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Commercial appraisal review software that checks the report against your file

ValueCheck reads each commercial real estate appraisal beside the engagement letter and the loan file. It confirms the report answers the assignment you ordered, recomputes the income approach, tests the comparable sales, lists every extraordinary assumption, and compares the appraiser’s rents and expenses with the rent roll and operating statement your underwriter used. Your reviewer starts from a memo cited to report pages.

For income property, construction and value-add loans. Works with the appraisals you order today; your qualified reviewer accepts the report or sends questions back.

Review a recent appraisal

Assignment first Intended use, value premises and effective date tested against the engagement letter

Math redone NOI and cap rate applied again from the report’s own lines

File tie-out Appraised rents and expenses compared with the rent roll and T12

Page cited Every flag points to the page of the report it came from

What is a commercial appraisal review?

A commercial appraisal review is the lender’s check, before the credit decision, that an appraisal answers the assignment, uses sound methods and assumptions, and supports the loan being made. ValueCheck runs that review as an AI agent on the MightyBot platform, using your appraisal policy and review standards as the rules.

Most review time goes to arithmetic and cross-checks

A 150-page narrative report takes hours to read closely. Much of that time is mechanical: finding the value premises, rebuilding NOI, checking that the comparable adjustments add up, and flipping back to the rent roll to see whether the appraiser’s occupancy matches the borrower’s. ValueCheck does that work and puts the results in front of the reviewer.

Judgment stays with your reviewer. Whether a cap rate is supportable in this market, or a comparable is truly comparable, is a professional call. ValueCheck makes sure the reviewer is making it with every inconsistency already on the table.

Appraisal review memo: 96,000 SF neighborhood retail center Illustrative example

Loan: $14.8M acquisition
Values: $18.9M as is, $21.6M stabilized
Result: Return: 1 stop, 3 flags

Value premise vs loan Hard stop

Loan is 69% of $21.6M, but $21.6M is the prospective as-stabilized value. On the $18.9M as-is value, leverage is 78%.
Report p.4, p.88 · Credit approval p.2
Income approach math Pass

NOI of $1,512,000 at a 7.00% cap rate recomputes to $21.6M, matching the reconciled stabilized value.
Report p.81-86
Occupancy vs rent roll Flag

Report assumes 94% occupancy in place. The borrower’s rent roll shows 86% after two anchor-adjacent vacancies.
Report p.52 · Rent roll p.1-3
Comparable sales Flag

Sale 4 closed 29 months before the effective date and carries a 34% net adjustment, above your 25% review threshold.
Report p.71-74 · Review policy 3.4
Extraordinary assumptions Flag

Value assumes a pending pad-site lease is executed. No signed lease in the loan file.
Report p.9 · Loan file index

Fictional appraisal shown for illustration. Your review policy, thresholds and value premises drive the real memo.

How ValueCheck works

01
The report and the engagement letter are read together

ValueCheck confirms the intended user and use, the value premises you requested, the property rights appraised, the effective date and who engaged the appraiser. A report that answers a different question than the one you ordered is flagged before anyone reads the conclusion.
02
The valuation is recomputed from the report

Income and expense lines are pulled from the direct capitalization or discounted cash flow section, NOI is rebuilt, and the cap rate is applied again. The comparable sales grid is checked for sale dates, distance and gross and net adjustment size against your review thresholds.
03
The appraisal is tied to the loan file

Appraised occupancy, rents and expenses are compared with the rent roll, trailing operating statement and budget in the file. Extraordinary assumptions and hypothetical conditions are listed, and each one is matched to the document that would satisfy it.
04
Your reviewer signs off with the flags in hand

The memo lists hard stops, flags and passes, each cited to report pages. Your reviewer accepts the report, sends questions to the appraiser, or orders a second opinion, and the resolution is recorded with each flag.

Appraisal review checks

What is on a commercial appraisal review checklist?

These are the default checks. Each is a plain-English review policy you can edit, and the depth of review can differ by loan size, property type and risk rating.

Input	What ValueCheck checks	Output
Engagement letter and appraisal order	Intended use and user, value premises requested, property rights appraised, scope of work and ordering party	Assignment conformance result and independence confirmation
Value conclusions and effective date	As-is, as-complete and as-stabilized values identified; the value used to size the loan matches the premise the policy requires; effective date against the expected closing	Value premise and dating exceptions
Income approach	NOI rebuilt from the report’s income and expense lines; cap rate or discount rate applied again; reconciliation arithmetic	Recomputed value and any variance from the concluded value
Sales comparison approach	Sale dates, distance, property type and size; gross and net adjustments against review thresholds	Comparable exceptions with the grid rows cited
Rent roll, T12 and budget in the file	Appraised occupancy, in-place rents, expenses and construction costs compared with the underwriting documents	Reconciliation flags for the reviewer
Assumptions and conditions	Every extraordinary assumption and hypothetical condition listed and matched to supporting evidence in the file	Open assumptions the value depends on

An appraisal can be internally sound and still wrong for the loan.

