An allowable is the maximum an investor or agency will reimburse for a preservation task. Every program publishes its own schedule, and they do not agree with each other — the same dry winterization on the same property pays $100 under HUD, $120 under Freddie Mac, $150 under Fannie Mae and USDA, and $160 under VA. This compares all five published schedules line by line, with a link to each source document so you can verify every figure yourself. For every per-task figure on one page, see the 2026 property preservation price list.
Winterization, Compared
Winterization is the clearest illustration because all five programs price the same three methods.
| Service | HUD | Fannie Mae | Freddie Mac | VA | USDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry winterization (first unit) | $100 | $150 | $120 | $160 | $150 |
| Wet or steam winterization | $150 | $220 | $175 | $230 | $220 |
| Radiant winterization | $250 | $260 | $250 | $290 | $260 |
| Each additional unit | $90 wet / $125 radiant | $100 any method | $50 each | $85 dry / $145 wet or radiant | $90 wet / $125 radiant |
| Re-winterization | $50 | $50 per calendar year | $50 | — | $50 per occurrence |
Fannie Mae caps the first-unit amounts for the life of the mortgage loan, which matters on a property that is winterized, de-winterized for a sale attempt, and winterized again.
Freddie Mac and VA: The Two Schedules Everyone Skips
Most allowables comparisons stop at HUD, Fannie Mae, and USDA. The other two schedules are structured differently enough that reading them like the first three produces wrong bids.
Freddie Mac's Guide Exhibit 57 publishes two numbers per line: a unit price and an expense limit. The unit price caps what one instance of the work pays — $1.00 per united inch for plywood boarding, $150 for initial yard maintenance on lots to 10,000 square feet, $40 per cubic yard for trash removal. The expense limit is the threshold above which the servicer needs written pre-approval before the work happens. Freddie is also the only program of the five that prices clear boarding on its main schedule, at $2.25 per united inch against plywood's $1.00.
VA publishes its preservation amounts in the VALERI Fee Cost Schedule, currently effective May 1, 2026, alongside the requirements in Handbook M26-4. Two things distinguish it. The preservation amounts are uniform nationwide — unlike HUD's state-by-state grass table, a VA initial cut pays $115, $145, or $175 by lot size in every state where the service applies. And there is no over-allowable request before the work: the servicer is paid the schedule maximum on the claim and has 30 days to appeal with documentation of actual cost afterward. VA also prices boarding per opening rather than per united inch — $740 for half-inch plywood window coverage — and caps debris removal by unit count, from $690 on a single-family to $1,210 on a four-unit.
Grass Cutting: Where the Gap Is Widest
HUD prices the initial cut by state and lot size. Fannie Mae and USDA price it by lot size only, with no geographic adjustment at all. The result is that identical work pays very differently depending on which program holds the loan.
| Initial cut, lot under 10,000 sq ft | Amount |
|---|---|
| HUD — Alabama | $70 |
| HUD — Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi | $85 |
| HUD — Arkansas | $70 |
| Fannie Mae — any state | $125 |
| USDA — any state | $125 |
Alabama is the sharpest case. HUD pays $70 for an initial cut that Fannie Mae and USDA pay $125 for, in the same state and the same cutting season — both schedules run Alabama from March 1 to November 30 at twice per month.
Why HUD Pays Less: A Schedule Frozen Since 2019
Comparing HUD's 2019 allowance appendix against the current Handbook 4000.1 line by line, the only dollar figures that changed in seven years are the inspection fees. Mortgagee Letter 2023-20 raised the occupancy inspection from $20 to $30 and the first-time vacant inspection from $35 to $45. Winterization, boarding, debris removal, roof repair, and grass cutting are unchanged. The $5,000 maximum property preservation allowance is also unchanged.
Fannie Mae updated its schedule in June 2025, USDA reset its allowances effective October 1, 2025, VA issued a new VALERI fee schedule effective May 1, 2026, and Freddie Mac's Exhibit 57 was last touched by Bulletin 2025-D in September 2025. HUD's stayed still. That is the mechanism behind the spread above — not a policy judgment that the work is worth less, simply a schedule that has not been revisited while labor and materials moved.
