Solidif US, Inc. A National Appraisal Company 701 Seneca Street, Suite 660, Buffalo, NY Phone Fax NEW APPRAISER GUIDE

Transcription

1 Solidif US, Inc. A National Appraisal Company 701 Seneca Street, Suite 660, Buffalo, NY Phone Fax NEW APPRAISER GUIDE Copyright 2013 Solidifi US, Inc. All rights reserved.

2 Table of Contents Welcome 3 Mission Statement 3 Signing Up with KA to Complete Appraisals 4 Approval Process 6 Logging onto Our Secure Web Site 7 Receiving Orders via 11 Entering Statuses 11 Sending Completed Appraisal Report 12 Correction Requests 12 Addendum Requests 13 Disputes 13 KA Grading of Appraisals & Appraisers 14 Summary 14 2

3 Welcome to Solidifi! KA was formed in 1994 as a local appraisal company in the Buffalo, NY area. Almost immediately we expanded eastward in NY State covering Rochester, NY and within a few years covering almost all of NY State. In 2000, KA started working as an appraisal management company for a few national lenders and before you knew it, we were covering all 50 states for hundreds of clients nationwide. We are headquartered in Buffalo, NY where all new appraisal orders enter our servers, regardless of where the property is located. Once a new order enters our system, it is assigned to a local approved appraiser and tracked until it is sent in for review via our secure website. After an initial automated review, our Quality Control Team reviews each report manually to insure it meets our client s guidelines. Once approved, it s sent off to our client via secure PDF doc or XML. The owners, James and Thomas Kirchmeyer, have been appraising residential property since 1983 and 1986 respectively. Both have taught appraisal seminars throughout the country and have authored many articles on the valuation-related topics. Jim travels to Washington DC quarterly to update the federal regulators on recent changes in the valuation industry. Tom received his SRA designation from the Appraisal Institute in This document is a guide for all appraisers who wish to complete appraisals for KA. Our Mission Statement To be recognized as a leader in the appraisal industry. We will accomplish this with the utmost integrity, quality, service and the use of cutting edge technology. By optimizing our products and employee training, we can consistently offer the highest quality product and service to our current and new customers. 3

4 Signing Up with Solidifi to Complete Appraisals If you are an appraiser looking for additional volume (income), please visit our website at Below is a sample of our appraiser application's first page: 4

5 Please complete only one application for your company. If your firm has more than one appraiser you may list up to three on this first page of the application. As you will notice, we will need you to submit a copy of your license (all individual licenses for all your appraisers), E&O policy, and W-9 form. If an individual appraiser is not on this application, he or she cannot complete appraisal work for us. Keep this in mind - if you hire new appraisers in the future, they will need to be added to your company and approved by us. Once you are finished entering all your information on the first page, print the page then click Submit. The next page will be displayed where you can add coverage areas and pricing. You may share additional info with us in the Comments text box, then click the Submit button at the bottom of the page. Approval Process Just because you have completed an application does not necessarily mean you will start receiving appraisal orders. There are a number of things that will affect whether you are eligible to receive appraisal assignments from Solidifi: We verify your license with the state you hold it with and the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) to make sure that you are in compliance, have the required education for your level of licensing, and that your license has not expired. You will only receive work if we have orders in your area of coverage and your pricing is competitive with your peers in your coverage area. When you submit your application, you are considered an approved TRIAL appraiser in our system. If an appraisal is ordered in your area, you will be assigned 1 or 2 appraisals at the most, and you are graded on your performance to see whether or not our system moves you out of the TRIAL mode and into the rotation. If your service, communication, and quality are all rated good, you will become a Bronze level appraiser. If you continue to offer good quality and service you will move to Silver status or even Gold status. Gold appraisers receive the most volume from us. Once you have been approved by us, you will receive an with your USER ID and PASSWORD for our secure web site. You MUST have internet access and the capability to send and receive . Every appraiser is REQUIRED to accept their assignments online, estimate their turntime, and upload their completed appraisals (in MISMO XML, PDF or ACI format only) via this secure site. If your turntime estimate is too long for our client, we reserve the right to re-assign the appraisal to another appraiser that can complete it faster. You will be notified immediately if that s the case. Logging onto Our Secure Web Site As soon as you are supplied with your USER ID and PASSWORD, please visit Bookmark this page as it is the one you will always be going to login. 5

6 Once logged in, you will first see a list of all of your orders that need immediate attention. These orders consist of appraisals waiting to be ACCEPTED by you, correction requests, addendum requests, etc. You will also see a list of all your OPEN files. If you have no open files, such as when you first sign up with us, you will see a page that looks like this: 6

7 From this page you can see instructions on uploading a completed appraisal report. But let s click on the drop menu where it states Shortcuts. You will see the page called Order Search. Click on that item. You will see this page: From here you can search for any appraisal order you have completed in the past, or any open appraisals. You can search by address, Solidifi file number, client file number, borrower last name, city, zip code, county, etc. You can also change the date range of your search or even search by your appraised value, or any combination 7

8 of the above. This is helpful when trying to find comparable sales or similar appraisals to one you are currently working on. Let s say you wanted to search for any appraisal you did in the city (or town) of Tonawanda. Click the dropdown arrow in any of the 3 fields to select Property City and type Tonawanda (fields are not case sensitive) and click the SEARCH button. You will see a screen similar to this if you have completed appraisals in this city: Note: Borrower s name and appraised values blocked from view for privacy reasons. These fields will be viewable by the appraiser. See the small checkboxes on the left? Click on one, two, or all of them, and then click SUBMIT RECORD REQUEST to pull up the details of the file or all selected files. Below is a sample of a detailed record page (certain areas blocked for privacy reasons): 8

