A set of reports aims to inform mortgage lenders about complying with recently implemented rules, requirements and regulations. New appraisal services and enhanced versions of existing services promise to improve the valuation process.
A free report, The New ECOA Valuations Rule: Critical compliance steps, is being offered by Mercury Network. In addition to explaining the E-Sign Act component of the rule, the report covers a list of acknowledgments lenders must receive from the borrower.
The report also provides common compliance pitfalls, sample compliance audit trails and simple solutions with documented audit trails for compliance.
Mercury, a Mortgage Daily advertiser, is also promoting an analysis of Fannie Mae’s new appraisal quality initiative. The report, Fannie Mae’s Appraisal Quality Management, includes redacted letters with specific quality concerns.
Yet a third report from Mercury, Appraisal Quality Control Best Practices, is an industry collaborative white paper with best practices for compliance with Fannie, Freddie Mac and more.
The GeoScore Evaluation/Appraisal Report, which is also referred to as GEAR AP, is a “groundbreaking alternative appraisal product,” AXIS Appraisal Management Solutions said in a news release Monday.
GEAR AP takes a consumer focused design-driven approach to valuations, San Rafael, Calif.-based AXIS said. It was constructed to meet all interagency evaluation guidelines and Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice requirements.
“Fueled with multi-source data, rules-driven validation, and appraiser-derived analytics, GEAR AP is a fully compliant product that is classified as an appraisal report, simplifying the complex adjustments of the traditional appraisal,” the statement said.
Read more at www.axis-amc.com.
A new release of LRES DirectConnect announced Wednesday provides mortgage bankers with an enhanced connection to improve speed and accuracy of valuations. The latest iteration enables users’ technology to connect to the proprietary order management platform to optimize the valuation ordering process.
LRES says that its latest version cuts integration time frames from up to six months to as little as two weeks. The reports are in the MISMO industry-standard format.
The company operates offline in Orange, Calif., and online at www.lres.com.
St. Paul, Minn.-based Forsythe Appraisals LLC said Tuesday that its chief appraiser, Alan Hummel, has been tapped to serve as a representative member on the Appraisal Subcommittee Advisory Committee for Development of Regulations. Hummel, who is also a senior vice president at Forsythe, is one of 17 committee members.
