Brokers and appraisers have both expressed frustration about appraisal management companies, and now the country’s largest provider is responding to broker feedback.
The president of the country’s largest appraisal management company welcomes broker feedback.
“For us to get feedback from the broker community, that’s logged into the system as well … if they are reported they are investigated,” Tom McCormick, president and CEO of The Nationwide Group, parent company of Nationwide Appraisal Services (NAS) told MortgageBrokerNews.ca “ If the broker has any information he wants to share with us, we’re open to that.”
Brokers have complained that appraisal management companies, such as NAS, cost the client more money (by $50-$70, according to one broker estimate), slow down the home buying process, and often result in an inferior appraisal; added steps and costs with no added benefit of more oversight.
“Every time I've had to use NAS [or] Solidify, I’ve had nothing but issues,” one broker wrote on MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “Late appraisals, cost issues, no communication, never made it to the lender, etc.”
When asked, McCormick wouldn’t address these concerns specifically.
“It’s really hard to respond to hearsay,” McCormick said. “Once the appraisal gets put into the system it is tracked thoroughly and brokers can always see the status, they’re always notified of any delays and once the appraisal is complete.”
McCormick did provide clarity on how the process works. The company only uses approved appraiser lists that have been provided by lenders and it has implemented appraiser matrix measures to ensure quality and efficiency.
It also ensures appraisers are properly licensed and carrying the proper insurance.
NAS ranks appraisers based on lender, broker, and client feedback, according to McCormick.
“We create a lot of efficiencies for appraisers by keeping them in their local jurisdictions,” he said. “What we do on the back-end of the systems once we have appraisers in the system is we rank them based on the lender’s previous experience with the appraisers.”
“For us to get feedback from the broker community, that’s logged into the system as well … if they are reported they are investigated,” Tom McCormick, president and CEO of The Nationwide Group, parent company of Nationwide Appraisal Services (NAS) told MortgageBrokerNews.ca “ If the broker has any information he wants to share with us, we’re open to that.”
Brokers have complained that appraisal management companies, such as NAS, cost the client more money (by $50-$70, according to one broker estimate), slow down the home buying process, and often result in an inferior appraisal; added steps and costs with no added benefit of more oversight.
“Every time I've had to use NAS [or] Solidify, I’ve had nothing but issues,” one broker wrote on MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “Late appraisals, cost issues, no communication, never made it to the lender, etc.”
When asked, McCormick wouldn’t address these concerns specifically.
“It’s really hard to respond to hearsay,” McCormick said. “Once the appraisal gets put into the system it is tracked thoroughly and brokers can always see the status, they’re always notified of any delays and once the appraisal is complete.”
McCormick did provide clarity on how the process works. The company only uses approved appraiser lists that have been provided by lenders and it has implemented appraiser matrix measures to ensure quality and efficiency.
It also ensures appraisers are properly licensed and carrying the proper insurance.
NAS ranks appraisers based on lender, broker, and client feedback, according to McCormick.
“We create a lot of efficiencies for appraisers by keeping them in their local jurisdictions,” he said. “What we do on the back-end of the systems once we have appraisers in the system is we rank them based on the lender’s previous experience with the appraisers.”
