A home appraisal waiver, though, means that you can skip the in-person appraisal. This takes away some of the uncertainty that comes with an appraisal. It can also save you money, as buyers usually pay for the appraisal.

For value acceptance (appraisal waiver) to be considered, generally a prior appraisal must be found for the subject property in Fannie Mae's Collateral Underwriter (CU) data. When required, DU will compare the address for the subject property to the property addresses found in CU.

Being granted an appraisal waiver can save buyers money and time, since they do not have to pay for an appraisal and the closing process could be sped up. However, a professional appraisal is probably the most accurate way of determining a home's value, so buyers who skip it run the risk of overpaying for the home.

Losing a PIW can delay the closing because you'll now need an appraisal, and run the risk of the property under-appraising. Opting for a PIW will not give you the peace of mind of having a professional appraiser assess the market value of the property.

You are more likely to qualify for an appraisal waiver if your loan-to-value ratio is no higher than 80%. You can get to a lower loan-to-value ratio by coming up with a larger down payment when applying for your mortgage. The larger your down payment, the lower your loan-to-value ratio will be.

Lenders might waive a new in-person appraisal because the home's market value was calculated so recently. The same can be said for refinancing a home. If little time has passed since the original appraisal, a lender may be willing to waive the in-person appraisal when refinancing.

A property inspection waiver (PIW) mortgage is a mortgage that's eligible for an appraisal waiver, which means the loan can be approved without a full home appraisal report.