Equity Valuation Partners (EVP) launched a first-of-its-kind service that merges fresh technology with proven appraisal expertise to produce a faster, more accurate and less expensive property evaluation, the company announced in a press release.
The EVP-EVAL service includes a proprietary app and valuation platform allowing lenders to satisfy evaluation requirements with an actual appraisal. And instead of chasing information in the usual cumbersome process, data comes to the appraiser for a dramatically faster turnaround.
“We’re merging technology and big data with Human Intelligence, or H.I., in a way that’s both revolutionary and completely natural,” EVP founder Drew Watson said in the release. “We’re performing appraisals today the same way we did 30 years ago – driving, measuring, inspecting and writing reports. Our industry has been starving for a tool that allows appraisers to get back to what they do best which is analysis and reconciling value.”
Watson also indicated that under EVP’s model, the homeowner downloads EVP’s free app and walks through their home to capture a specific series of images. That geo-tagged inspection data is then uploaded to EVP’s valuation platform, where an appraiser logs on and makes the determination of value in a process that takes a fraction of the usual four to five hours.
“We’re depending on time-tested valuation methodology – our interface is just a new tool,” Watson said. “For lenders that manage evaluations in-house, finding comps themselves or using an automated valuation model (AVM), EVP-EVAL offers an actual appraisal. That means more accuracy and no compliance questions, as internal staff can get back to generating new business rather than inspecting properties.
“And with the potential jump in the de minimis loan amount requiring more in-house evaluations, lenders now have a tool to meet the demand. Borrowers like the convenience, and appraisers remain relevant at a time when technology is threatening their industry. It’s a win all around,” Watson added.