With the industry’s increased focus on appraisal quality, mortgage lenders are taking longer to underwrite appraisals. To help make the process more efficient, Dart Appraisal, a nationwide appraisal management company (AMC), has implemented Platinum Data’s RealView appraisal quality technology prior to submitting appraisals to lenders.
“The process a lender employs for collateral underwriting has changed dramatically in the past few years,” said Michael Dresden, executive vice president of Dart Appraisal. “The increased attention to detail requires lenders to invest additional time, staff and resources in this process. AMCs can help mitigate delays for the lender by reducing the friction caused by multiple client corrections on the same file. It’s imperative to have the right system in place.”
To improve overall quality and reduce client corrections, Dart decided to implement a technology that, combined with Dart’s manual review process, could help ensure appraisal quality and compliance and reduce correction requests. Dart Appraisal researched several different appraisal review technology systems before selecting RealView for its comprehensive capabilities. Since implementing RealView, Dart Appraisal reportedly has seen a marked reduction in client corrections and received direct positive feedback from clients.
“RealView really complements our manual review process, and we’re catching more potential issues prior to delivery to the client,” Dresden said. “The amount of back-and-forth has been greatly reduced. Our clients have acknowledged the improvements and have said they’re very happy with our service.”
Dart Appraisal also credits RealView’s audit trail as a key factor in its increased client satisfaction rates.
“Our clients often ask us what was caught in our review process before sending the appraisal to them, and with RealView, we can show them exactly what we found,” Dresden said. “They like knowing that everything is stored on a secure server so if they ever need to produce proof of their efforts, it’s literally as easy as a phone call or a couple of clicks.”
RealView, which screens for all published regulations and guidelines, recently was updated to screen for Collateral Underwriter’s findings, including its 21 hard stops.
“By predicting Collateral Underwriter’s findings and hard stops, RealView helps our QC team provide an even more comprehensive review for our lender clients,” Dresden said. “Although we do handle the UCDP upload for several clients, this function allows us to review predicted CU messages and hard stops for all of our clients.”
“The great news is that Fannie Mae has propelled the industry forward by endorsing the need for technology in the appraisal process,” Platinum Data CEO Phil Huff said. “As AMCs do not currently have access to Collateral Underwriter, savvy companies like Dart Appraisal understand how much a segment-specific technology can function as a differentiator and impact their bottom line. We’re happy to be supporting their continued performance and growth.”