What is an appraisal waiver? It’s an option that lets a loan skip the appraisal when the lender’s automated underwriting run offers that option. The two big loan buyers each run their own version of it.
Fannie Mae calls its version value acceptance. Freddie Mac calls its version ACE. Both offers come out of the lender’s underwriting run, which is why the practical question is whether your file was offered one, and what happens if it wasn’t.
The sections below cover what each program’s page says, which loans Fannie Mae leaves out, and the questions to bring to a loan officer.
What Is an Appraisal Waiver?
On Fannie Mae’s value acceptance overview, the program has a different name: value acceptance. It’s Fannie Mae’s offer to take the lender’s property value on an eligible loan without requiring an appraisal. The page never uses the words appraisal waiver, which is the name buyers search for.
That overview describes value acceptance as an “offer to accept the lender-submitted property value” in Desktop Underwriter, with “no appraisal requirement for eligible transactions.”
For a purchase, the page says the value submitted must be “based on the contract price for a purchase transaction”. So with no appraisal, there’s no appraiser’s opinion of value to compare with your price.
How Does Freddie Mac’s Version Work?
Freddie Mac’s page on Automated Collateral Evaluation describes ACE, short for Automated Collateral Evaluation, as a Loan Product Advisor capability for lenders. It leans on Freddie Mac’s own models, historical data and public records in place of an appraisal on loans that qualify.
That page says ACE exists “to let you deliver loans to Freddie Mac without an appraisal report”, which is written to the lender doing the delivering. Using the word that gives the waiver its everyday name, the page adds: “With ACE the appraisal report requirement is waived”.
Freddie Mac’s page lists three steps on the lender’s side. Submit the loan to Loan Product Advisor before getting an appraisal. Provide the purchase price for a purchase, or an estimated value for a refinance. Then review the Feedback Certificate to “see if the loan is eligible for ACE.” The page points to Freddie Mac’s Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide for eligibility and requirements, so ask a loan officer which program applies to your loan.
Who Decides Whether a Loan Gets an Appraisal Waiver?
The offer comes out of the lender’s underwriting run. Fannie Mae’s page says value acceptance offers are issued through Desktop Underwriter, and Freddie Mac’s page has the lender read a Feedback Certificate to see whether ACE is available for that loan.
Fannie Mae’s page also addresses an offer a lender doesn’t use. If a lender chooses not to exercise it, the overview says, “the lender is required to follow DU’s appraisal recommendations to sell the loan to Fannie Mae.” DU is Desktop Underwriter.
That overview is written as a lender reference, and a loan officer can say how it applies to your file. So the useful move is to ask whether your file was offered a waiver, and what the plan is if it wasn’t.
Which Loans Does Fannie Mae Leave Out?
Fannie Mae’s page lists the loans it will consider for value acceptance and the ones it won’t. For purchases, the eligible side names principal residences and second homes, one-unit properties including condominiums, and loans at up to 90% LTV/CLTV. LTV is loan-to-value, the loan amount compared with the home’s value.
Fannie Mae’s page also lists transactions that are not eligible. Among them:
- Two- to four-unit properties
- “Transactions where either the purchase price or estimated value provided to DU is $1,000,000 or more”
- Transactions using a gift of equity
- Manually underwritten loans
- Loans for which the mortgage insurance provider requires an appraisal, or for which rental income from the property is used to qualify
- “When the lender has any reason to believe an appraisal is warranted”
The overview adds a timing note. DU will not offer value acceptance when an appraisal was uploaded for the property “within the prior 120 days from any lender.” The overview calls itself a summary for reference only, so ask a loan officer how the list applies to your property and your loan.
Is There a Middle Option Between a Full Appraisal and None?
Fannie Mae’s page describes a second option, and it sits between a full appraisal and none: value acceptance plus property data. That option is offered when a loan application in Desktop Underwriter meets every requirement for value acceptance, but Fannie Mae wants more information about the property itself.
The page’s own wording is that it applies when “Fannie Mae needs more information on the subject property.” For purchases, the overview lists principal residences and second homes under that option with LTV/CLTV up to 97%. Whether it could apply to your file is a question for your loan officer.