Review findings rarely come from a bad cap rate alone. They come from mismatches: between the report and the order, between the value and the loan, and between the appraiser’s numbers and the borrower’s.

The wrong value sizes the loan

An as-stabilized value ends up in the leverage calculation for a loan funding today’s building. The report was fine. The way it was used was not.

The appraiser saw a different property than the underwriter

The report assumes stabilized occupancy and market rents. The rent roll in the file shows vacancies the appraiser never saw, and nobody compared the two.

Assumptions hide in the front matter

A pending zoning change or an unsigned lease sits in the extraordinary assumptions on page nine. The value depends on it, and the credit memo never mentions it.

Why it is different

The reviewer’s judgment, without the arithmetic

ValueCheck does not replace your review appraiser or your appraisal management process. It does the mechanical checks so the reviewer’s time goes to the calls only a reviewer can make.

Capability	Manual review	ValueCheck
Assignment conformance	Checked if the reviewer pulls the engagement letter	Tested on every report against the letter in the file
Valuation math	Spot-checked	NOI, cap rate and adjustments recomputed
Loan file tie-out	Depends on who reviews it	Rents, occupancy and expenses compared with the rent roll and T12
Value premise	Caught at credit committee, sometimes	Matched to the loan amount and project phase
Assumptions	Read in the front matter	Listed with the evidence each one needs
Review record	A completed checklist	Each flag, response and resolution cited to report pages

Commercial real estate agents

Agents for the rest of the CRE loan life cycle

Deal screening and underwriting

Closing and loan boarding

Servicing and portfolio

How ValueCheck connects to the MightyBot platform.

ValueCheck runs on the MightyBot platform: plain-English credit policies, document extraction with page citations, and an audit trail for every decision.

Use caseCRE LendingRent rolls, operating statements and appraisals into DSCR, debt yield and LTV under your policy.Use caseConstruction Draw ReviewsDraw packet review, inspection reconciliation, lien waivers, and policy checks.Use caseCovenant MonitoringContinuous borrower reporting, covenant calculations, and breach detection.Use caseFinancial SpreadingNormalize borrower financials for underwriting, covenant monitoring, and risk evaluation.ControlPolicy EnginePlain-English policies compiled into deterministic execution paths.EvidenceData EngineDocument intelligence, canonical extraction, and source evidence pointers.

Run ValueCheck on appraisals you already reviewed.

We are opening design partner slots for banks, credit unions and CRE lenders. Share a set of recent appraisals with their engagement letters and loan files; we return review memos you can compare against your reviewers’ findings.

Become a design partner View all agents

What do the rules require a lender to review in a CRE appraisal?

The OCC's appraisal rule, 12 CFR 34 Subpart C says appraisals for federally related transactions shall "Be written and contain sufficient information and analysis to support the institution's decision to engage in the transaction" and shall "Analyze and report appropriate deductions and discounts for proposed construction or renovation, partially leased buildings, non-market lease terms, and tract developments with unsold units."

The 2010 Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines set the timing and the purpose of the review: "As part of the credit approval process and prior to a final credit decision, an institution should review appraisals and evaluations to ensure that they comply with the Agencies' appraisal regulations and are consistent with supervisory guidance and its own internal policies." Through that review, the institution "should be able to assess the reasonableness of the appraisal or evaluation, including whether the valuation methods, assumptions, and data sources are appropriate and well-supported."

In practice that means three questions for every report. Did the appraiser answer the assignment the lender gave? Does the math in the report hold together? And do the report's assumptions agree with the rent roll, operating statements and budget already in the credit file?

How does ValueCheck review an appraisal?

ValueCheck runs on the MightyBot platform. Your appraisal review policy is written in plain English, with a depth of review for each risk tier and property type. The agent reads the appraisal report, the engagement letter and the loan file together.

It first tests the assignment: the intended user and use, the value premises requested, the effective date, and who engaged the appraiser. Then it recomputes the report. Net operating income is rebuilt from the appraiser's own income and expense lines, the capitalization rate is applied again, and the indicated value is compared with the value the report concludes. The comparable sales grid is checked for sale dates, distance and the size of gross and net adjustments.

Finally it ties the appraisal to the file. Occupancy, in-place rent and expenses are compared with the rent roll and trailing operating statement the underwriter used, and the extraordinary assumptions and hypothetical conditions are listed so the reviewer sees what the value depends on. The output is a review memo with each flag cited to a report page. A qualified reviewer at your institution accepts the appraisal or sends questions back.

What should the review say about independence, value premises and documentation?

Independence is a rule, not a preference. Under 12 CFR 34.45, a fee appraiser "shall be engaged directly by the regulated institution or its agent, and have no direct or indirect interest, financial or otherwise, in the property or the transaction." A review should confirm who ordered the report before it looks at the number.

Construction and value-add loans need the right value for the loan. The guidelines say an institution financing construction or renovation "would generally request an appraiser to provide the property's current market value in its 'as is' condition, and, as applicable, its prospective market value upon completion and/or prospective market value upon stabilization," and that it "should consider the prospective market value that corresponds to the credit decision and the phase of the project being funded."