Caps That Are Easy to Miss
| Item | Limit | Program |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum property preservation allowance | $5,000 | HUD |
| Debris removal, interior and exterior | $1,250 | HUD |
| Temporary roof repair or tarping | $600 per property | HUD |
| Permanent roof repair or patching | $1,000 per property | HUD |
| Trim trees, shrubs, vines | $500 per calendar year | Fannie Mae |
| Address discoloration | $400 for the life of the loan | Fannie Mae |
| Moisture control | $30 per product, $360 per calendar year | Fannie Mae |
HUD's $5,000 cap has a footnote worth knowing: it excludes debris removal, grass cutting, boarding, inspections, pool securing, sump pumps, demolition, vacant property registration fees, and utilities. Those sit outside the cap rather than consuming it.
Where Local Law Overrides the Schedule
An allowable schedule prices a method; it does not authorize one. Ohio Revised Code 2308.031 prohibits using plywood to secure property deemed vacant and abandoned, while HUD's schedule prices boarding materials at a per-united-inch rate built around plywood. Handbook 4000.1 resolves the conflict directly — mortgagees are not exempt from state and local law, and where the authority having jurisdiction requires more extensive action than the schedule contemplates, the mortgagee may submit an over-allowable request with supporting documentation.
This is the practical reason allowables and local ordinance requirements have to be read together rather than separately.
What This Means for Vendors and Servicers
For vendors: the program behind a work order determines whether a task is profitable before you ever dispatch a crew. Pricing a portfolio as though one schedule applies across it will systematically underprice HUD volume in low-rate states.
For servicers and asset managers: the gap between schedules is a real cost input on portfolios that mix agency and GSE loans, and it is one of the reasons vendor coverage thins out in specific states. Documentation quality is what protects reimbursement at either rate — an approved amount is still denied without the photos and completion records to support it.
Verify Before You Rely on These Figures
Allowable schedules change, and stale copies circulate widely — several industry sites still host agency matrices from 2010 to 2019 that load cleanly and are obsolete. Each figure above links to the current source document. Confirm against the publisher before using any of it for a bid, a claim, or an over-allowable request.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1What is an allowable in property preservation?
An allowable is the maximum amount an investor or agency will reimburse for a specific preservation task. Work performed above the allowable generally requires prior approval, and work performed without that approval may not be reimbursed at all.
2How much does HUD pay for winterization?
HUD Handbook 4000.1, Appendix 7.0 sets dry winterization at a maximum of $100 per unit, wet or steam winterization at $150, and radiant winterization at $250. Fannie Mae and USDA pay $150, $220, and $260 for the same three methods, Freddie Mac pays $120, $175, and $250, and VA's current VALERI schedule pays $160, $230, and $290 — the highest of the five.
3How is Freddie Mac's allowable schedule different?
Freddie Mac's Guide Exhibit 57 publishes a unit price and an expense limit for each line. The unit price caps one instance of the work; the expense limit is the threshold above which written pre-approval is required before the work is performed. It is also the only one of the five schedules that prices clear boarding on its main schedule.
4How do VA property preservation allowables work?
VA publishes maximum amounts in the VALERI Fee Cost Schedule — currently effective May 1, 2026 — and its preservation amounts are uniform across states. There is no advance over-allowable request: the servicer is paid the schedule maximum on the claim and may appeal within 30 days with documentation of actual cost.
5Why do HUD allowables differ from Fannie Mae's?
Each program publishes and maintains its own schedule independently. HUD's preservation amounts have not changed since 2019 apart from inspection fees raised by Mortgagee Letter 2023-20, while Fannie Mae updated its schedule in June 2025 and USDA reset allowances effective October 1, 2025.
6What does HUD's $5,000 preservation cap not cover?
Appendix 7.0 excludes debris removal, grass cutting, boarding, inspections, pool securing, sump pumps, demolition, vacant property registration fees, and utilities from the $5,000 maximum. Those costs sit outside the cap rather than counting against it.
7Are vacant property registration fees reimbursable?
Fannie Mae's expense reimbursement schedule lists property registration at actual cost to register per local requirement, without a dollar cap. HUD excludes registration fees from the $5,000 maximum preservation allowance. Confirm current treatment in each program's own guidance before submitting.
8What happens when local law conflicts with an allowable schedule?
Local law controls the method. HUD Handbook 4000.1 states that mortgagees are not exempt from state and local law, and provides for an over-allowable request with supporting documentation where the authority having jurisdiction requires more than the published schedule contemplates.