AppraisalWorks, a leading provider of real estate appraisal technology, today announced innovations to its flagship appraisal management technology platform. The platform is designed to streamline the real estate appraisal process, helping lenders and servicers achieve lower costs, faster turn times and greater transparency. The technology platform is patented under U.S. Patent 10,635,999., according to a company press release.

The latest enhancements to AppraisalWorks further automate key elements of the appraisal management process – including quote management tools for residential and commercial real estate assignments, providing direct connectivity to the Encompass LOS platform and delivering a platform for paying appraisers electronically. Benefits of these three capabilities include:

• Appraisal quoting – AppraisalWorks now provides a flexible, highly configurable system for managing quotes for appraisal assignments with commercial appraisal firms and individual appraisers – providing lenders with greater automation, real-time monitoring, status-driven alerts, and a detailed audit history. Elimination of manual tasks accelerates the process and provides increased transparency.
• Automated appraiser payment module – With AppraisalWorks, lenders can easily initiate and track ACH, manual and credit card payments on all appraisal orders as well as the agreed upon vendor fees. Support for batch payments enables straight-through processing for increased efficiency. Faster payments to appraisers provide a strategic advantage in attracting the best talent for each appraisal order. In addition, credit card processing is tracked on the order and individual transaction level, providing real-time insight into payment status and the ability to customize the borrower payment experience. With AppraisalWorks, lenders can reduce payment processing workload by up to 70 percent, while also improving appraiser and borrower relationships.
• Encompass LOS connectivity – The seamless integration between AppraisalWorks and Encompass allows lenders to order, assign, monitor, and review real estate valuations, from a marketplace of AMCs and appraisers, directly through the Encompass Digital Lending Platform – driving quality and efficiency in the loan origination process and standardizing the vendor and borrower experience. AppraisalWorks is one of the first appraisal management platforms to offer direct connectivity through Encompass’ new APIs – eliminating administrative overhead and accelerating turn times.

AppraisalWorks is designed to be collaborative – bringing together all stakeholders in the appraisal process to improve efficiency, turn times and accuracy. Lenders, borrowers, processors, appraisers and the quality control team benefit from real-time communications, on-demand access to appraisal information and complete transparency throughout the appraisal process.

“As lenders and servicers look for an edge in accelerating appraisal turn times, efficiency and cost reduction are critical, as is the need to maintain strong security and compliance practices,” Mike Cullen, chief technology officer of AppraisalWorks, said in the release. “The AppraisalWorks technology platform helps streamline appraisal processes, improve adherence to compliance regulations and lower costs – while also providing a better borrower experience. Our customer-centric approach to continuous technology innovation makes AppraisalWorks a top choice for lenders and servicers who are looking for greater efficiency and a strategic advantage.”