Under pressure from a tight credit and regulatory environment, companies in the mortgage space have responded by leveraging technology to gain more ground. In some cases this has meant adapting current systems to accommodate new processes, and in others, it has meant creating entirely new mortgage technology products.
In this section we highlight products that are game-changers for companies working hard to adhere to regulations while still providing great service to their clients. The list features products ranging from new mobile platforms to a loan-level audit capability that will reshape the way audits are done for years to come.
By tackling the challenges head-on, these companies are setting themselves up for long-term success. The efficiencies they see today will continue to pay dividends in the future as they realize significant gains from a faster, more streamlined process.
Veros is the technology provider for the UCDP and EAD platforms, and it has worked alongside Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA to conceptualize, build, integrate and support these proprietary systems.
But entities ordering appraisals (i.e., lenders and AMCs) and their supporting vendors still needed technology that would help them in the submission and integration process with these portals, so Veros developed solutions tailored specifically for those systems.
The company developed Sapphire so that appraisal users could manage the order, receipt and QC of appraisals to their panel and/or AMCs before submitting to these portals, and created Pathway to give lenders a system-to-system integration, with the added layers of automation and appraisal QC.
“These products have helped numerous users support their own internal operations, and often their client’s operations, in an efficient and reliable manner. The Sapphire and Pathway offerings also provide customers with the assurance that the company trusted to build and support the UCDP and EAD portals is also directly supporting their appraisal delivery needs,” said Chuck Rumfola, senior vice president of strategic initiatives.
While there are a number of services that provide connection into UCDP, Veros is the first technology provider with the ability to provide direct integrations for EAD appraisal submission.
Additionally, customers utilizing Sapphire or Pathway solutions — before delivering to these portals — have the ability to utilize a number of automated quality control tools including automated QC order and review rules and upfront appraisal scoring by VeroSCORE to provide a determination of appraisal risk.
“UCDP and EAD in and of themselves have been game-changers,” Rumfola said.
“With UCDP came the advent of standardized, electronic appraisals allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac the ability to review valuation data in a way never before possible. The same is becoming a reality for FHA through EAD.”
These quality control tools are helping lenders, AMCs and tech providers conduct upfront due diligence on appraisal reports all in a highly auditable environment, making their submissions to UCDP (and soon EAD) as clean as possible and ensuring a consistent and controlled appraisal management process to address the concerns and requirements of industry regulators.
“Through these technologies, Veros’ customers have the ability to conduct their own detailed and objective QC at a more advanced stage in the appraisal workflow than had ever been possible. By adopting a similar data- and QC-centric approach, without the burden of additional manual tasks, our customers are experiencing significant upswings in efficiency and quality,” Rumfola said.
Veros has been part of the movement toward electronic appraisal data delivery from the start. The company’s Sapphire and Pathway solutions are just the latest results of Veros’ focus on what the mortgage industry needs now and into the future.
“Veros is at the epicenter of the electronic appraisal revolution,” Rumfola said.
“From the development of the portals with the GSEs and FHA, through the development of its own technology to support industry needs, and through the creation of mission-critical appraisal quality control tools, Veros is producing technology that is attainable by mortgage stakeholders of all sizes and producing immediate ROI in the realm of valuation and risk control."
