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Stewart Valuation Intelligence (SVI) is the latest technology vendor to be approved by both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to support new valuation processes that are helping more homebuyers get approved for mortgages without appraisals.
SVI has been approved to support Fannie Mae’s new value acceptance + property data process through VALIDITY, the company’s family of inspection applications for IOS and Android mobile operating systems.
In the past, Fannie and Freddie were sometimes willing to waive appraisals in cases where the mortgage giants felt confident in their abilities to rely on automated valuations — particularly if they already had an appraisal for a property on file.
This month, Fannie Mae started offering a new option for getting a loan approved without an appraisal — “value acceptance + property data” — that requires a full interior and exterior inspection capturing data and images throughout the property. Freddie Mac rolled out a similar program, ACE+ property data report (PDR), last year.
Aaron Fowler
Aaron Fowler, SVI’s senior vice president of valuation services, said a unified data set collected through VALIDITY allows for one inspection that can be delivered to both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
“SVI has an extensive and experienced national network of real estate agents and brokers to collect property data, who are trained, vetted, and pass yearly background checks,” Fowler said in a statement Friday. “Combined with our VALIDITY inspection application, we are pleased to have the people, processes, and technology to meet this important need.”
A growing number of technology vendors have won approval from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to support the new appraisal waiver processes.
As of April 13, Fannie Mae had approved nine other full-service or technology “value acceptance + property data” providers who offer field data collection, a handheld app, application programming interface (API) integration or hybrid appraisals:
- Asteroom
- Accurate Group LLC
- Class Valuation
- Collateral Analytics (Black Knight)
- Clear Capital
- Mueller Services
- Solidifi
- Service Link
- Valuation Connect
Fannie Mae is evaluating additional service providers and will provide updates here.
Lenders have been quick to take advantage of the new processes to help speed loan approvals during the spring homebuying season.
Guaranteed Rate last month rolled out a “Same Day Mortgage” program nationwide for properties that are eligible for an appraisal waiver. Borrowers must also opt-in to AccountChek for automated income and asset verification, which rules out self-employed borrowers.
Better reports exponential growth in its “One Day Mortgage” program, announced by founder and CEO Vishal Garg in January at Inman Connect New York. Nneka Ukpai, Better’s head of financial innovation, says the lender can approve borrowers for the One Day Mortgage with an appraisal waiver, but that it’s not required.
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