The new Loan Collateral Advisor® fatal severity feedback message (FRE 4611) related to Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) Section 5603.4, Unacceptable appraisal practices, is now live. The message alerts users when an appraisal report submitted to the Uniform Collateral Data Portal® (UCDP®) contains subjective and/or potentially biased words and phrases.

If users receive this fatal severity message, it will prevent them from successfully submitting the appraisal to UCDP. To clear the message, users will need to go back to the appraiser to have them address the language and resubmit the appraisal to UCDP.

Our prior communication, which announced the effective date for the fatal severity message, answered some frequently asked questions we’ve received on this topic – including providing practical examples of language that could trigger the message and alternatives that could help clear it.

These feedback messages are an important aid in rooting out subjective and potentially biased language in appraisals. They help appraisers complete reports that avoid them and help lenders deliver loans that comply with our Guide requirements.

We’ve received a lot of feedback during the implementation and analysis of the messages and seen a significant decrease in instances of words and phrases in appraisal reports that would trigger both the warning and fatal severity messages. We’ll continue to monitor and analyze results and evaluate the feedback we’re receiving.

If you have additional questions on this topic, we’ve got answers. Please check out the links under the Related Resources section of this page to view prior articles, training and feedback messages. If you still have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your Freddie Mac representative or the Customer Support Contact Center (800-FREDDIE).