Business

Our April issue touched off a firestorm of debate regarding the “chain of custody” of an appraisal, USPAP signature mandates, and more. Here, we’re going to look at solutions. Click to view..

People don’t associate the words “creativity” and “flexibility” with text databases. After all, a text database in a formfiller is just a way to fill out one field at a time, right? Wrong. Click to view..

You’re probably not a salesperson, but there is marketing and sales potential in many of the things you do every day. All you have to do is recognize what they are and then communicate them to clients and potential clients. Click to view..

Real world appraisers tell us what they're doing to save money now. Click to view..

Even though we’re no longer in the real estate boom days, there will always be logical reasons for starting up an appraisal office. And lately, we’re hearing that more. Click to view..

When we first started reporting about the HVCC, we were surprised by how many appraisers had no idea what it was. We then kicked off a “change campaign” with unprecedented results. Click to view..

In the last issue, the most popular article by far was "Preventing the AMC fee cut". This issue, we're looking at the bigger $6.3B valuation market and the role that an "un-AMC" may be able to play in keeping a much larger share of in your own pocket. Click to view..

The appraisal world is changing even more rapidly today than it did following the S&L crisis. This time, however, technology plays a central role in the transformation, and as the overwhelmingly largest supplier of appraisal tools and technology, it seems only logical that we’d jump in the fray in defense of our customers and the industry as a whole. We’ve never been wallflowers, and we aren’t sitting idly by now either. We realized that producing this monthly print and online newspaper, instead of various printed and online advertising pieces and newsletters, was the best way to really affect the transformation and aid our customers. So, in here, you’ll find candid, first-person, timely, hard-hitting articles and op-ed pieces — usually delivered in irreverent and edgy style. It’s a continuation of the same hunter-killer, say-what-we-mean attitude that we’ve always had as a corporate culture. It’s served us well, and those who stand… Click to view..

The agreement itself seems to have its heart in the right place, but the devil is in the details.  Here at a la mode, we believe the details create a misleading and dangerous environment for both borrowers and for appraisers. Click to view..

Sometimes, companies put proprietary standards - non-open standards that they control - on top of open standards and potentially confuse the market. In our industry, that's happened with the Appraisal Institute (AI) Ready certification. Click to view..

While the Settlement Agreement is not an altogether bad agreement, we believe these changes to five areas will protect appraisers and the public. The commentary period ends at the end of April, so it's critical to act now. Click to view..

The comps side by side view is loaded with features that make working with comps easier and minimize the hassle of doing repetitive data entry. Click to view..

Though just about any AMC will tell you that the total number of appraisals ordered has declined over the past 12 months, our customers have actually seen a 36% increase in deliveries to AMCs via WinTOTAL plugins — to 1,187,000 orders, up from 875,000 the year before. For the last 17 months, in fact, orders delivered via WinTOTAL plugins have grown steadily. It looks like our users are getting more and more of a smaller pie, while users of other vendors are getting less and less. Click to view..

Months of development and stringent third party testing result in the only appraisal software certified. Click to view..

Thanks to everyone who has provided valuable, candid feedback about our training over the last few months. Based on what you've been telling us, we've turned our sails in a new direction. Click to view..

In today's climate, lenders are looking to lessen their liability.  One choice is funneling all orders to AMCs, but there's another alternative.  Why lenders will start to gravitate to the Mercury Network and how you can use it to prevent fee cuts. Click to view..

It's official. DaVinci Mobile Pro has graduated from the labs and is now a core part of our product line. Built for tablet and ultra mobile PCs, DaVinci combines the free form benefits of the clipboard with the digital accuracy of a software application. And when incorporated into your daily workflow and appraisal process, it can significantly reduce the amount of stress and time you spend on reports back in the office. Click to view..

Most people would say they probably only use 50% of the features in their software and that they really should take some time to learn some new tricks. But we know how busy you get, and that it's often easy to put your website or learning to be more productive on the backburner. So, another year goes by and you're still using the same processes you've had in years past. Click to view..