VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 11 — Appraisal Report

va-m26-7-ch11

VA Pamphlet 26-7 Chapter 11 governs the VA appraisal report.

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source:
  type: regulation
  id: va-m26-7-ch11
  authority: VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 11 — Appraisal Report
  description: |
    VA Pamphlet 26-7 Chapter 11 governs the VA appraisal report.
obligations:
  - id: va-m26-7-ch11-sar-familiarity-requirement
    canonical_id: va-m26-7-ch11-sar-familiarity-requirement
    section: VA M26-7 Ch. 11, Topic 1, Subsection c — SAR Familiarity Requirement
    description: |
      [LENDER]'s Staff Appraisal Reviewers (SARs) who are reviewing
      appraisal reports must be familiar with residential appraisal
      principles and VA's specific requirements for appraisal reports.
    type: do
    audit_question: For every VA appraisal review [LENDER]'s SAR conducts, can [LENDER] evidence that the SAR has documented training and demonstrated familiarity with residential appraisal principles and VA's specific appraisal report requirements?
    program_review: Does the program ensure SARs reviewing appraisal reports have documented training and familiarity with residential appraisal principles and VA's specific appraisal-report requirements?
    file_review: Review SAR training/competency records; confirm documented familiarity with appraisal principles and VA requirements.
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: origination
    owner_role: underwriter
    secondary_owner_role: compliance_officer
    cadence: continuous
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-b
      - regulator-direct
      - va
      - m26-7
      - ch11
      - sar
      - appraisal-review
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 11 — Appraisal Report
      source_class: va-handbook-m26-7
      source_url: https://benefits.va.gov/WARMS/M26_7.asp
      snapshot_id: faa7d8c84a0580f3
      fetched_at: '2026-05-23T01:50:00Z'
      content_hash: sha256:960cb068c0b142cd1bb4a0e38f29c6c5b725d24095781b92c663a83e9fd36263
      paragraph_quote: 'reports must be familiar with residential appraisal principles and VA’s '
      drafter_attestation: Copied verbatim from VA Handbook snapshot faa7d8c84a0580f3 (M26-7 Ch. 11, Topic 1c — SAR familiarity) at 2026-05-23. Source PDF retrieved via Wayback Machine.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-23T02:11:05+00:00'
    promoted_from: va-m26-7-ch11-roundb-v1.yaml
  - id: va-m26-7-ch11-condo-va-accepted-before-guaranty
    canonical_id: va-m26-7-ch11-condo-va-accepted-before-guaranty
    section: VA M26-7 Ch. 11 — Condominium VA-Acceptance Before Loan Guaranty
    description: |
      All condominium units, including site condominiums and manufactured
      home condominiums, must be located in a condominium development that
      has been accepted by VA prior to loan guaranty. SARs receiving an
      appraisal for a condominium unit in a development that has not been
      at least conditionally accepted by VA may not issue the Notice of
      Value.
    type: do
    audit_question: For every VA loan secured by a condominium unit (including site condominiums and manufactured-home condominiums), can [LENDER] evidence VA acceptance (at least conditional) of the condominium development prior to issuance of the Notice of Value and prior to loan guaranty?
    program_review: Does the program ensure every condominium unit (including site and manufactured-home condos) sits in a VA-accepted (at least conditionally) development before NOV issuance and loan guaranty?
    file_review: Spot-check condo loans; confirm VA acceptance of the development preceded the NOV and guaranty.
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: origination
    owner_role: underwriter
    secondary_owner_role: loan_officer
    cadence: per_loan
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-b
      - regulator-direct
      - va
      - m26-7
      - ch11
      - condominium
      - nov
      - va-acceptance
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 11 — Appraisal Report
      source_class: va-handbook-m26-7
      source_url: https://benefits.va.gov/WARMS/M26_7.asp
      snapshot_id: faa7d8c84a0580f3
      fetched_at: '2026-05-23T01:50:00Z'
      content_hash: sha256:960cb068c0b142cd1bb4a0e38f29c6c5b725d24095781b92c663a83e9fd36263
      paragraph_quote: 'accepted by VA prior to loan guaranty. SARs receiving an appraisal for a '
      drafter_attestation: Copied verbatim from VA Handbook snapshot faa7d8c84a0580f3 (M26-7 Ch. 11 — Condo VA acceptance) at 2026-05-23. Source PDF retrieved via Wayback Machine.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-23T02:11:05+00:00'
    promoted_from: va-m26-7-ch11-roundb-v1.yaml
  - id: va-m26-7-ch11-appraiser-must-gain-vacant-access
    canonical_id: va-m26-7-ch11-appraiser-must-gain-vacant-access
    section: VA M26-7 Ch. 11 — Vacant Property Appraiser Access
    description: |
      If the property is vacant, the appraiser must gain access to the
      interior, unless (i) jurisdictional law prohibits the lender from
      gaining or assisting in gaining access (with RLC-waived access),
      (ii) the RLC has case-by-case waived access for valid extenuating
      circumstances, or (iii) the RLC has approved a waiver of the
      servicer's responsibility to assist in obtaining access. [LENDER]
      must ensure these access conditions are addressed in the appraisal
      workflow.
    type: do
    audit_question: For every VA appraisal on a vacant property, can [LENDER] evidence that the appraiser gained interior access OR that one of the three permitted RLC-approved waivers applies and is documented in the file?
    program_review: Does the program account for the vacant-property access rule and its three RLC-waiver exceptions — the appraiser must gain interior access unless an applicable RLC-approved waiver is documented?
    file_review: Spot-check vacant-property appraisals; confirm interior access or a documented qualifying RLC waiver.
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: origination
    owner_role: compliance_officer
    secondary_owner_role: underwriter
    cadence: per_loan
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-b
      - regulator-direct
      - va
      - m26-7
      - ch11
      - vacant-property
      - appraiser-access
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 11 — Appraisal Report
      source_class: va-handbook-m26-7
      source_url: https://benefits.va.gov/WARMS/M26_7.asp
      snapshot_id: faa7d8c84a0580f3
      fetched_at: '2026-05-23T01:50:00Z'
      content_hash: sha256:960cb068c0b142cd1bb4a0e38f29c6c5b725d24095781b92c663a83e9fd36263
      paragraph_quote: 'If the property is vacant, the appraiser must gain access to the interior, unless: '
      drafter_attestation: Copied verbatim from VA Handbook snapshot faa7d8c84a0580f3 (M26-7 Ch. 11 — Vacant property access) at 2026-05-23. Source PDF retrieved via Wayback Machine.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-23T02:11:05+00:00'
    promoted_from: va-m26-7-ch11-roundb-v1.yaml
_promotion_history:
  - promoted_at: '2026-05-23T02:11:05+00:00'
    candidate_path: obligations\_remediation\_round_b_drafts\va-m26-7-ch11-roundb-v1.yaml
    candidates_promoted: 3
    candidates_skipped_existing: 0

