What happens after you submit a reconsideration of value?

Step one: the lender screens it before the appraiser ever sees it

You hit send. Now the request lands with your lender, not the appraiser. That is on purpose. Under Fannie Mae's rules, the lender must finish its own review of the appraisal before starting the reconsideration of value (ROV) process. It then checks that your request contains enough supporting evidence before passing it along.

If your request is thin, expect it to bounce back. If it does, ask the lender exactly what is missing and fix it fast. A clear "send us X" is a gift. Take it.

When the request does go forward, Fannie Mae requires the lender to send the appraiser a standardized message that includes, among other things, the expected turnaround time for the answer. FHA used to require written acknowledgment, status updates and results under a 2024 rule, but HUD rescinded that rule on March 19, 2025. On an FHA loan now, ask your lender how it will keep you posted, and ask for the result in writing.

In other words, this is a paper process. Your lender is not calling the appraiser to say the buyers are really nice people.

Step two: the appraiser has to actually answer you

Once the appraiser has the request, Fannie Mae says they must analyze the relevance of the information provided. They then deliver a revised report that describes the points in dispute and the outcome. That revision is required whether or not the value changes.

FHA's 2024 rule required the same kind of revised report, but it was rescinded in March 2025. Under the current FHA handbook language, the underwriter asks for the reconsideration and sends the appraiser the relevant data. HUD no longer spells out the format of the answer, so ask your lender what you will get back.

This matters for you. A shrug is not an answer. If you sent three sales and the appraiser did not use them, the revised report should say why. Maybe one closed after the effective date. Maybe one was a fixer with a cracked foundation that only looked like a twin in the listing photos.

Read that explanation closely. Even a "no change" answer tells you exactly where the gap is.

The three ways it can end

• The value is confirmed. The review finds the original appraisal credible and nothing changes.
• A revised report is issued. The new information is addressed. The value may go up, or the appraiser may correct details and keep the same number.
• A new appraisal is ordered. This is the least common path and it has rules. Under FHA, a second appraisal can be ordered only if the underwriter finds the first one materially deficient and the appraiser cannot or will not fix it. The lender pays for that second appraisal, not you. Chase, for one, says it does not charge borrowers for a second appraisal ordered in its ROV process. Other lenders set their own policies, so ask.

Notice what is missing from that list: a value that moves because everyone is sad. Appraisals respond to evidence, not to the number written on the contract. One buyer and one seller agreeing on a price is a data point, not the whole market.

How long it takes and what you should hear back

There is no single national deadline for an ROV answer. Fannie Mae leaves the turnaround expectation to the lender, which has to spell it out when it sends the request to the appraiser. Ask your loan officer what that timeframe is the day you submit. It is a fair question and a short one.

One deadline is firm on Fannie Mae loans. The borrower's ROV has to be submitted before the loan closes. After closing, a borrower can no longer submit an ROV on that appraisal. FHA's 2024 before-closing rule was rescinded in March 2025, so on an FHA loan, ask the lender for its cutoff.

Your purchase contract has its own clock, and it does not pause for paperwork. If you have an appraisal contingency, find out from your agent exactly when it expires. An ROV that wins on day 20 does you little good if the contingency died on day 17. The calendar is undefeated.

What I see in the field

From the appraiser's side of the desk, the requests that move a value have the same thing in common. They bring facts the report did not have or got wrong.

• A missed comparable sale that closed before the effective date and is truly similar
• A wrong fact about the house, like square footage or bedroom count
• A comp described wrong, such as an upgrade or a seller credit that was missed

The requests that do not move a value bring opinions. An online estimate. What the seller paid for the kitchen. How much you love the backyard. I understand all of those. None of them is a sale.

Under Fannie Mae rules, a borrower can submit up to five alternative comparable sales, and only one borrower-initiated ROV is allowed per appraisal. FHA lenders set their own limits now, so ask. Either way, do not spend your request on a hunch.

What to do while you wait, and after

1. Get the acknowledgment in writing. Save it with the date.
2. Ask for the expected turnaround and put it on the same calendar as your contract deadlines.
3. Talk to your agent about plan B now. If the value holds, your options usually include renegotiating the price, covering the difference in cash, or canceling if your contingency allows it.
4. Ask for a copy of the revised report. On a first-lien home loan, your lender has to give you a free copy of each appraisal developed for your application.
5. Read the explanation as closely as the number. It tells you which of your points landed and which did not.
6. For legal questions about your contract, ask your agent or a real estate attorney.

A win is a revised value. A loss with a clear explanation still beats a guess.