a la mode to release free DataCourier service for lenders and AMCs to submit appraisals to GSEs’ UCDP

Oklahoma City, OK – a la mode announced today a new service that will enable any lender or appraisal management company (AMC) to submit Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) compliant appraisals to the GSEs’ Uniform Collateral Data Portal� (UCDP℠). The new service offered by a la mode, called DataCourier™, is a part of the Mercury Network vendor management platform and will be offered free of charge.

UAD was created jointly by the GSEs at the direction of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.  It standardizes common requirements for appraisal data.  As part of the program, appraisals for conventional mortgage loans originated on or after December 1, 2011 and delivered on or after March 19, 2012 must be submitted via the GSEs’ new platform.

“We’re offering DataCourier as a free service so lenders and AMCs without a solution in place can submit UAD-compliant appraisals to the GSEs after the new requirements go into effect”, said Jennifer Miller, EVP of Products for a la mode’s Mortgage Solutions Division. “DataCourier will enable lenders and AMCs to leverage a la mode’s experience in the industry to ensure their loan pipelines are not interrupted, and to minimize the impact of the changes on their bottom line.”

The free DataCourier will allow lenders and AMCs to receive UAD-compliant appraisal files from any appraiser using a la mode’s appraisal form filling software, including WinTOTAL Aurora and TOTAL 2011. This software is used by over half the nation’s appraisers, providing lenders and management companies appraiser coverage in every county of every state.  The service then allows lenders or AMCs to submit the XML file format preferred by the GSEs.  For appraisals delivered from other software packages, lenders and AMCs can upload into DataCourier and then submit to UCDP.  A cloud-based report management console is also included in the free service so lenders and AMCs can see the status of their submitted reports.  Included in the service will be the Uniform Appraisal Compliance Check Rules which will include checks to ensure the appraisals are UAD compliant and that they pass all of the GSE specified UCDP rules.  DataCourier will provide the results in a report format to every user of the system.  Access to the appraiser to request a revision to the report will also be included at no cost.

a la mode’s Mercury Network is the nation’s premiere online Vendor Management Platform, or VMP, allowing lenders and AMCs to manage their appraisal workflow while being compliant with banking security and GSE regulations.  Mercury is used by a lengthy roster of the nation’s largest lenders and AMCs, as well as by numerous community banks, credit unions, wholesale and correspondent lenders, and mortgage brokers.  It’s been used by more than 200,000 mortgage professionals since 2002 to completely automate the full “round trip” of tens of millions of appraisals.

For more information on Mercury Network, visit www.MercuryVMP.com.

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About a la mode
Founded in 1985, a la mode develops desktop, mobile, and Web tools for the real estate and mortgage industries.  a la mode’s mission-critical products are used by hundreds of thousands of appraisers, agents, inspectors, and lending professionals to complete the nation’s real estate transactions.  a la mode’s state-of-the-art offices are located in Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City, and Washington, DC.  For more information, visit www.alamode.com or call 1-800-ALAMODE.

Contact:
Molly Dowdy
EVP, Marketing
a la mode
(405) 359-6587 x 339