The recent issue of Working RE (Summer 2006) has an article of particular interest: "Fighting Fraud: Digital Security on Appraisals." The author, Kirk Pruitt, is the CEO / Founder of Appraisal Matrix, LLC, a company that sells a digital barcode software package that is able to barcode / encrypt each individual appraisal for $129 per year.
According to the author, his software compresses encrypted data - such as appraiser info, value, address, client and date, then generates a 2D data matrix symbol to insert into the appraisal report as a Bitmap image. The client on the other end is able to decode and access the information to verify it independently via a one-page report to print and compare with the appraisal report.
Dave Biggers, Chairman, a la mode, Inc. reported on the WinTOTAL Users Group his company's plans for a competing product, SureDocs! . . .
I don't know if you've seen our SureDocs system for elecronic mortgages yet, but it achieves this same purpose (plus much more). It not only provides true e-signing of documents (as opposed to digital signing, which is just a picture of a signature), but it inserts a string of ID characters below each signature. Those characters change each time and represent the name, date, subject, signatories, pages, etc. of the document. If someone types the address into our website, they see the reference data and the ID which should accompany it; if any of the data is changed, it will be obvious. If the signature has been lifted and applied to another document, it's also obvious, because the address won't exist in the database at all.
We're applying SureDocs to appraisals as well very soon. It's a PDF driver, plus a delivery system (even if there's no XSite involved), and an encryptor. It also takes our SureReceipts concept to the next level, with page-by-page receipts logged in the system (you can tell which pages they read, and when).
- In the appraisal arena, it will add the appraised value to the ID encoding, of course, and allow you to add a cover page explaining the ID and how the client or eventual appraisal user can check the authenticity.
- We'll also offer additional levels of authentication of the individual appraiser (higher levels of authentication than just self-witnessing)
. - And, naturally, we'll give it the ability to copyright your photos and report at print/delivery time, even if you don't use WinTOTAL.
You can download the mortgage version for free at http://www.alamode.
There's also an overview video at http://www.alamode.
While it's clearly designed for mortgage loan documents, you can instantly see how it will be modified for appraisers. Download it, send yourself some docs, and play with the receipts, signing, and the ID process. The signing would of course be automatic and at the beginning (mortgage loan officers send docs off to be signed, whereas you send off signed docs -- reversed), but you'll see where it's going.
"We already have several thousand loan officers using it daily for three-day RESPA disclosures and full contracts. MILA (a national wholesale lender) just endorsed it publicly too. It's gaining rapid traction in e-mortgages, and we think it will in appraisals as well. - Dave Biggers, Chairman, a la mode, Inc."
An agent-centric contract signing version is also on the way. Simply put, signature and document security are something you'll see us taking the lead on in multiple markets.
Dave Biggers, Chairman, a la mode, inc.
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