ATLANTA, Nov. 11, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Appraisal Advisor, LLC (www.AppraisalAdvisor.com) today announced its continued commitment to providing compliance solutions for the mortgage servicing industry. Appraisal Advisor, through its ratings and reviews system, allows lenders, AMCs, and appraisers to monitor their third party vendors in full compliance with the October 30th bulletin from the OCC.
The OCC-issued bulletin to all national banks and savings associations entitled "Third-Party Relationships: Risk Management Guidance" (http://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2013/bulletin-2013-29.html) outlines how lenders should manage and ensure compliance of their third party vendors. Appraisal management companies (AMCs), which are qualified as third parties in the OCC bulletin, must be managed by specific guidelines in order for lenders to maintain compliance.
Appraisal Advisor offers lenders, AMCs, and appraisers compliance with that regulation through its comprehensive ratings and reviews system. When an appraiser rates a lender or AMC they do business with on Appraisal Advisor, lenders are provided with an easy, cost-effective way to abide by the OCC mandate. The constant scoring of AMCs through the ratings platform is quickly becoming the go-to method for lenders to decide which AMCs to use, find out if their AMC is performing up to their internal standards, and see if the AMC they work with is compliant with the law.
Among the OCC bulletin's list of requirements is a mandate for lenders to maintain a compliance solution that continually monitors the third party, know the third party's business experiences and reputation, and also know the business's financial condition.
Appraisal Advisor remains the best (and only) solution out there for lenders to get this now required compliance. Through the system, appraisers review the AMCs they're working with after every order they submit to the AMC, giving lenders continual monitoring and knowledge of the AMC's business reputation. Financial information, including invoice payments, are collected and allow lenders to get the AMC's financial history when dealing with their own third parties, so lenders and appraisers both can know exactly how financially sound their AMCs are.
"We're very excited to already have the data, scores, and reviews lenders need to maintain the compliance the OCC is looking for in vetting, selecting, and monitoring an Appraisal Management Company (AMC)," said Matt Biggers, co-founder of Appraisal Advisor. "It also helps AMCs improve, refine, and differentiate their practices from their competition in an apples-to-apples comparison. All a lender needs to do is require their AMC(s) to close out all orders with appraisers asking them to score them on www.AppraisalAdvisor.com."
Lenders, AMCs, appraisers, regulators, and all people associated in the mortgage-lending industry can sign up for Appraisal Advisor and view client ratings at www.AppraisalAdvisor.com.
About Appraisal Advisor
Started in 2011, Appraisal Advisor is a web-based company specializing in tools for mortgage lending professionals to better monitor their third party vendors. With offices in Atlanta, GA and London, UK, Appraisal Advisor bolsters thousands of reviews from thousands of real estate appraisers about appraisal management companies (AMCs) and lenders across the nation, which gives mortgage lending professionals a never-before insight into their third party relationships. Now a compliance tool for lenders following the OCC's new bulletin, lenders are using Appraisal Advisor to properly screen and monitor current, new, and potential AMCs' reputations and financial health.