Appraisal review is constant in an appraiser’s life. Now, thanks in large part to the Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP) and Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD), appraisal data has been standardized. The result is a dataset that is easily sliced, diced, reviewed and delivered.

“Currently, quality assurance departments are manually intensive and reviews are subjective in nature. With any manual process, there are opportunities for errors and omissions, and with individual contributors, review results may vary,” said Tom Huffman, Clear Capital vice president of platform services. “With UAD, an infinite set of rules can be created using combinations of data, client guidelines and tools from technology providers. GSEs and vendors will be using more robust review tools to analyze appraisals at every step in the process. Appraisers will be measured on how well their reports adhere to GSE and underwriting guidelines. And feedback on report corrections or deficiencies will become more standardized, consistent and faster. Additionally, systemic issues will be easily identified, which will allow process changes and influence future training.”

Clearly, there is a wave of progressive automated appraisal review technology that is going to impact the industry. While that may excite fear in many appraisers, those that take the time to understand the systems and the ability of automated review to elevate appraisal quality will position themselves as the stronger appraisal professionals in the marketplace.

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