewritten. The new report asks for separate interior and exterior ratings, and manufactured homes now receive condition and quality ratings as well. Kitchens, bathrooms, and flooring are reported in more detail, and so are accessory dwelling units and rental information.
One change stands out to the author. New construction is now reported as “Fully Updated.” Under the old approach, a brand-new kitchen could show up as “Not Updated” because nothing had been remodeled yet. “Here’s one change I like,” Ambrose writes. “The new wording describes the home as it is.”
The guide also lists what did not change. Square footage is still measured under the ANSI Z765-2021 standard, which Fannie Mae has required for most single-family appraisals since 2022. The appraisal is still developed under USPAP, the professional standards for appraisers, and the appraiser stays independent of the buyer, the seller, and the lender.
The guide closes with a point Ambrose says causes the most confusion. Many owners assume the value in a lender’s appraisal, or the price just paid, becomes the property tax value. “That is not true,” he writes. The appraisal district sets its own value as of January 1, and because Texas is a non-disclosure state, the district often does not see the sale price or the lender’s report. That value can be protested, even in the year of purchase. “A purchase year is not a dead year,” Ambrose writes. The firm’s property tax consulting services are described at https://theambrosegroup.com/property-tax-consulting/ on its website.
The URAR applies only to mortgage appraisals. Appraisals for divorce and estate matters, property tax appeals, and insurance are scoped to their own purpose. The firm’s residential appraisal services are listed at https://theambrosegroup.com/residential-real-estate-appraiser/ on the company site.
About The Ambrose Group: The Ambrose Group is a Texas real estate consulting firm based in Jersey Village that has provided appraisal, property tax consulting and cost segregation services since 1994. The company profile at https://theambrosegroup.com/about-real-estate-company/ covers its history and team.
Contact Info:
Name: The Ambrose Group
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Organization: The Ambrose Group
Address: 16545 Village Dr Building A, Jersey Village, TX 77040, United States
Website: https://theambrosegroup.com/
Source: NewsNetwork
Release ID: 89209321
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