As the appraisal industry struggles to meet demand, Voxtur has developed a solution to streamline the process. HousingWire recently spoke with Jim Albertelli, CEO of Voxtur Analytics, about the company’s recent acquisition and launch of an automated workflow management platform for the global market.
HousingWire: What can the industry at large do to support the work of appraisers right now?
Jim Albertelli: When it comes to appraisers, the industry often focuses on better management of the referral process. This is misguided. Appraisers don’t need better management of an outdated process. They need better data, more mobility, and automation to streamline their process. When supported by the right technology, appraisers can substantially reduce their turn times and improve customer service. This positively impacts not only the borrower and the lender, but also ancillary service providers. At Voxtur, we are focused on solving legacy industry issues with technology. For appraisers, we have developed an end-to-end, encrypted, AI-driven platform to streamline scheduling, manage payments, and facilitate direct, real-time communication between stakeholders. With these tools, appraisers can complete jobs in a fraction of the time and increase their capacity for new work. Lenders also benefit from shorter delivery timelines and better, more secure data. And with the option to white label the technology, lenders can control messaging, branding, and service delivery. Borrowers can also rest easier knowing that their appraisal was completed with the best data available and delivered with complete transparency throughout the process. This is a critical advancement in the industry as we’ve seen appraisal timelines continually increase. By connecting service providers, lenders, and consumers through a secure, streamlined, and intelligent interface, we can remove uncertainty and inefficiency from the appraisal process and create a new standard of excellence to benefit everyone.
HW: What role can data analytics play in alleviating these pain points?
JA: The key to transactional efficiency is validated data. To truly drive efficiency, data must not only be reliable, but it must also be comprehensive and scalable. At Voxtur, we are focused on developing and deploying applications that create transparency and instill consumer confidence. To that end, we have committed substantial resources to the normalization, aggregation, and validation of disparate data sources. From there, we apply targeted analytics to verify the integrity of the data. For example, we analyze more than 2,500 data points to validate property data against appraised value. This allows us to eliminate inconsistencies, and to identify and root out biases that may otherwise not be apparent. We also evaluate key metrics related to appraiser performance. This allows for a more objective analysis and better compliance and often translates to a more efficient process with faster turn times, which allows buyers and sellers to transfer real property more cost-effectively and with confidence.
HW: What are some of the current challenges regarding property tax assessment?
JA: The challenges faced by property tax assessment are multi-faceted. First, property status must be determined in real-time in order to be accurate. Second, property tax assessors must be dynamic enough to consider housing value trends in their assessment methodologies. And third, the foundation of the property valuation methodology must be accurate. At Voxtur, we have developed technology aimed specifically at improving accuracy in property assessments. Our GeoViewPort satellite imagery, drive-by videography, and mobile assessment applications provide real-time property data. This allows assessors to start with an accurate snapshot of the current property condition. From there, the assessor can incorporate into its assessment methodology additional valuation data. Voxtur supports tax assessors by providing access to its comprehensive data store, which includes hundreds of thousands of valuation records. With better foundational accuracy, and a more robust methodology supported by additional data sources, assessors are able to generate the most accurate taxable value possible. By supporting tax assessors in this way, Voxtur is able to contribute to an assessment process that is fundamentally fairer to the consumer.
HW: How is Voxtur positioned to help move the industry toward seamless real estate transactions?
JA: At its core, Voxtur is an agile, AI-enabled database that is built on a comprehensive foundation of normalized, validated data. While we continue to expand the depth and breadth of our data store and to develop new technology to benefit a dynamic industry, we remain committed to supporting our clients with SaaS offerings that eliminate inefficiencies in the lending process. And as we continue to aggregate data and build technology to replace the outdated processes that remain in place throughout the lending lifecycle, our ultimate goal remains: to provide transparency to the consumer so that they can have confidence in the fact that they know the true value of their most important asset, their home.
The appraisal process has been under the microscope recently due to the current appraisal gab and high volume. Voxtur’s applications create transparency so appraisers can do their job more effectively with faster turn times.
