RES.NET, a provider of software applications connecting real estate professionals and consumers, has announced that lenders using its appraisal portal technology can remain compliant with Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) requirements when electronically delivering appraisals to borrowers through its Valuation Portal.
RES.NET is a wholly owned subsidiary of USRES, an AMC-chartered national provider of valuation services.
RES.NET’s Valuation Portal is available to lenders and mortgage servicers for managing and processing valuations and currently is available through USRES’ AMC operation. RES.NET enables financial institutions to acquire values from its database of vetted appraisers and agents to expedite processes. Additionally, the portal provides managed timelines, cost analysis and valuation variances to ensure consistent and accurate values.
Lenders ultimately are responsible for the delivery of appraisals to borrowers in a timely manner. Although electronic processes create invaluable efficiencies, they require lenders to comply with ECOA and ESIGN. Lenders using RES.NET eliminate this regulatory concern — to initiate delivery of an appraisal to a borrower, they simply enter the recipient’s email address into the Valuation Portal. Upon receiving the email, borrowers are directed to a secure page to verify they understand the disclosure and establish their ability to view the appraisal in the required Adobe PDF format. RES.NET’s Valuation Portal also facilitates the customization of the disclosure content.
“With the growing number of compliance requirements for which lenders are accountable, it is important for RES.NET to be not only a technology provider, but a true partner in achieving compliance,” USRES and RES.NET CEO Keith Guenther said. “Delivering appraisals is a critical part of a lender’s business, and now, in addition to performing the appraisal, we are giving them a tool to deliver disclosures electronically while eliminating all ECOA and ESIGN compliance concerns.”