Clear Capital recently announced the launch of Universal Data Collection (UDC), the latest in the company’s suite of products designed to support appraisal modernization. UDC supports Fannie Mae’s newly announced Value Acceptance + Property Data program, as well as Freddie Mac’s ACE+ PDR solution empowering lenders with national scalability and coverage, interchangeability and less complexity for loan management, Clear Capital said in a press release.
When a lender receives loan eligibility for agency loan programs that allow for an inspection-based appraisal waiver, UDC ensures, fast and accurate collection and submission that meets both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae data standards, Clear Capital stated.
With varying standards across the property data collection space, UDC provides flexibility, as eligible loans can be quickly and easily transferred to the agency with the loan program that meets the borrower’s needs, without the need for an additional product. In addition to the flexibility provided, UDC is available at a fraction of the cost of a traditional appraisal and completed in half the time.
“We have seen seismic shifts across the housing market in the past year, and the appraisal modernization policy work being done by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provides a welcomed change as alternative valuation approaches offer a crucial path forward for lenders and homeowners alike,” Kenon Chen, executive vice president of strategy and growth at Clear Capital, said in the release. “We have been planning for an industry-wide shift in appraisal backed by policy changes, and we have the data, analytics and technology in place to support this shift and enable widespread adoption of modern appraisal tools industry-wide.”
The UDC property data collection solution provides interchangeability and less complexity in management of loans, as well as ease of adoption with the availability of order management integrations, website ordering and API ordering.
Additionally, UDC is supported by ClearInsight, an easy-to-use mobile app that enables real estate professionals to quickly generate a complete digital picture of a home. The solution also leverages CubiCasa to produce digital floor plans that provide Digital Gross Living Area (GLA), aligned with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards.
“We wanted to provide an efficient and cost-effective method for data collection ordering and management that satisfies appraisal modernization policy changes and delivers more confidence in closing times along with a faster, lower-cost experience for consumers,” Dan McAlister, director of Product Management for Clear Capital, said. “Simplicity of implementation is at the heart of Universal Data Collection, and we focused on removing adoption and loan management hurdles that have been so common in the traditional appraisal process to create a product that will help facilitate the future of appraisals.”