Appraisal Firewall Release Information
for Friday, June 22nd, 2018
Information for Lenders
 
Starting Friday, June 22nd, we will release an enhanced version of Appraisal Firewall.  With this release, we will be adding new features that help create more accurate pricing and improve turn times. Read below for complete detail.


  • New Management Setting Requires Purchase Contracts on Purchase Loans
    When appraisers perform an appraisal on a purchase transaction, they typically need access to the purchase contract.  To ensure that your users are providing this valuable information to appraisers, we are adding the ability to require purchase contracts whenever it is a purchase loan.  This can help prevent delays in the appraisal process by requiring your users to supply appraisers with the information they need up front.

    How to use this feature:
    Within a division’s General settings, there is a new checkbox labeled ‘Require Attachment on Purchase Loans’.  When enabled, if a user selects ‘Purchase’ as the loan type when placing a new order, they will be required to upload a PDF file to include with the order.
     
  • New Tiered Pricing Based on Sales Price
    We’ve added a new feature that automatically adjusts your fixed pricing based on the estimated value/sales price of the property. Because a higher priced property may incur an additional fee due to complexity, you can now set up a ‘tiered’ price. If a sales price reaches your specified amount, an additional fee is automatically added to the price of the appraisal.

    How to use this feature:
    Tiered pricing can be added within a division’s fixed pricing window. To access, go to your Relationships window, expand a division, click Edit Settings, then view the Pricing section.  You can set up tiered pricing for a specific area or select All, All to have it applied to all orders.  Within an area, click the new ‘Value Based Pricing’ button.  Enter a property value that should assess an additional fee, and enter the amount.  Whenever the Estimated Value/Sales Price field on the New Order screen is at or above the designated price, the Additional Fee field will be added to the price of the order.

    You can also enter multiple tiers for a location.For instance, you can enter a tier for $500,000 and fix a $50 charge for orders with a sales price over that amount, and also enter a tier for $750,000 and add a $100 charge for orders over the amount.
     
  • New Property Classification Enables More Accurate Pricing
    There is a new checkbox available to ensure more accurate pricing for your lending company and provide your appraisers with more information up front. In the ‘Property Is’ section of the New Order screen, we have added a new checkbox for ‘Renovation’. Now appraisers can see up front that the property is a renovation and can set an appropriate price. If you use fixed pricing, you can enter an additional amount for the new feature, so that whenever the Renovation checkbox is selected, the additional amount will automatically be added to the cost of order.

    How to use this feature:
    On the New Order screen, in the Property Is section, the new ‘Renovation’ checkbox is automatically available for selection.  If you use fixed pricing, you may want to enter an additional amount for this new designation.  In addition, ‘Renovation’ has been added to the Controlled Rotation window.  If you use a controlled rotation, we recommend that you adjust your appraisers’ settings so they can easily be routed Renovation orders.
     
  • Loan Number Now Appears on Email Notifications
    We have added the loan number to email notifications directed to all lender users. This will provide users who may use an LOS or third party management system with an easier and faster way to find their orders.

    How to use this feature:
    All email notifications directed to lender users (administrators, supervisors, and originators) will automatically include the loan number in the body of the email above the reference number field.
     
  • Commercial Appraiser Coverage Report Now Available
    With the addition of the new commercial coverage we provided for appraisers on our last release, we’re now releasing a commercial coverage report so you can easily view the commercial coverage provided by your appraisers.

    How to use this feature:
    The new report is very similar to the existing Residential Coverage Report. You can view the commercial coverage for any of your divisions by accessing the Reporting tool. Select the division you want to view the commercial coverage for and select the new Commercial Coverage Area report.  When you run the report, the spreadsheet that appears lists the commercial appraisers on the division’s panel, the areas they cover, and basic appraiser information.
     
  • Property Address Duplicate Check
    We have a new feature to help catch duplicate orders. Now, if a lender user enters a property address on the new order screen that already exists under your account, a new indicator will display the other orders the address is associated with. Similar to how the current loan number duplicate check works, the duplicate address check should cut down on duplicate orders made in error.

    How to use this feature:
    This enhancement will automatically be available to you and your users whenever you place an order.  On the new order screen, if there is a property address under your account that matches the one entered, there will be verbiage listed under the City field that reads ‘also on…’  so you can see if there are associated orders or if the new order is being entered in error.
     
  • Mobile Enhancement Enables Borrowers to Review Reports
    We’ve enabled the ability for borrowers to be able to view their copy of the appraisal on their mobile device. Now when you forward a copy of the appraisal report to a borrower, they can access the link in their email, enter the security code, and view the appraisal report right from their smartphone!

    How to use this feature:
    Your borrowers will automatically have access to this feature. Anytime they receive the email containing a link to a report, they can access the secure site, enter the provided pin, and view the PDF report all from their mobile devices just like they can currently do from a desktop computer.
     
  • Appraisal Scorecard Returns Even More Data
    The Appraisal Scorecard has been enhanced to include more data including an overview of the appraisal, and appraiser details. The new Appraisal Details section shows basic appraisal information including contract price. The new Appraiser Verification section shows appraiser data returned from the HUD.gov and ASC.gov websites so you can quickly ascertain any problems related to the appraiser’s licensing information.

    Not using the Appraisal Scorecard yet?
    The Appraisal Scorecard has the automated capacity to review appraisals, provide actionable data, recommend next steps to complete the review process, and demonstrate proper due diligence.  For more information or to schedule a demo    , click here to visit the website, or contact Danielle.Walker@SharperLending.com.