Appraisal Logistics said that the company’s new Property Vision appraisal inspection tool will remain free for the present time to home equity loan of credit (HELOC) lenders that need verified interior images to make underwriting decisions.
The tool is allowing HELOC lenders to aid homeowners without putting them at risk, the company announced in a release.
“American homeowners continue to struggle through the COVID-19 crisis, but many of them have home equity they can access to make things easier,” Appraisal Logistics CEO Frank Danna said in the release. “Lenders have embraced Property Vision because it allows their appraisers to provide a more accurate opinion of value without putting the lender’s customers and appraisers at risk. This is a perfect solution for home equity lending.”
Property Vision gives borrowers the assurance that their lender cares about their health and safety and gives lenders fully compliant real estate valuations, all while keeping appraisers out of harm’s way. The new products are acceptable to agency investors and meet the GSEs’ guidelines for collateral valuation during the COVID-19 crisis, the company said.
An analysis of housing data performed by CoreLogic indicates that U.S. homeowners with mortgages, which accounts for more than 60 percent of all properties, have seen their equity increase by a total of nearly $590 billion since the first quarter of 2019, an increase of 6.5 percent, year-over-year. This is an opportunity for both homeowners in need of cash during these difficult times and home equity lenders.
“Appraisal Logistics developed Property Vision to allow the consumer to take interior photographs of their home using any web-enabled device equipped with a camera,” the company’s release stated. “There is no app to download and consumers are provided with simple instructions that walk them through the process. The technology automatically collects geocoding information and other metadata to ensure that the photographs are of the subject property and then makes them available to the appraiser.”
Appraisal Logistics is a Maryland-based appraisal management company for the residential and commercial mortgage industry.