Should I give the appraiser my previous appraisal?

Hand over the facts, not the old number

It feels helpful. You have a thick appraisal from your refinance two years ago, the number on page one made you happy, and you figure the new appraiser might as well start there. Why make them do all that work twice?

Here is the problem. On a loan, Fannie Mae's Appraiser Independence Requirements (AIR) say no person may influence or try to influence the result of an appraisal. Its list of examples includes providing the appraiser "an anticipated, estimated, encouraged, or desired value." The one stated exception is that a copy of the sales contract may be provided on a purchase.

An old appraisal is a stack of useful facts with an estimated value printed on top. Handing over the whole thing puts that number in front of the appraiser. In my view, that is too close to the line, and it does not help you anyway.

Giving an appraiser your old appraisal is like giving a referee the score from last season's game. Nice memory. Not today's game.

Why the old number cannot help you, even if it was honest

Every appraisal answers one question as of one day, the effective date. Markets move after that day. Your house moves too: a new roof, a tired deck, a kitchen you finally finished.

The old report also used the sales that existed back then. Those comps may be older than 12 months now, and Fannie Mae says comparable sales that closed within the last 12 months should be used, with older sales allowed when they are the best indicator. In my own work, an older sale can still teach something if it is adjusted to the house and indexed forward to today. But that is a sale, not someone else's final number.

A prior value is an opinion. It is not market evidence, any more than a Zestimate is. My conclusion has to stand on sales the market produced and adjustments I can measure. If it only holds up because an older report said so, it is not my opinion. It is a photocopy.

Here is a quick test. Would you hand over the old appraisal if it had come in lower? If the answer is no, you already know what the old number is really for.

What an appraiser can do with what is inside a prior report

The facts in an old report can be gold. Fannie Mae's desktop appraisal FAQ says appraisers may accept property information from someone with a financial interest, like a homeowner or an agent, as long as the appraiser verifies it through a disinterested source. It lists "prior appraisal assignment results" among the examples of verification sources, along with assessor data and floor plans.

So a prior report can point me to facts I then confirm:

• A floor plan or sketch that I check against my own measurements
• Photos that show the kitchen before the remodel, which helps date the update
• Notes on permits, additions or a converted garage that I can look up
• Lot details and features I should not miss

Federal lending rules (Regulation Z, section 1026.42) also say it is not improper influence to ask the appraiser to consider additional, appropriate property information, to explain the value in more detail, or to correct errors. That is the right door to walk through. Facts in, verified, then weighed.

What to share and what to leave in the drawer

Use this as your checklist. It works for a lender appraisal, a pre-listing appraisal or an estate assignment.

The best format is a short packet, not a binder. My post on what to give the appraiser walks through it. Pull the facts out of the old report and put them on one page. If the old report measured the house wrong, say so, and show the measurement you trust.

When handing over the whole report is exactly right

There are times the full report should change hands, and it is because someone is checking it, not leaning on it.

• A second opinion. A desktop review is a second opinion on another appraiser's report, checked against the evidence. To review a report, I need the report. That is the job.
• A low appraisal on your loan. If you think the lender's appraisal is wrong, the path is a reconsideration of value through the lender, with specific errors and better sales. You go through the lender, not around it.
• Your attorney or CPA. In an estate, trust or divorce file, your advisor may need to see prior valuations. That is their call, and a fair one.

Private assignments, like a pre-listing or date-of-death appraisal, do not fall under a lender's independence rules. I hold to the same standard anyway. I do not work contingent, and the value has to stand on its own evidence. If you hire me to confirm a number you already have, you are paying for a mirror. Mirrors are cheaper at the hardware store.

What I see in the field

Homeowners mean well with the old report, and I appreciate it. The most useful pages are almost never the ones they flag. The value page gets a sticky note. The sketch at the back, the photo of the old water heater and the permit history get nothing, and those are the parts that save me time and make the report stronger.

My advice is simple. Read your old appraisal yourself. Pull out every fact you can prove, add the dates, and hand me that page. Keep the number for your scrapbook.

A report should teach the market, not repeat a prior opinion. When the facts are clean, the evidence does the arguing, and the evidence is a much better arguer than a number from another year.