Warranties offered with some appraisals promise to shield lenders from the liability of bad valuations and from repurchases. One recent offering enables lenders to apply the cost of a desktop appraisal to a full appraisal, and a recently launched valuation service reportedly costs less than a full appraisal but is more comprehensive than a broker price opinion.
StreetLinks National Appraisal Services announced last week a revision to its warranty of appraisal quality and appraiser competency, which is included on every appraisal ordered from the appraisal management company. The warranty provides indemnification for lenders in the event of a verified appraisal-related repurchase demand.
The revision addresses the responsibility and liabilities of lenders as specified in Fannie Mae announcement SEL-2010-09 issued last month and includes appraiser competency. The Indianapolis-based firm, a MortgageDaily.com advertiser, claims its appraiser selection and assignment methodology is compliant with Fannie’s requirements.
Another firm now offering a warranty is DartAppraisal.com, which unveiled its custom appraisal warranty. The DartAssurance warranty is backed by an A-rated insurance company to provide up to $100,000 in coverage for loss tied to a valuation inaccuracy. The warranty is good for 60 months and fully transferable.
The maximum loan amount under Dart’s warranty is $750,000, and the maximum loan-to-value is 100 percent. It is good for first and second mortgages and costs between $20 and $30 per appraisal.
A collateral valuation report offered by AppraisalWorld promises to be more comprehensive than a BPO and less costly than a traditional appraisal. The offering from the San Jose, Calif., firm is part of a focused effort to combat mortgage fraud and was developed with Forsythe Appraisals LLC and Valocity LLC.
ValueSafe, launched by Coester Appraisal Group in May, enables lenders to apply the cost of a previously ordered desktop appraisal to a subsequent full appraisal. Coester is an AMC that operates from Gaithersburg, Md.
Lenders and originators who work with multiple appraisal firms can manage those vendors with InHouse Connexions, a recent news release from InHouse Inc. said. The Orange, Calif.-based company claims its platform is the first to combine technologies for analysis, data mining and workflow. InHouse said customers can easily switch between vendors with its offering instead of feeling locked in with a single provider.
“It has a fully configurable assignment engine that allows lenders to control distribution volumes per vendor, in addition to an analytical function that ensures the appraiser’s geographic competency as determined by the lender’s parameters,” InHouse said. “The system’s transparency allows lenders to track every appraisal request in its pipeline with results available in real-time, and the system employs security measures that include 128-bit SSL and SAS-70 Type II certifications.”
An earlier news release from InHouse indicated it would pay $10,000 to any lender who used another AMC that provided faster turnaround time or better quality. The “$10,000 challenge” requires the implementation of InHouse Connexions and the ordering of 100 appraisals through the system.
An InHouse competitor and MortgageDaily.com advertiser, Global DMS LLC, recently said its MARS SME technology enables investors and asset managers to quickly and automatically value loan pools. The system extracts, reviews and reassembles data from PDF appraisal reports into XML MISMO format for delivery to Fannie Mae. The application can be used for whole-loan trades, loan pools and residential mortgage-backed securities.
Global said thousands of property addresses can be uploaded simultaneously with a spreadsheet. The data are analyzed and compared with any prior values — a feature that can help prevent fraud.
Veros recently reported that its platform systems are ready to deliver appraisals to investors in MISMO 2.6 format to meet new industry requirements for electronic appraisal data delivery. The VeroSELECT 3.0 and Valuation Risk Management platforms route and deliver appraisals, BPOs and AVMs and help lenders meet investor compliance requirements while identifying potential valuation concerns.