The review itself has to leave a record. The guidelines say documentation "should describe the resolution of any appraisal or evaluation deficiencies, including reasons for obtaining and relying on a second appraisal or evaluation," and "should provide an audit trail that documents the resolution of noted deficiencies." ValueCheck keeps each flag, the reviewer's response and the resolution together in the credit file.

What to look for in appraisal review software for lenders

Use these questions when you compare tools that help a bank, credit union or debt fund review commercial appraisals.

Does it test the report against the engagement letter?Intended use and user, value premises, scope of work and effective date should match what you ordered, before anyone reads the conclusion.
Does it recompute the valuation math?NOI rebuilt from the report's own lines, the cap rate applied again, and the comparable sales grid checked for dates, distance and adjustment size.
Does it compare the appraisal with your loan file?Occupancy, rents and expenses in the report should agree with the rent roll and operating statements your underwriter used, or the difference should be explained.
Does it list every extraordinary assumption?Zoning approvals, lease-up, completion and similar assumptions change what the value means. The reviewer should see all of them in one place.
Does it match the value premise to the loan?An as-stabilized value on a loan sized to as-is proceeds is a common mismatch. The tool should flag which value supports the loan amount.
Does the reviewer keep the decision and the record?A qualified reviewer accepts the report or sends questions back, and the flags, responses and resolution stay in the credit file.

A checklist review, an outsourced review and ValueCheck compared

Criterion	Internal checklist review	Outsourced review appraiser	ValueCheck appraisal review
Assignment conformance	Checked by hand against the engagement letter.	Checked as part of the review scope.	Tested on every report against the engagement letter in the file.
Valuation math	Spot-checked if time allows.	Reviewed by a credentialed appraiser.	NOI, cap rate and comparable adjustments recomputed from the report.
Tie to the loan file	Depends on the reviewer pulling the rent roll.	Usually outside the reviewer's file.	Compared with the rent roll, operating statement and budget already in the file.
Turnaround	Waits for reviewer capacity.	Waits for the vendor queue.	Memo ready when the report arrives; the reviewer starts from the flags.
Record of the review	A completed checklist.	A separate review report.	Each flag, response and resolution cited to report pages.
Fits best when	Low volume and simple properties.	Complex assignments that need a second opinion of value.	Volume is steady and reviewers spend their time on arithmetic and cross-checks.

Sources

Sources and verification

Regulatory references were read in the original documents and last verified September 23, 2026. Production figures come from the named MightyBot deployment.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a commercial appraisal review checklist?

A commercial appraisal review checklist is the set of tests a lender applies to an appraisal before the credit decision: does the report match the engagement letter, are the value premises right for the loan, does the valuation math hold, are the comparables reasonable, and do the assumptions agree with the loan file. ValueCheck runs those tests on every report and cites each finding to a report page.

How do banks review commercial real estate appraisals?

Before the final credit decision, a qualified reviewer who is independent of the loan checks the appraisal for compliance with the appraisal rules, the bank’s policy and the assignment. The depth of review usually scales with loan size and risk. ValueCheck prepares that review: it reads the report with the engagement letter and loan file and hands the reviewer the exceptions.

What do the Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines require for reviews?

The 2010 guidelines say an institution should review appraisals as part of credit approval and before the final credit decision, to confirm they comply with the appraisal regulations, supervisory guidance and internal policy, and to assess whether methods, assumptions and data sources are appropriate and well supported. They also expect the review and the resolution of any deficiencies to be documented.

Can AI review a commercial appraisal?

AI can do the mechanical parts of a review: finding the value premises, rebuilding NOI, recomputing the cap rate math, checking comparable adjustments and comparing the report with the rent roll and operating statements. ValueCheck does that and cites every finding. Accepting the appraisal remains the job of your qualified reviewer.

Does ValueCheck replace a review appraiser?

No. ValueCheck is a review aid. It does not give an opinion of value or perform an appraisal review under appraisal standards. It prepares the memo so your review appraiser or credit reviewer can focus on judgment, and records how each flag was resolved.

How does ValueCheck handle as-is, as-complete and as-stabilized values?

It identifies every value premise in the report, then checks which one supports the loan amount under your policy. A construction or value-add loan sized on an as-stabilized value when policy calls for as-is, or on a phase the loan does not fund, is flagged as a hard stop.

What documents does ValueCheck need?

The appraisal report and the engagement letter at minimum. For the file tie-out it also reads the rent roll, trailing operating statement, and for construction loans the budget, from the same credit file. Your appraisal review policy sets the thresholds.

What is a red flag on a commercial appraisal?

Common red flags include a value premise that does not match the loan, such as an as-stabilized value used to size an acquisition, comparables that are stale or far away, income assumptions that do not match the rent roll or operating statement, math that does not recompute, and extraordinary assumptions that the credit approval never addressed. ValueCheck flags each with the report page.

What does a design partner pilot include?

A read-only run on a set of your recent appraisals, with their engagement letters and loan files. You get the review memos and a side-by-side comparison with your reviewers’ findings, so you can see where ValueCheck agrees, where it found something new, and where your team disagrees.