Verbatim regulatory text (3)

Verbatim provisions from VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 11 — Appraisal Report — each quote is a verified substring of the regulator-published source snapshot, not retyped. Quoted for reference; this is not legal advice. The operational layer (P&P updates, prompts) lives in the regulation update kits.

VA M26-7 Ch. 11, Topic 1, Subsection c — SAR Familiarity Requirement

reports must be familiar with residential appraisal principles and VA’s

Source: VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 11 — Appraisal Report · source URL · snapshot faa7d8c84a0580f3

VA M26-7 Ch. 11 — Condominium VA-Acceptance Before Loan Guaranty

accepted by VA prior to loan guaranty. SARs receiving an appraisal for a

Source: VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 11 — Appraisal Report · source URL · snapshot faa7d8c84a0580f3

VA M26-7 Ch. 11 — Vacant Property Appraiser Access

If the property is vacant, the appraiser must gain access to the interior, unless:

Source: VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 11 — Appraisal Report · source URL · snapshot faa7d8c84a0580f3

Operationalizing VA Lender Handbook M26-7 Chapter 11 — Appraisal Report

This is verbatim, source-snapshotted regulator text from the Claude for Compliance open corpus. To turn a rule like this into compliance work product: gap-analyze your policies and procedures (P&Ps) against these requirements to surface stale, conflicting, or missing provisions; operationalize any change with a ready-to-run update kit; and produce audit-ready evidence — every step grounded only in the regulator’s own words, never invented.

Source of record: https://claudeforcompliance.com/regs/va-m26-7-ch11/ · register va-m26-7-ch11 · Claude for Compliance. Free to read and download; see regulatory updates and methodology.