Second consecutive year:� Mercury Network honored with Progress in Lending’s “Top Innovation” Award

Written by on August 7, 2013

Naples, FL – Mercury Network’s Appraisal Quality Management (AQM) software was named a Top Innovation of 2012 by the PROGRESS in Lending Association.  AQM is a new cloud-based software that ensures comprehensive, consistent quality control of appraisals.

a la mode’s Mercury Network was honored as a leader in innovation for the second consecutive year, the only company in the PROGRESS in Lending Association’s history to win the Innovations Award twice.

AQM is a new software system that allows lenders and appraisal management companies (AMCs) to ensure comprehensive, consistent, and efficient quality control (QC) of appraisals.  AQM’s complete set of QC rules address all major investor and regulatory requirements and presents all exceptions to the lender or AMC’s QC staff for verification and disposition.  QC staff uses the software to isolate only incurable issues for underwriting.

After processing exceptions, AQM calculates an overall Appraisal Quality Index score from five weighted risk indices, including completeness, accuracy, value, property, and market.  The AQI score empowers staff to quickly triage specific reports to the appropriate underwriters, and make the most informed decision regarding the need for additional valuation products.

The AQM software gives lenders and AMCs a clear advantage by providing documentation of the due diligence process involved with each collateral assessment to underwriters, investors, and auditors.  Risk assessment and investor preparation is transparently integrated with operations workflow, and all documentation is packaged for inclusion within the loan file.  Underwriting will require fewer vendor revisions and the QC practices already performed are now memorialized in the audit trail.

The software system is the result of collaboration between a la mode, AXIS Appraisal Management Solutions, and MasterServ Financial.  Jennifer Miller, President of a la mode’s Mortgage Solutions Division, said, “Mercury Network’s win for the second consecutive year is remarkable, and we couldn’t be more proud to share this honor with AXIS and MasterServ.”

a la mode’s Mercury Network is the nation’s premiere Vendor Management Platform in the appraisal and BPO industries, offering both interfaceless “black box” MercuryDirect services and APIs, as well as “turn key” MercuryManaged Web front ends for use by loan officers and compliance staff.  It’s used in both capacities 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, simplifying full compliance with appraisal independence standards and banking security regulations.  It’s been used by more than 200,000 mortgage professionals since 2002 to automate the full “round trip” of tens of millions of appraisals.  For more information, visit www.MercuryVMP.com/AQM.

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About a la mode
Celebrating 28 years as a mission-critical workflow technology leader in the real estate and mortgage industries, a la mode’s products are used by hundreds of thousands of appraisers, salespeople, inspectors, and lending professionals to power more than 50% of all residential real estate transactions in the US each year.  a la mode’s flagship product for the lending industry is its Mercury Network, the nation’s premiere valuation Vendor Management Platform with almost 30,000 transactions a day.  In the appraisal sector, its TOTAL desktop software line is dominant, used by more appraisers than all other brands combined.  And in the agent market, a la mode’s Broker Reciprocity and Analytics products enjoy top-tier direct access to MLS listings and sales data via integration contracts with local boards serving more than 500,000 licensed salespeople nationwide.
a la mode is headquartered in Naples, FL, with additional offices and approximately 200 employees located in Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC.  For more information about the company, visit www.alamode.com.
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Mortgage Solutions Division
a la mode, inc.