The appraiser�s certification # 23 is an acknowledgment by the appraiser that certain parties to a mortgage finance transaction that are not the Lender/Client and/or Intended User often rely on the appraisal report. This new certification clarifies that such other parties include the borrower, another lender at the request of the borrower, the mortgagee or its successors and assigns, mortgage insurers, government-sponsored enterprises, and other secondary market participants.

The Intended User is the party for whom the appraiser is writing the report, which is the Lender/ Client for a residential mortgage finance transaction. The revised appraisal report forms clearly identify the Intended User as defined by the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice as the Lender/Client. The acknowledgment of other parties that often rely on the appraisal report is not meant to expand the list of Intended Users. Instead, it is meant to clarify that others, although not Intended Users, often rely on the appraisal report as part of a mortgage finance transaction.

Our intent was to clarify through the use of this new certification that the appraiser is accountable for the quality of his or her work to those who often rely on it as part of a mortgage finance transaction. The appraiser�s accountability for the quality of his or her appraisal should not be limited to the Lender/Client and/or Intended User identified in the appraisal report. Fannie Mae believes that parties to a mortgage finance transaction that are not the Lender/Client or Intender User should be able to rely on the accuracy of an appraisal report prepared by a state-licensed or state-certified appraiser and the appraiser should be held accountable for the quality of that appraisal because their reliance is customary and reasonable. We are committed to overcome the prevailing feeling in the appraisal and lending communities that appraisers are too often not held accountable for the quality of their appraisals.