The Quick Read: Usually only through your lender, and only when the first report contains a documented error, because a new appraisal is a request the lender or investor can decline rather than a borrower right, and when two reports already sit in the file, the lower value typically sizes the loan.
- A documented factual error is the strongest reason to ask. Disappointment with the number is not.
- The request goes through your loan officer or broker, never to the appraiser directly.
- A low value cuts the loan ceiling and the cash-out. On a multimillion-dollar property, a small percentage miss is a large dollar gap.
- On rental files, a low rent opinion can sink the file separately from a low value.
- If a second report is off the table, you can add cash, shrink the loan, renegotiate the price, or move to a different program.
Is a Second Appraisal Ever a Right?
No. Whether a second appraisal happens is the lender’s or investor’s decision, and a borrower-paid report is a request the lender can turn down.
Lenders resist for a good reason. An appraisal exists to give the lender an independent opinion of the collateral. If a borrower can keep ordering reports until one lands higher, the opinion stops being independent. The trade press calls this appraisal shopping. The ABA Banking Journal says a second appraisal belongs where the original’s deficiencies cannot be fixed and the report is unusable. It adds that the file should be documented so it is clear the lender was not hunting for a higher number.
So the contradictory advice you read online resolves into one rule. A second appraisal is possible, but it depends on the lender’s policy and on a documented basis, not on how you feel about the number.
Required vs. Requested: Two Very Different Things
A required second appraisal is part of the investor’s collateral policy. A requested one is a borrower’s reaction to a low number. Most high-balance files across the wholesale network Lendmire works with carry two reports by design, and the exact trigger depends on the program and the investor.
| Factor | Required second appraisal | Borrower-requested |
|---|---|---|
| Why it happens | Investor policy on larger loans | You dislike the value |
| Who orders it | The lender or its management company | You ask; the lender decides |
| Who pays | Built into the file cost | Usually you, if allowed |
| What it can do | Gives the underwriter a cross-check | Rarely changes the outcome |
Here is the practical consequence. On a super jumbo file, the second opinion often already exists. A third report is rarely welcome, because the underwriter has seen both numbers.
What Counts as Grounds for Reconsideration?
Factual errors count. Disagreement does not. A reconsideration of value, usually called an ROV, asks the lender to have the appraisal reviewed for specific mistakes or missed evidence. It is not a demand for a target number.
| Usually grounds | Usually not grounds |
|---|---|
| Wrong square footage | The value is lower than you hoped |
| Wrong bed or bath count | A neighbor’s list price |
| Wrong lot size | Your purchase price |
| Missed improvements | A feeling the comps are off |
| Closed comps missed or mis-adjusted | A higher estimate from an online tool |
The best ROV packages are short. They name the error, attach proof, and list a few closed sales the appraiser may not have seen. A long letter about what the home is worth to you goes nowhere.
The Order of Operations
Work the problem in this sequence. Skipping steps costs credibility with the underwriter.
1. Get the full report. Ask your loan officer for the appraisal, every exhibit, and the rent schedule. That schedule is Form 1007 for a single unit and Form 1025 for two to four units.
2. Diagnose what missed. The shortfall can be in value, in rent, or in both. Value drives the loan-to-value ratio (LTV, the loan as a percentage of the property’s value). Rent drives the DSCR, or debt service coverage ratio, which is monthly rent divided by the full monthly obligation. Fixing only one may not restore the file.
3. Audit for errors. Check the physical facts first, then the comps.
4. Submit the ROV through the lender. Your broker passes it along. You do not contact the appraiser.
5. If the ROV fails, pick a path. Ask whether the lender will accept a borrower-paid second report, and get that answer in writing before you pay. Or resize the loan. Or move the file to a program that allows an appraisal transfer.
The federal framework behind this process is worth knowing, with one caution. Federal agencies jointly issued interagency guidance on reconsiderations of value. It lists three tools an institution may use: asking the original appraiser to correct the report, an independent review by a licensed appraiser, or a second appraisal. The Federal Reserve’s copy of the guidance says institutions may let consumers submit information the appraiser may not have considered.
That guidance is aimed at regulated institutions and consumer-purpose dwelling credit. DSCR loans are designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties. Because they are business-purpose investor loans, they are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage. Whether any given file is reached by the guidance is a legal question, and its current status is worth checking, since commentary on it has shifted. Treat it as a model for how a sound ROV process looks, not as a right you can invoke.
