Zaio Inc., responded yesterday to a Wall Street Journal story [ Deal Nears to Curb Home-Appraisal Abuse ] that highlighted the need to establish a national appraisal database repository, remarkably similar to the database already being built by Zaio. Click here for the full Zaio Press Release. Download Deal_Nears_to_Curb_Home-Appraisal_Abuse_WSJ.pdf
Appraisal Scoop has gathered a collection of articles from various new sources that disclose possible settlement talks, between New York Attorney General Cuomo and Fannie and Freddie, which might include the requirement to establish a national appraisal database.
Zaio Corp. believes that it is the only corporation in America that has been building a national appraisal database and believes it is the only way to defeat mortgage fraud and has provided what it believes are "five compelling competitive strengths" to its national database.
"In addition to building what is believed to be among the first national appraisal databases, Zaio’s national appraisal database has five compelling competitive strengths" - Click here
1. Other database concepts suggest collecting appraisals from sale transactions. However, each year less than 15% of all homes are sold. That means the appraisal data for 85% of the remaining homes in the country would be omitted. Zaio is systematically inspecting and appraising all homes in the USA in a consistent manner for inclusion in a comprehensive national database.
2. Zaio finds that 65% or more of the property data records needs to be updated or corrected. Zaio is not aware of any other effort to systematically inspect all US homes and to correct and update the database. Real estate changes every day and thus an appraisal database must have a process of capturing changes in the field every day as homes change. Zaio’s patented hand-held technology is in use by hundreds of appraisers every day as they add appraisal data to Zaio’s rapidly growing database. Better and more timely data translates into improved results.
3. A database of backward looking historical appraisals is meaningless unless the database also has a process to efficiently update the appraisals in real time as properties and markets change. Zaio has filed patents on this process, and Zaio’s affiliated appraisers are currently in the field and updating the value of homes in the database every day in real time.
4. Mortgage fraud likely will not be defeated unless the appraisal process is reengineered to remove all external pressure against the appraiser. This can only be accomplished with a database that has a process of collecting the appraisal data in advance of any transaction, similar to how credit bureaus are operated. Storing the completed appraisals in a secure database ensures that any attempts to change, alter or inflate the appraisal can be detected. Loan officers and mortgage brokers are never given the chance to pressure an appraiser because the appraisal was completed in advance of the loan transaction.
5. Recent lawsuits have questioned the appropriateness of using proprietary corrected and improved appraiser produced appraisal data which many believe is owned and subject to copyright by appraisers. Zaio has solved this problem with written agreements with large numbers of appraisers and with a viable business model that compensates appraisers economically for their important services. Forcing appraisers to include their intellectual capital into a national database without their consent or appropriate compensation is likely not going to work and potentially at odds with intellectual property laws.
Recent Comments