Does Skipping the Appraisal Save Money?
Both pages describe savings for the borrower, and the reason is plain: with no appraisal to order, there’s no appraisal fee to pay. Fannie Mae’s page lists that as a benefit of the program. Freddie Mac’s page gives an average of its own.
Fannie Mae’s overview puts it in its list of benefits: “Cost savings for the consumer as they don’t have to pay for the appraisal.” Those words describe the program, not any one file.
Freddie Mac’s page says borrowers can skip the appraisal fee, “saving on average $600”. The same page reports that ACE loans closed in less time than loans using appraisal reports, with an average saving of 14 days on purchases and 12 days on refinances, and it dates those day figures to the second quarter of 2025. These are Freddie Mac’s own program averages, not a figure for any one loan, so ask the loan officer what your own file’s costs and timeline look like.
What Changes When the Appraisal Is Skipped?
The appraisal is the step that gets skipped. Nothing else on either page is described that way. Fannie Mae’s page still has the lender run the loan through Desktop Underwriter, and Freddie Mac’s page still has the lender work through Loan Product Advisor.
For how an inspection is a different step, see how a home inspection differs from an appraisal.
If your loan does get an appraisal, see what happens if a home appraises for less than the offer.
What to Bring to Your Loan Officer About the Appraisal
Both programs let some loans skip the appraisal. Whether yours is one of them depends on the lender’s underwriting run and on the program’s own exclusions. Those answers sit with your lender.
Fellowship’s mortgage process page describes what its team looks at: “We holistically assess income, debt-to-income ratio, credit score, employment trajectory, and property type to determine eligibility.” It adds: “Each loan program has different sets of eligibility guidelines.”
Fellowship’s home purchase page puts it this way: “Depending on your circumstances, one home loan may be better than another.” That’s why questions about your appraisal are worth talking through with a loan officer.
Appraisal Waiver Frequently Asked Questions
What is an appraisal waiver?
It’s the name buyers use for an offer that lets an eligible loan skip the appraisal. The offer is issued through the lender’s automated underwriting run. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each run a version of it, and each uses its own name for the program.
Is an appraisal waiver the same as value acceptance?
Value acceptance is Fannie Mae’s name for its own program, and that’s the term its overview uses. Freddie Mac’s page calls its version ACE. Buyers may run into all three terms, and a loan officer can say which program your loan is being run under.
What is ACE?
ACE stands for Automated Collateral Evaluation. Freddie Mac describes it as a Loan Product Advisor capability that lets lenders deliver loans to Freddie Mac without an appraisal report. Its page points to Freddie Mac’s Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide for eligibility and requirements.
Can I ask for an appraisal waiver?
The offer comes out of the lender’s underwriting run, so the question worth asking is whether your file was offered one. Your loan officer can look. If it wasn’t, the same conversation can cover what the plan looks like with an appraisal in the file.
Which loans are left out of Fannie Mae’s value acceptance?
The overview’s ineligible list includes two- to four-unit properties, a purchase price or estimated value of $1,000,000 or more, and transactions using a gift of equity. Other exclusions sit on the same list. A loan officer can check the rest against your property and loan.
Does an appraisal waiver save money?
Both programs describe savings for the same reason: with no appraisal ordered, there’s no appraisal fee to pay. Freddie Mac’s page puts its average at $600, which is that company’s own program figure rather than a number for any one loan. Your loan officer can walk through your file.
Questions to Bring to Your Loan Officer
The appraisal step is simpler to plan for when you know where your loan stands. Both programs run through the lender’s own underwriting, and both carry exclusions, so the answers sit with the person holding your file. Bring questions instead of guesses.
- Was my loan offered value acceptance or ACE?
- Does my purchase fall into any of the excluded loan types?
- If the loan doesn’t get a waiver and an appraisal is ordered, what’s the plan?
- Could the option with property data apply to my file?
When you’re ready, you can talk with a Fellowship loan officer about your loan and your appraisal.
This is general education about what Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s pages say, not legal, lending or financial advice, and not a commitment to lend.