What Happens When Two Reports Already Disagree?
The lower value typically sizes the loan. It is not an average, and a higher second number does not cancel a lower first one.
This surprises borrowers. Say one report comes in meaningfully above the other. You might expect the lender to split the difference or take the higher figure. Most do neither. The lender is protecting itself against overvaluation, so it leans on the conservative number.
To move the lower figure, your evidence has to attack that report’s own errors. Proof that the higher report was right does not fix the lower one. If the lower report has a wrong lot size or missed comps, document those. If both reports are internally sound and simply differ, that is an ordinary disagreement between appraisers, and the lender is unlikely to override it.
A common worry here is whether the underwriter’s awareness of the first low number taints any replacement. It can, and a replacement the lender orders itself, with a documented reason, carries more weight than a report you hand over. That is why the ask matters as much as the evidence.
A Worked Example in Percentages
Take a modeled investment purchase under contract at a multimillion-dollar price, in the band where select wholesale programs typically allow 80% on an investment-property purchase, subject to full underwriting and credit tier. The appraisal comes in 8% below the contract price.
The lender sizes on the lower of price or value. So the loan ceiling falls by 8% in proportion. Instead of financing 80% of the price, the loan tops out near 74% of the price. Your cash need rises from about 20% of the price to about 26%. On a seven-figure property, those six extra points are a large check.
Now a cash-out variant. Say you refinance an investment property where the ladder allows 75% cash-out in the lower super jumbo bands, again through select programs and subject to underwriting. A value that comes in 8% low cuts proceeds twice. The ceiling drops, and the existing balance stays put, so the cash you pull out shrinks faster than the value did. The exact numbers vary by lender and program and follow a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Leverage also steps down as loan size grows on investment property. A lower value that shrinks the loan can nudge it into a different band. Sizing above $4,000,000 is reviewed case by case before submission, so those files get an individual answer rather than a ladder figure.
When Rent Is the Real Problem
On a rental file, the 1007 or 1025 rent opinion can be the weak link even when the value is fine. Some programs use only the appraiser’s rent figure. Others allow a variance when a signed lease exists, and some use the lesser of the lease and the appraiser’s number. It depends on the program.
For a short-term rental, a nightly rate multiplied by thirty days is not market rent on the schedule. Short-term rental rules can vary by city, county, HOA, and property type, so investors should confirm local rules before relying on projected rental income.
Before you challenge anything, check which number is failing. An ROV that wins back value but leaves a thin coverage ratio only solves half the file. Across the wholesale network, DSCR coverage floors differ by program. Some select lenders review files below 1.00 coverage, but leverage and terms adjust when they do.
Cost, Timing, and Contract Deadlines
A second appraisal adds a cost and a step. It also adds time, and your purchase contract’s deadlines do not pause while the new report is ordered and reviewed. I’d treat the deadline as the real constraint here. Before asking for a new report, check the appraisal contingency in your contract and ask whether the seller will extend it.
There is also a risk nobody likes to say aloud. The second report can come in low too. If the lender allows it, you are paying for information, not for a better number.
Which Move Fits Your Situation?
| Your situation | Best first move |
|---|---|
| Clear factual error in the report | ROV through the lender with proof |
| No error, just a lower number | Resize, renegotiate, or add cash |
| Two reports already, first low | Challenge the low report’s own errors |
| Purchase with a contingency | Renegotiate price or use the contingency |
| Cash-out refinance | Accept a smaller draw or wait |
| Rent opinion is the problem | Check the program’s lease-variance policy |
If a Second Appraisal Isn’t Available
You still have real options.
- Renegotiate the price. A low appraisal is evidence the market may not support the contract price.
- Add cash. You cover the gap and keep the deal.
- Take a smaller loan. Pair this with the next lender’s reserves requirement, since reserves typically run 3, 6, or 9 months by loan size, and cash-out proceeds cannot satisfy them on a super jumbo file.
- Change programs. Some channels allow an appraisal transfer, which can avoid ordering a new report. Others reset the file. Ask your broker which is which before you move.
- Wait and reapply. Comps change, and so can improvements you have documented.
Tax treatment can depend on how the funds are used and how the property is held; investors should keep clear records and speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction.
