You sketch by walking the walls: tap where you start, type each wall in feet, and tap the arrow for the way it runs. Each floor, garage or patio closes as its own shape and saves to your report as it closes, and Finished Area Above Grade fills in from your sketch. In How-to 11, Josh Stalk, Licensed Residential Appraiser (NV), sketches a house start to finish.
How do I sketch the house and get the areas?
- Open the Sketch. Left panel, Sketch, right before Dwelling Exterior. The sketch needs an address first. Then tap Start sketch.
- Walk the walls. The Draw the first wall card shows the three moves. Tap where you start, type the wall in feet, then tap the arrow for the way it runs. Twelve, plus, eight adds them up. Undo wall takes back the last one.
- Close and name it. When the strip says Shape can close, tap Close shape. Tap First Floor, Garage, Covered Patio or Casita, or type your own. Then Save shape. It saves itself: the top right says In your report.
- What's next. After each shape, the What's next card offers Second floor, Basement, Garage, and Porch, patio or deck. Tap one, tap where it starts, and walk it. Each floor prints on its own page.
- Fix a wall, or start on one. Tap a wall's number to retype it, or to start the next shape a measured distance along that wall. Angled corner, rise and run, and Curved wall are there for the odd ones.
- Rooms, symbols, and moving a building. Rooms names a spot; Symbols adds Stairs and a Fireplace. Drag a name to move it. Grab a building and drag it to move it; let go to put it down.
- Start from a sketch PDF. Tap Upload a sketch PDF: the county assessor's sketch page, or your own Apex sketch printed to PDF. Every wall is drafted in teal. Check each one with your tape.
- Finish and review. Done walking opens the Sketch Summary: Total Living Area and the Area Breakdown. Each shape is a teal draft until you tap Looks right, or Apply changes. Save adds your commentary. Print Exhibit gives you the sketch page with the Area Calculations Summary.
What trips people up?
If you already typed your own number in Finished Area Above Grade, the sketch never writes over it. Tap Use the sketch to make the sketch's number your answer. A listing sheet draft you have not kept is only a draft, and your sketch replaces it.
What does the new report require here?
- Whether a sketch is provided is Required. "When true, indicates that a sketch and/or floor plan has been provided." (Appendix A-1 v1.4, 3300.0002, report field 7.000, Required)
- Measurement Standard (3300.0007, report field 7.001) is answered when there is a sketch, and ANSI is one of its listed choices.
- From the Lessons Learned job aid (page 9, section 2): "Standard and Nonstandard finished areas are reported separately in the Area Breakdown subsection."
Want it on paper? The How-to 11 Quick Start has these steps on one page.
Questions appraisers ask
Will the sketch write over a number I already typed in Finished Area Above Grade?
No. If you already typed your own number, the sketch never writes over it. Tap Use the sketch to make the sketch's number your answer.
Can I start from the county's sketch?
Yes. Tap Upload a sketch PDF, the county assessor's sketch page or your own Apex sketch printed to PDF. Every wall is drafted in teal. Check each one with your tape.
How do I add a garage or a second floor?
After a shape closes, the What's next card offers Second floor, Basement, Garage, and Porch, patio or deck. Tap one, tap where it starts, walk its walls and tap Close shape. The name is already filled in.
Do I lose my sketch if I leave?
No. Every shape you close is in your report within a couple of seconds; the top right of the walk says In your report. Back keeps everything. Only walls you started and did not close are not in yet.
How do I move a building?
Grab it and drag it. With a mouse, press and drag; on a phone or iPad, press and hold half a second, then drag. Let go to put it down. It snaps to walls and corners, and Undo puts it back.
I sketch in TOTAL. Do I have to use this?
No. If you love the sketch in TOTAL, stay there; you do not enter measurements here. Type Finished Area Above Grade in Unit Interior and pick each room's floor on the Room Level line. If you ever want to try ours, SketchPilot comes with your AppraisalPilot plan.
Sources
- AppraisalPilot, How Do I Sketch the House and Get the Areas?, how-to video with Josh Stalk, October 31, 2026
- J. Marshall Hunt and Josh Stalk, How-to 11 Quick Start, one page, October 2026
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Appendix A-1, URAR Delivery Specification v1.4, 3300.0002 (7.000) and 3300.0007 (7.001)
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, UAD 3.6 Job Aid: Lessons Learned, v1.0, page 9, section 2