Automating order intake and scheduling in an appraisal office

Which intake steps can software handle on its own?

Software can handle the steps that move information without changing it: receiving the order, reading the fields, creating the job and filing the engagement documents.

Orders arrive from AMC portals and lender inboxes carrying the same core facts: subject address, occupant contact, intended use, loan program, report type and due date. Turning those into a job record, attaching the engagement letter and flagging gaps is clerical work.

A good office rule: software may copy, file and flag. It should not accept, decline or price an assignment until a person has seen it. Acceptance is where competency and conflict questions get answered.

What should intake check before a job is accepted?

It should surface the facts that decide whether this appraiser may take this job, then hand the decision to a person.

• License status. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide requires the appraiser's state license or certification to be active as of the report's effective date. The Appraisal Subcommittee's National Registry lists licensed and certified appraisers. A renewal reminder in the intake system is easy to add.
• Area and property type. The same Selling Guide section expects appraisers to know the specific location and property type, and to have access to local data sources such as the MLS and government records. A coverage map can flag orders outside an appraiser's usual area.
• Report format. Freddie Mac's UAD FAQ says the engagement letter should state UAD 2.6 or UAD 3.6. Intake can flag orders that leave it blank. The UAD 3.6 page explains the timing.
• Conflicts. Regulation Z bars a person preparing a valuation from having a direct or indirect interest in the property or the transaction. Software can match addresses and names against past work. Deciding what a match means is a job for a person.

How much of scheduling can be automated?

Nearly all of it, provided the appraiser sets the calendar rules and a person handles anything unusual.

Offering inspection windows, confirming the chosen slot and sending reminders are repetitive. So is logging each contact attempt with a timestamp. That log helps when a client asks why the inspection has not happened.

Some cases should route to a person: vacant homes reached through an agent's lockbox, tenant occupied homes that need notice, and occupants who ask questions about value or the loan. That last group needs a reply from a person, since the right answer depends on the assignment and who is asking.

Where does automation meet appraiser independence?

Independence rules govern the people around the appraiser, and an automated inbox can carry messages that cross the line.

Section 1026.42 of Regulation Z prohibits covered persons from trying to cause a value to rest on anything other than the independent judgment of the person preparing it, whether by coercion, instruction, inducement or similar means. The same section lists actions that are permitted, including asking the appraiser to consider additional appropriate property information, to give more detail or explanation, or to correct errors.

Both kinds of message reach an intake inbox. A system that summarizes emails into job notes can strip away the wording that tells them apart. Forward any message that mentions an expected or needed value to the appraiser in full.