Platinum Data Solutions, a provider of collateral valuation and risk assessment technologies, has upgraded FreeAppraisalReview.com with My Property Database. This new feature enables appraisers to compare current appraisal data with data from their previously completed appraisals.
FreeAppraisalReview.com is an automated appraisal quality technology designed specifically for residential real estate appraisers. My Property Database, a user-specific quality control tool, helps appraisers avoid errors, maintain consistency in their appraisal reports, and avoid delays caused by Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter.
“Fannie Mae is using Collateral Underwriter to scour appraisals for discrepancies between present and past work, and that includes the way an appraiser describes the subject property and the comps,” Platinum Data CEO Phil Huff said. “If an appraiser rated a property a C2 on one appraisal, then C4 on another, that’s going to trigger a warning, which causes a correction request and delays. This is a huge concern for appraisers. No one — not appraisers, AMCs or lenders — wants red flags associated with them or their work.”
Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter software, which was implemented in January, screens appraisals for issues the government-sponsored enterprise considers indicators of risk, including data inconsistencies. These issues result in warning messages that can impact the overall score the appraisal receives from Collateral Underwriter.
My Property Database runs automatically in FreeAppraisalReview.com. Users simply upload one or more completed appraisals into My Property Database. The next time the user submits an appraisal into FreeAppraisalReview.com for review, the system automatically parses data from his or her previously completed appraisals, compares that data with that on the submitted appraisal, and reports any discrepancies. This comparison feature empowers appraisers to immediately identify and correct data inconsistencies prior to submitting to an AMC or lender. This helps them to reduce the incidence of correction requests or rejected appraisals.
Lenders and AMCs cite correction requests as one of their top challenges in the appraisal process. When discrepancies go undetected until after the appraisal is submitted to the lender or AMC, they can cause hours- or days-long delays that can impede rate locks, reduce the overall quality of the appraisal report, and compromise the appraiser’s, lender’s and AMC’s reputations.
“Revision requests are skyrocketing, and they’re only going to become more common — particularly for Fannie Mae loans — now that Fannie has deployed Collateral Underwriter,” Huff said. “If lenders, AMCs and appraisers don’t implement their own controls, the entire process is going to slow down. My Property Database helps protect the bottom line, lower borrower costs, and elevate the customer experience.”
FreeAppraisalReview.com takes seconds to screen appraisals for the most common issues that cause lenders to return appraisals to appraisers and relay its findings to users in an easy-to-understand online report. FreeAppraisalReview.com is accessible via any Internet-connected device. First-time users can set up accounts and start using the service in less than 60 seconds.