Blog
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USDA Doubles Evaluation Threshold for Guaranteed Farm Loans
As of October 1, 2026, lenders in USDA’s Farm Service Agency guaranteed loan program can use a real estate evaluation instead of an appraisal on transactions up to $500,000, double the previous $250,000 limit, where their regulator and internal policy allow. The final rule (91 FR 56741) also lets Preferred Lenders certify collateral adequacy themselves,…
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SBA Brings Back In-House Valuations For Small Acquisitions
Days before SOP 50 10 8.1 took effect on October 1, the SBA issued a technical update that walks back its “no exceptions” stance on change-of-ownership valuations. Under the revised Appendix 15, lenders may once again perform their own business valuation when the business purchase price is $350,000 or less, provided the buyer and seller…
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WEBINAR: SMARTER REVIEW STRATEGIES
Suzy Gardner, President of Eval.com Advisory Services, recently joined Jeff Hicks of RealWired for a webinar on making appraisal review more efficient and consistent. They covered a three-tier review system supported by semi-automated and AI-assisted tools, regulatory expectations around material errors, and how standardized review criteria and scorecards reduce unnecessary revision requests and keep reviewers…
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COMMENT LETTER: THIRD-PARTY RISK MANAGEMENT
On September 28, 2026, Eval.com filed a comment letter with the Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, and NCUA supporting their proposed Third-Party Risk Management Guidance and urging that vendor oversight be proportionate to risk. We asked the agencies to provide examples for classifying lower-risk relationships, to confirm that institutions may rely on existing controls such as…
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How Large is the Commercial Valuations Market?
Every year, lenders, investors, loan servicers, and special asset groups order millions of commercial valuations and related assignments to support new lending, refinancing, loan renewals, portfolio management, regulatory compliance, and distressed asset management.