What a desktop appraisal works from when nobody visits

Fannie Mae allows subject property information to come from one or more data sources. Virtual inspection methods, such as digital photos or video, can add to the picture, and so can technology like a machine generated floor plan.

Information from the homeowner, the potential borrower or another party can be used to describe the inside and outside of the house.

Under Fannie Mae's rules, the minimum scope of work for a desktop appraisal does not include a current inspection of the property or of the comparable sales by the appraiser. The report is filed on its own form, the Form 1004 Desktop, and is labelled as a desktop assignment.

It still needs the same exhibits as a traditional appraisal, plus a floor plan.

Fannie Mae does not permit extraordinary assumptions, or a value made subject to later checking of the property's condition, quality or physical features. The appraiser has to decide the information is accurate and reliable enough for a credible report, including its condition and quality ratings.

In plain terms, if the data cannot support a confident description, a desktop report is a poor fit for that property.

Fannie Mae lets the appraiser accept data, photos and floor plans from a party with a financial interest in the sale or financing, as long as the appraiser verifies that data from a disinterested source. Photos from an owner can help, but they are not taken on trust.

According to the Fannie Mae Selling Guide, section B4-1.2-02 as updated December 10, 2025, the loan must be a purchase of a one unit principal residence with a loan to value ratio of 90 percent or less, and must receive an Approve/Eligible result from Desktop Underwriter.

The same section rules out all refinances, condos, cooperative units, manufactured homes, second homes, investment properties and two to four unit properties. Other loan programs set their own rules.