Topic:  Newsletter Articles

Naples, FL - Appraisal technology pioneer a la mode, inc. was presented with Mortgage Technology Magazine's coveted "Transforming Valuations" award on October 21st, the opening day of the 99th Annual Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Convention & Expo in Chicago. The Transforming Valuations Award recognizes technology advancements in the appraisal, broker price opinion or automated valuation sectors. Runners-up were CoreLogic and Platinum Data.   Read more...

October 22nd, 2012 - Chicago, IL - From the 99th Annual Mortgage Bankers Association Annual Convention, a la mode announced today the launch of Mercury Network's new Appraisal Quality Management system (AQM). The AQM service, available only on Mercury Network, guides underwriters to the issues in each appraisal with actionable recommendations, and produces investor-ready loan files with the goal of dramatically reducing repurchase risk.   Read more...

OKLAHOMA CITY -- a la mode today released its latest version of industry-leading formfilling software for appraisers, TOTAL 2011. Appraisers today are facing increasingly shorter deadlines from lenders and appraisal management companies. TOTAL 2011 was developed as the fastest, most efficient formfiller ever to address this need.   Read more...

Dallas, TX - From the floor of the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Mortgage Servicing Conference, a la mode today announced the expansion of the Mercury Network Vendor Management Platform (VMP) to also offer Broker Price Opinions (BPOs). Mercury Network is the premier VMP, allowing the nation's largest lenders and appraisal management companies to manage appraisals nationwide. The popular platform will soon connect these same clients to real estate agents and brokers via a one-of-a-kind BPO service.   Read more...

More room to describe the intended user and use. An expanded Improvements section without the 1004-style check boxes. The ability to really drill down on highest and best use. Better and more effective disclaimers that protect you. There's a lot to like about WinTOTAL's new General Purpose - Residential form, a new non-lender form available right now to WinTOTAL users. Take a tour by clicking here, or pull up a PDF by clicking here.   Read more...

Attracting non-lender business isn't the same as finding needles in haystacks. We've talked about marketing to homeowners in recent editions. How about home sellers? You may have heard that the percentage of sales not involving a real estate agent -- For Sale By Owners, or FSBOs -- is declining. According to National Association of REALTORS® data, 12 percent of home sales are agent-free today, down from 13 percent in 2005. But with 2006 being the third-highest year on record for existing home sales, 12 percent is more than three quarters of a million FSBOs per year. And among sellers' biggest concerns when working without an agent is setting a realistic price. New York's Newsday reported this week:   Read more...

A new article by a nationally-syndicated real estate columnist is bringing the issue of data stripping and ownership of appraisal reports to the fore.   Read more...

Protecting your identity and the integrity of the data in your reports is a constant concern. To help you do that we've built Appraiser SureDocs. It will debut as a "public beta" - meaning you can try it for free, and provide (we hope) unfiltered feedback on the product - starting January 30.   Read more...

Some time ago we wrote in this space about the unique problem of accounting for buyer incentives in a normalizing housing economy with a lot of inventory for sale. Based on the response, it was an issue you care about and are dealing with a lot. Now, more economists and housing sector watchers are paying attention, too.   Read more...

The use of Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) to calculate property damage in hurricane and flood ravaged New Orleans was recently discontinued, with government officials conceding the AVM values were often drastically off the mark. In most cases pre-storm appraisals will be used instead, a "shift [in] emphasis from computer-generated assessments to traditional appraisals by people," reported the New Orleans Times-Picayune.   Read more...