Systems Help Ensure Appraiser Independence.

New York -- Given recent happenings around the Home Valuation Protection Program and the proposed Code of Conduct, it is becoming increasingly important to prove that lenders have a system in place that allows for appraisal independence. Technology is one answer.

For example, ValuFinders Inc., a valuation services provider to national lenders, brokers and government agencies, said that its Web-based system, Appraisal Concierge, will be in full compliance with Home Valuation Protection Program and the proposed Code of Conduct.

As a result of a settlement between the attorney general of New York, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, starting on Jan. 1, 2009, new requirements are being proposed in the appraisal and valuation stages of loan origination. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will no longer purchase loans from originators who do not comply with the settlement's proposed Code of Conduct. The code requires appraiser independence and specifically prohibits brokers and lenders from selecting an appraiser or selecting an appraisal management company that they own or control.

ValuFinders' Appraisal Concierge is an outsourcing appraisal ordering service that allows lenders to use a "blind draw" system to randomly select a licensed appraiser.

"Existing Appraiser Concierge features include the random selection of an appraiser, appraiser independence, monitored communications and free automatic delivery of the appraisal report to the borrower, which are requirements according to the proposed Code of Conduct," said Joe Williams, president and CEO of ValuFinders.

"We developed Appraiser Concierge two years ago to allow the ordering party to either select an appraiser from a pool of their approved appraisers, or to have the system randomly select someone from a list qualified appraisers. So, while there may still be some modifications to the Fannie and Freddie requirements, Appraiser Concierge is in position to perform in any environment the code ultimately dictates."

Culver City, Calif.-based ValuFinders Inc. has provided real estate collateral risk management products, including automated valuation models, quality control reviews, collateral assessment, Web-based property tracking and technology services to major corporations, brokers and government agencies, including Countrywide, Wells Fargo Bank, the Small Business Administration. ValuFinders also provides Department of Housing and Urban Development technology to track and manage HUD's nationwide inventory of REO properties and works with lenders, brokers, credit unions, government agencies and investors.