In 2026, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac replaced their separate appraisal forms with one redesigned Uniform Residential Appraisal Report, the URAR, built on version 3.6 of the Uniform Appraisal Dataset. For a Claremont homeowner refinancing, the method does not change: the lender still orders the appraisal, and the opinion still comes from comparable closed sales. What changes is how the house is described, with a more detailed area breakdown, a separate section for an accessory dwelling unit, and commentary placed inside each section instead of a general addendum at the back.
What is the redesigned URAR?
The Uniform Residential Appraisal Report is the standard appraisal report used on loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Until now it was one of several fixed forms, alongside separate forms for condominiums, small residential income property, desktop and hybrid assignments, and the update and completion report. Freddie Mac describes the redesign as replacing all of those with a single flexible report that covers every property type. In its words, with the new URAR "the data that describes the subject property drives the appraisal report, not a form type or number."
Freddie Mac's FAQ also states that the purpose of the URAR has not changed. The pillar guide to what the lender's form asks and why walks through those questions, and the rest of the series is on the lending and refinance appraisals hub.
When does it apply to a Claremont refinance?
Freddie Mac states that UAD 3.6 is mandatory for all new appraisal reports submitted to the Uniform Collateral Data Portal on or after November 2, 2026, and that the date is based on each report's initial submission, not the loan application. Its September 30, 2026 bulletin adds a temporary policy exception for approved lenders:
- November 2, 2026 through February 28, 2027: approved lenders may submit reports in either format.
- March 1 through May 19, 2027: either format is still accepted, with reduced functionality for reports in the older format.
- May 20 through June 27, 2027: new reports must use UAD 3.6; the older format is allowed only on resubmissions.
- June 28, 2027: support for the older format is retired.
So a refinance appraised around the change may arrive in either format, depending on when the lender submits it and whether it holds an exception; a loan kept in the lender's own portfolio follows its own policy. Ask the lender which format your report will use.
What changes in how a Claremont house is measured?
Fannie Mae requires gross living area, the finished, above-grade living space, to be measured under the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard. The redesigned report makes the breakdown visible. A joint Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac job aid shows the area reported in separate lines: finished above grade, finished above grade that is nonstandard, unfinished above grade, and the same three categories below grade, with the source of the figures stated, such as physical measurement.
Nonstandard finished area is finished space that does not meet the ANSI ceiling height requirements, or that is reached only through unfinished space. It is reported, but separately. In Claremont that matters for the kinds of houses that come in:
- Pre-1940 houses near the Village and the Colleges. A Craftsman bungalow or Spanish Colonial Revival house with a finished room under a sloping roof, or a back room reached through an enclosed porch, may now show part of its finished space on a different line from the main living area.
- Claraboya and Padua Hills hillside homes. Fannie Mae treats a level as below grade if any portion of it is below grade, so a lower level built into the slope is reported below grade even when one side opens to daylight.
- Postwar ranch houses north of Foothill. Where a later addition left a family room reachable only through the garage, it is identified as finished area with no direct interior access, apart from the main living area.
None of this decides what the space is worth; it decides how the space is described, so comparables and adjustments are read against the same categories. The room-by-room guide to a Claremont refinance appraisal shows where those measurements are taken.
What changes for an ADU behind a Claremont house?
Fannie Mae already required an accessory dwelling unit to be described separately and kept out of the main house's gross living area. In the redesigned report the ADU gets its own interior section with its own area breakdown, and the job aid's examples show fields for whether the unit is legally rentable and the source of that information, whether ADUs are typical for the market, how the unit is entered (from inside the main house, from outside only, or both), and whether it has a separate postal address.
For the rear units behind older Claremont houses, that puts permit history at the front of the report. A permitted ADU and an unpermitted conversion are described differently, and the report states what each statement relied on.
What happens to condition and quality ratings?
Condition and quality ratings are the standardized scales that describe how worn or updated a house is and how well it was built. Freddie Mac's FAQ says the scale has not changed, but the definitions were rewritten so the ratings are easier to tell apart. A house rated before and after the change is rated on the same steps.
Where does the appraiser's explanation go?
