Property Data Collection 101
Property data collection (PDC) is a systematic approach to gathering and reporting factual information about a property. It is used by lenders exercising value acceptance + property data or hybrid appraisal valuation options. PDC is essential for lenders and appraisers to make informed decisions, leveraging data-driven methodologies in how collateral is evaluated in the loan origination process. It is not a valuation of a real estate property — it involves collecting objective data about the property’s physical attributes, condition, and other key features that enables users to determine the level of risk involved.
Collecting data about the subject property is a foundational element of the loan origination system, serving a crucial role in appraisals, market analyses, investment decisions, regulatory compliance, automated valuation modeling (AVM), and quality control. Fannie Mae has worked with industry partners to create a standardized property data collection process designed to produce factual, accurate, and consistent property data and exhibits.
PDC is an important component of our valuation modernization efforts, delivering innovation to our lenders by ensuring that a property’s characteristics align with what is expected and that it meets the requirements for loan eligibility. Using PDC enables lenders to make informed loan decisions, mitigate risks in underwriting, and deliver cost savings to their customers.
Key benefits of PDC
- Enables faster, informed decision-making: PDC accelerates the loan origination process by reducing the time required to assemble property information.
- Enables automatic value certainty through value acceptance + property data: Lenders receive representation and warrant relief on property value when exercising value acceptance + property data.
- Yields extensive information: Appraisers receive a comprehensive set of objective facts about a property to complete their appraisals without having to physically visit or inspect the property.
- Creates enhanced objectivity in property valuation: The use of standardized reporting and advanced technology ensures that the data is objective and reliable, fostering trust and transparency in the property assessment process.
- Helps mitigate risk, promoting safety and soundness: By providing current, accurate, and detailed property data, PDC helps lenders assess the level of risk associated with a loan, ensuring that the property serves as adequate collateral.
Property data collection helps enable value acceptance + property data and hybrid appraisals.
How it works
Property data collection consists of a full interior and exterior observation of the subject property. The data collection must be performed by a trained and vetted third party using a smartphone, tablet, or web-based interface, and then transmitted to Fannie Mae’s Property Data Application Interface (API) in compliance with the Uniform Property Dataset (UPD).
The process
- Assignment: Lenders or mortgage companies receive a value acceptance + property data or hybrid appraisal offer in Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) and order a PDC to be completed by a trained and vetted data collector.
- Data collection: The property data collector visits the property to gather detailed information in compliance with UPD, including:
- Property dimensions: Accurate measurements of the property’s size and layout.
- Condition of the interior and exterior: Captures deficiencies, including any visible structural issues, wear and tear, and maintenance needs.
- Number of rooms: Count of bedrooms, bathrooms, and other living spaces.
- Photographs: Capturing 40 – 60 high-quality photographs to provide visual documentation.
- Floor plan: Generating an ANSI®-compliant floor plan to illustrate the property’s layout.
- Data entry: The collected dataset is entered into Fannie Mae’s Property Data API by a PDC service provider for compliance verification.
- Data delivery: The completed PDC is submitted to the lender or mortgage company for review. For hybrid appraisals, a lender will also send the PDC to an appraiser to be used in the appraisal of the property.
- Review and decision: Lenders use the PDC to assess the property’s characteristics, validate the loan eligibility, and sell the loan to Fannie Mae.
Who performs a PDC?
Property data collectors gather information about subject properties and submit their results to Fannie Mae’s Property Data API. These professionals must be vetted through an annual background check to ensure trustworthiness, undergo comprehensive training to ensure competence in data collection, and comply with Property Data Collector Independence Requirements (PDCIR) to avoid conflicts of interest.
Data collectors can be appraisers, real estate agents (REAs), photographers, home inspectors, etc. While appraisers and REAs can be data collectors, our PDCIR do not permit REAs to act as a data collector on the same property to avoid conflicts of interest. The lender remains responsible for verifying the accuracy of the property description and the completeness of the data.
Fannie Mae has identified more than 60 companies that have met basic requirements to design and manage technology interfaces that are used by data collectors to enable data collection of a property. We perform quality control checks on the property data collection to ensure the quality of the data and information delivered through the Property Data API. Furthermore, the individual property data collectors have strict standards they must adhere to as outlined by our UDP, and lenders must ensure property data collectors undergo continuous evaluation, monitoring, and quality control measures.
