With industry disruptive technology, Centric Technology Solutions is on a mission to lower overall costs and turn times while at the same time greatly improving quality and clarity in the appraisal industry.
The quality of an appraisal has moved front and center throughout the mortgage banking industry. Quality has become a choke point. Lenders, AMCs and appraisers are facing greater accountability at all levels. In the past, coordination between these parties has been hampered by the use of multiple systems, making transparency almost impossible and resulting in first-pass rejection rates of more than 70%.
Centric Technology Solutions developed its CentricCVP (Collateral Valuation Platform) to address these issues. Because lenders, AMCs and appraisers are all connected through the platform, the lender has a clear view of the status of the project and can manage the loan process more effectively. With the embedding of the lender guidelines — aligned with the requirements of the 1004 or other forms — the appraiser has to comply or explain noncompliance before submitting the report, which reduces the rejection rate significantly, increases overall quality and reduces turn times.
“The platform updates lender or investor guideline changes and makes that information available to the appraiser in a matter of days, not weeks or even months,” said Walt Coats, Centric’s founder and CEO, and industry veteran. “The appraiser has to sign off that he or she has received the changes and as the appraiser completes the work, the system continually validates compliance with these changes.”
“The system is 100% configurable to any client’s needs and can be managed by an admin person without the need for support from the IT department,” Coats said. “The users of the platform have seen significant, positive impacts on their workflows, quality, speed, and cost savings.”
Centric has recently partnered with The Appraisal Foundation to bring the USPAP guidelines more to the forefront of the process for everyone's benefit.
For appraisers, the platform’s embedded guidelines mean fewer revisions, so they can not only complete more valuations, but do so with greater clarity. New appraisers can be brought on board quickly with educational opportunities built into the platform, which could shorten the appraiser’s learning curve by 60% to 80%.
For AMCs, using the CentricCVP provides visibility into the process, improved quality and reduced costs. With faster turn times, AMCs can take on more work while lowering cost per unit and boosting profitability.
“Quality assurance is addressed through our platform’s rules engine. This is where we embed USPAP, lender-specific and all GSE guidelines.” Coats said.
The lender GSE guidelines are mapped to the data input requirements to offer complete visibility and guidance and, where specific requirements are mandated, to ensure the appraiser addresses them before submitting the report. This same rule set is part of the quality module, so the reviewer also has instant access to the requirements as well as the ability to refer to guidelines whenever needed.
For lenders, CentricCVP reduces their risk, greatly increases the quality and speed of appraisals and gives them unprecedented visibility throughout the appraisal process.
Data sources are easily integrated into the platform. With the guidelines and comp score data embedded within the quality module, reviewers at both the AMC and the lender will be able to quickly and efficiently make a determination on report quality.
The platform’s underlying technology infrastructure makes future process and requirement changes easy and fast, enabling appraisers, AMCs and lenders to adapt quickly in a constantly shifting mortgage environment.
“Bringing new products to market on this platform is a simple process and can be implemented within a short period of time. So, as lenders and others define new needs, we will be able to develop solutions quickly,” Centric’s President Kevin Lombardo said. “Our multi-tenancy solution ties the independent appraisers in a salesforce.com-like fashion.
In addition, the benefits of the technology can be realized on a modular basis. Those interested in just the appraisal platform or the quality module will have the same gains given the rules engine and guidelines that are built into the core system.
“As market needs change, we will be at the forefront with data, analytics, mobile applications and other tools to enhance the user experience, with the goals of reducing risk and increasing quality,” Lombardo said. “Our focus is around innovation to support the needs of our clients and the industry.”
Centric Technology Solutions is headquartered in Westminster, Colorado, and brings innovative technology solutions to the appraisal and real estate valuation industry. They can be reached at (720) 229-1990 and [email protected]