Unique and High-Value Properties
Appraisers can reasonably differ on large or unusual properties. Thin comps, acreage, custom finishes, and one-of-a-kind locations all widen the gap between two honest opinions. Ten acres is the maximum on super jumbo files in select programs, and rural property is generally excluded, subject to underwriting.
If you expect trouble, build the comp evidence before you need it. Collect closed sales, not list prices. Document improvements with dates and receipts. Ask your broker in advance which programs allow ROVs and appraisal transfers. This is the kind of homework that separates a manageable low appraisal from a collapsed contract. Lendmire’s piece on whether a super jumbo bank statement loan gets a second appraisal covers the trigger side, and its look at whether a super jumbo bank statement loan always triggers a second appraisal covers the exceptions.
Lenders also treat their own ability to order a second report cautiously. Legal commentary in CFS Review notes that lenders can ask an appraiser to correct errors or add information but are limited in their ability to obtain a second appraisal. Agency programs have their own rules, but those are a different world from private-capital super jumbo files.
The wider financing picture matters too. The complete DSCR loans guide explains how property-level rental income drives qualification, which is why the rent opinion deserves as much attention as the value.
Key Terms Defined
Appraisal: An independent opinion of what a property is worth, ordered through the lender.
Reconsideration of value (ROV): A formal request that the lender have the appraisal reviewed for specific errors or missed evidence.
Second appraisal: A separate full report, ordered either because the investor requires two or because a lender agrees to a replacement.
Desk or field review: A cheaper check of an existing appraisal, done without or with a visit to the property. Sometimes called a second appraisal informally.
Form 1007 / Form 1025: The rent schedule forms for single-unit and two-to-four-unit rental properties.
Loan-to-value (LTV): The loan amount as a percentage of the lower of price or appraised value.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I order my own appraisal on a super jumbo loan?
You can ask, but the lender decides whether to accept it. Many lenders will not use a borrower-ordered report at all. If one will, get that agreement in writing before you pay, and expect the lender to want a documented reason.
Does the higher value win if two appraisals disagree?
Usually not. The lower value typically sizes the loan, because the lender is guarding against overvaluation. To change the outcome, you need evidence that the lower report contains its own errors.
Can I contact the appraiser to argue the number?
No. Route everything through your loan officer or broker. Direct contact with the appraiser looks like pressure and can taint the file.
Does switching lenders help?
Sometimes. A few channels let an existing appraisal transfer, which avoids a new report. Others start over with a new appraiser, and a fresh report can come in the same or lower. Ask your broker what carries over before you switch.
How many reconsiderations can I file?
Many lenders allow one per appraisal, though policies vary. Make the first one count. Bundle every error and every comp into a single, well-organized package.
Next Step
If you are financing a high-balance property on business or personal bank statements and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare super jumbo bank statement loan options based on your deposits, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Every program is reviewed subject to full underwriting, and nothing here is a commitment to lend.
Lendmire’s self-employed mortgages page presents both super jumbo programs, bank statement and DSCR, side by side.
About Lendmire
Lendmire, NMLS# 2371349, is a mortgage brokerage focused on investor financing, arranging DSCR loans in 40 states plus Washington, D.C. — 41 markets total. Qualification is based on the property’s income rather than personal income documentation, subject to lender guidelines, making it a fit for LLC-held rentals and scaling portfolios. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. ABA Banking Journal, Reconsideration of Value: A Critical Component of Appraisal Review
3. Federal Reserve, Interagency Guidance on Reconsiderations of Value (SR 24-3 attachment)
4. CFS Review, CFPB Addresses the Fine Lines of Appraisal Independence
This article is part of Lendmire’s super jumbo bank statement loan program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: How to Get a Super Jumbo Loan With No Current Income · Can an LLC or Trust Hold a Super Jumbo Loan? · 5-Year ARM vs. 7-Year ARM for Super Jumbo Bank Statement Loans
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Disclosure information. Lendmire is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage under NMLS# 2371349. Lendmire is not a depository institution, direct lender, or financial advisor — all loans referenced are placed through wholesale lender partners and are subject to each lender's underwriting standards. This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not a commitment to lend, nor does it constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Loan programs, terms, rates, and qualification standards change without notice and depend on borrower profile, property type, and the state in which the subject property is located. Equal Housing Opportunity provider. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.