Blog · Data services

A QC Checklist for BPO and Appraisal Reports Before You Submit

AppraiseQ team · 5 min read · 31 October 2026

Most revision requests are not about value. They are about a square footage that doesn't match between two pages, a photo labelled "rear" that shows the front, a comp sold outside the date range, or a blank field the reviewer's software flagged in seconds. These are mistakes you would catch yourself if you looked, and a revision costs far more time than the look would have.

This is a checklist you can run in five to ten minutes before you hit submit. It works for BPOs and for appraisal reports, with a few items marked for one or the other. Adapt it to your vendors and clients, since each has its own guidelines and reviewers who care about different things.

How to use the checklist

• Run it every time, including on rush orders. Rush orders are where the mistakes cluster.
• Run it after a break. Even ten minutes away from the report helps you see it fresh.
• Read the report as the reviewer sees it, in the final PDF or the portal preview, not only in your form software.
• Add to it. Every revision you get is a new line for the list.

1. Order and assignment details

• Subject address matches the order exactly, including unit number, ZIP and spelling.
• Client, lender or vendor name, loan or order number are correct.
• Product type matches the order: exterior or interior BPO, or the appraisal form and scope ordered.
• Special instructions in the order have all been addressed. Reread them now.
• Effective date and inspection date are correct and consistent.

2. Subject property data

• GLA, bedrooms, bathrooms, year built and lot size are the same everywhere they appear: subject section, grid, sketch and comments.
• If public records and MLS disagree, you have stated which source you used and why.
• Property type, style and number of stories match what the photos show.
• Occupancy status matches your inspection notes and photos.
• HOA, taxes and zoning fields are filled, or marked unknown with a reason.
• Condition and quality ratings match your comments and the photos. A "good condition" rating next to photos of a damaged roof will come back.

3. Comparables

• The number of sales and listings meets the vendor's or client's requirement.
• Each comp is within the required distance and sale date, or the exception is explained in a comment.
• GLA, age, lot and room count for each comp fall within the required brackets, or the exception is explained.
• Sale prices, dates and list prices are typed correctly. Check one digit at a time on the price.
• Distances are calculated from the subject, not from another comp.
• Data source is shown for each comp.
• No comp is the subject property itself or a duplicate of another comp.
• Distressed sales are used or excluded as the vendor's guidelines require.
• For BPOs: your listings are currently active or the status is stated as of your search date.

For more on choosing the comps in the first place, see picking comps for a BPO.

4. Adjustments, pricing and value

• Adjustments run in the right direction: a superior comp is adjusted down, an inferior one up.
• Net and gross adjustment totals add up correctly.
• For BPOs: as-is, repaired and quick-sale price opinions are filled where required, and the relationship between them makes sense.
• For BPOs: repair estimates are itemized if the vendor asks, and the total matches the difference you have described.
• For appraisals: the reconciled value falls within the adjusted range, or you have explained why it doesn't.
• The final figure is the same everywhere it appears: grid, summary, comments and any cover page.

5. Photos

• All required photos are present: front, street views, address verification, sides or rear where required, interior rooms for interior products, and comp photos if the vendor requires them.
• Each photo is labelled correctly and in the order the vendor expects.
• Photos are of this property. Check the address number in the address photo.
• Any damage, repairs or adverse conditions mentioned in the report have a photo.
• Nothing in the photos contradicts the report (a pool you didn't mention, a second story on a "one-story" home).
• Files are the size and format the portal accepts.

Photo rules vary a lot between vendors; BPO photo requirements covers what is commonly asked.

6. Comments and narrative

• Every required comment box has an answer specific to this property, not a pasted block from another order.
• No leftover text from a previous report: another address, a different comp count, the wrong neighborhood name.
• Market condition comments agree with the data you entered (don't call the market "increasing" next to falling list prices).
• Any exception to vendor or client guidelines is explained in plain words.
• Spelling and grammar pass. A quick read aloud catches most of it.

7. Final file and submission

• No blank required fields. Use your software's or the portal's validation check if it has one.
• Required addenda, maps and sketches are attached.
• For appraisals: certification, licence number and expiry, and signature are in place and current.
• For BPOs: your licence number and expiry are current in the report and on file with the vendor.
• You are submitting to the right order in the right portal.
• After submitting, the portal shows the order as delivered or completed.

A two-minute version for rush orders

If you truly have no time, check these five things. They cover a large share of avoidable returns.

1. Address and order number match the order.
2. Subject GLA and room count match everywhere.
3. Comp count, distance and dates meet the requirements.
4. Price opinion or value is the same everywhere it appears.
5. Every required photo is there and correctly labelled.

Turning revisions into checklist items

The checklist above is a starting point. The version that really protects you is the one built from your own revision history. Each time a report comes back, write down what the reviewer asked for, which vendor or client it was, and whether a check would have caught it. After a month or two you will see patterns: one client always asks for a comment on a particular item, another always flags photo labels. Add those as client-specific lines. Our post on why BPOs get sent back for revision goes deeper on the common causes.

Ten minutes of checking is cheap. A revision request, a delayed payment and a lower scorecard rating are not.