On the old forms, much of the reasoning sat in a general addendum at the end. Freddie Mac says the redesigned URAR replaces it with commentary fields within each section, so the explanation for a hillside comparable or a cross-line sale sits next to the data it explains.
What does not change?
- Who orders it. Appraiser independence, the rule that no party with a stake in the loan can choose or pressure the appraiser, still means the lender or its appraisal management company orders the report.
- The effective date, the date the opinion of value applies to, normally the inspection date on a refinance.
- Comparables from the right pocket. A Claremont house is still appraised from Claremont sales first. A sale from Upland or Montclair, across the county line, is used only with the location difference explained.
- The visit and the timeline. The inspection is 30 to 60 minutes for a standard single-family home, longer for hillside, custom, multi-family or homes with additions, and the report is typically three to five business days from the inspection.
- The route if you disagree, a reconsideration of value, the lender's request that the appraiser reassess the report based on new information or potential errors, still runs through the lender.
What can a Claremont homeowner do?
Have permits and final sign-offs for any addition, enclosed porch, garage conversion or ADU, and know whether a rear unit is permitted as a rentable unit. Make every level reachable, including lower floors on hillside lots and any room entered through the garage. The Claremont area page describes how the city's pockets are compared.
Lenders and brokers can order through residential appraisal for lending and refinance or by phone at (909) 324-6122. The fee is set by the scope of the assignment and quoted before work begins, and it does not depend on the value.
Sources
- Freddie Mac, Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6 FAQ: https://sf.freddiemac.com/faqs/uad-and-forms-redesign (accessed October 30, 2026)
- Freddie Mac, Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD 3.6 and Forms Redesign): https://sf.freddiemac.com/tools-learning/uniform-mortgage-data-program/uad (accessed October 30, 2026)
- Freddie Mac Bulletin 2026-J, Uniform Appraisal Dataset 3.6 (September 30, 2026): https://guide.freddiemac.com/ci/okcsFattach/get/1010789_7 (accessed October 30, 2026)
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, UAD 3.6 Job Aid: ANSI Reporting Requirements (version 1.0, June 23, 2026): https://sf.freddiemac.com/docs/pdf/uad-ansi-reporting-requirements-job-aid.pdf (accessed October 30, 2026)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-05, Improvements Section of the Appraisal Report (06/04/2025): https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b4-1.3-05/improvements-section-appraisal-report (accessed October 30, 2026)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.1-03, Appraiser Selection Criteria (06/04/2025): https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b4-1.1-03/appraiser-selection-criteria (accessed October 30, 2026)
- Claremont Heritage, Architecture (styles and eras): https://claremontheritage.org/architecture.html (accessed October 30, 2026)
- California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers, license lookup for Gordon Hall, BREA No. AR003877: https://www2.brea.ca.gov/breasearch/faces/party/view.xhtml?id=23601 (accessed October 30, 2026)
Gordon Hall, California Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, BREA No. AR003877 (lookup: https://www2.brea.ca.gov/breasearch/faces/party/view.xhtml?id=23601). Reports are prepared in conformity with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). Nothing here is legal or tax advice; admissibility is always the court's decision.
Frequently asked questions
When does the redesigned URAR become mandatory?
Freddie Mac states that UAD 3.6, the dataset behind the redesigned URAR, is mandatory for new appraisal reports submitted to the Uniform Collateral Data Portal on or after November 2, 2026. Lenders approved for a temporary exception may submit the older format into 2027. Ask your lender which format your report will use.
Does the redesigned URAR change how my home is valued?
No. The purpose of the report has not changed, and the opinion of value is still developed from comparable closed sales. The redesign changes how the property is described, including a more detailed area breakdown, a separate ADU section and commentary inside each section.
How does the new appraisal report treat an ADU?
An accessory dwelling unit gets its own section with its own area breakdown, kept out of the main house's gross living area. The report also records whether the unit is legally rentable and the source of that information, how it is entered and whether it has a separate postal address.
Did condition and quality ratings change in 2026?
The rating scale did not change. Freddie Mac says the definitions were rewritten so the ratings are easier to tell apart, so a house is still rated on the same condition and quality steps.