9 From this page you can: Communicate with us View the client requirements Print the order Run spell check Search public records Map the subject property Input date/time of inspection and status delays Create an ACI template (if you use ACI appraisal software) Upload completed appraisal to Solidifi 9

10 Receiving Orders via You will receive an notification sent to the address supplied in the appraiser approval stage. Link to website is provided in , or log onto Enter user name and password Accept or decline order: o Enter estimated turn time if accepted Solidifi requires a 3-day turn time for drivebys and a 5- day turn time on interior appraisals o Enter reason why, if declining Wait a few seconds All open orders will appear on your screen Select all at the top of your screen or select individual orders by checking the box at the left of the property information "Submit record request" (top of screen) Above borrower information, "Print order or Upload Report". This allows you to view contact information and appraisal requirements. Please print for your records. Log onto Enter user name and password 10 Entering Statuses Log onto Enter user name and password Perform a record search for individual appraisals, or view all open appraisals Select all at the top of your screen or select individual orders by checking the box at the left of the property information Enter current status of appraisal report and please advise if any of the following exist: o If inspection is set at a later date per the borrower s request, inform Solidifi o If property is something other than what is on the order, inform Solidifi o If inspection date did not take place, inform Solidifi o Any pertinent additional information you feel the lender will need to be made aware of, inform Solidifi o If there is a delay in setting inspection due to inaccurate phone numbers or the borrower is not returning your calls, inform Solidifi **BE AWARE** - Our clients view this website, please be professional when entering statuses. You have the ability to to Solidifi status. This is only necessary if the status is "URGENT". We have a status department that views your statuses daily. If all of your orders are updated on the website, you will not receive any unnecessary calls or s from Solidifi. Inspection dates or an update that the appraiser has called ALL of the contact numbers supplied are due within 24 hours Completed appraisal reports are due within 48 hours of inspection THE MORE DETAILED YOU ARE WILL MINIMIZE THE QUESTIONS AND CALLS YOU WILL RECEIVE FROM US. IE: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE & HOW. Sending Completed Appraisal Reports

11 Select Send Report from the open appraisal report, or select Upload Report to Solidifi from the status page Select Browse to search for the completed XML, ACI or PDF appraisal report in your computer s folders. Please do not attach an invoice. Select Upload Report. The upload process will begin. Upload times will vary based upon such factors as internet connection speeds and report size. When the process is complete you will be directed to a section which allows you to explain/address any items you feel would be useful when QC reviews your report. You MUST click Submit to complete the upload process. Correction Requests A correction is a revision needed on an appraisal report before the completed report has been sent to the lender. If we request corrections you will receive an notification with the revisions requested. All corrections are due back within 24 hours. Log onto Enter user name and password From your open appraisal report, any order needing revisions will be listed at the top of your screen in brown and labeled Files with Pending Issues. Select Send Correction from the open appraisal report, or select Upload Report to Solidifi from the status page Select Browse to search for the completed XML, ACI or PDF appraisal report in your computer s folders. Please do not attach an invoice. Select Upload Report. The upload process will begin. Upload times will vary based upon such factors as internet connection speeds and report size. When the process is complete you will be directed to a section which allows you to explain/address any items you feel would be useful when QC reviews your report. You MUST click Submit to complete the upload process. NOTE: You will receive an each night at 11pm for any outstanding corrections needed. Your turntime does not stop until we have a satisfactory report that we can deliver to our client. Addendum Requests An addendum is a revision needed on a completed appraisal report that the lender has received and requested. If we request an addendum you will receive an notification with the revisions requested. All addendums are due back within 24 hours. Log onto Enter user name and password From your open appraisal report, any order needing revisions will be listed at the top of your screen in brown and labeled Files with Pending Issues. Select Send Addendum from the open appraisal report, or select Upload Report to Kirchmeyer from the status page 11

12 Select Browse to search for the completed XML, ACI or PDF appraisal report in your computer s folders. Please do not attach an invoice. Select Upload Report. The upload process will begin. Upload times will vary based upon such factors as internet connection speeds and report size. When the process is complete you will be directed to a section which allows you to explain/address any items you feel would be useful when QC reviews your report. You MUST click Submit to complete the upload process. Disputes If the lender or borrower disputes the appraised value after receiving an appraisal from Solidifi, we will review the request and ask that the appraiser research any additional comparables or information supplied by the lender or borrower. The appraiser will verify all borrower-supplied sales to check for accuracy of sale price, sale date, whether sale is arms-length, if the sale is similar and should have been considered in the original report, etc. We ask that the appraiser: If any of the information supplied is relevant, include that in a revised appraisal report. This may or may not have an effect on the appraised value. Respond back to Solidifi, in a written/addendum format as to why the borrower-supplied information/comparable(s) were not used in the report. A manager will review the appraiser s response and will forward the revised appraisal or the addendum to the lender. Solidifi Grading of Appraisals & Appraisers We score each and every appraisal assignment. Each report is graded for quality based on many things, including our automated review system that catches missing info, adjustments not made or made in the wrong direction, etc. Our QC department also grades each report on a scale of Turntime is also factored in when assigning. Our automated system factors in both the appraiser s average grade and their average turntime. Turntimes are determined by calendar days, not business days. Delays caused by the borrower or the lender will NOT affect your turntimes, as long as we are made aware of the delay immediately. Summary Solidifi has been working with independent appraisers for many years now and we have developed a very userfriendly environment for appraisers and clients to work in. Ease of use makes everyone more efficient. We welcome your feedback on our website. If you would like to have other reporting options available to you let us know. We have customized many appraiser and client sites in order to make their jobs easier. We want workflow to be as smooth as possible. Questions regarding this document or your placement on our appraiser panel can be directed to by calling