Mortgage Brokers and Appraisals

Mercury Network will keep you in the appraisal process

With Mercury, you can stay involved in the appraisal process if your lender gives you "authorized agent" status through their chosen appraisal ordering "Web portal", Mercury Network.  Many mortgage brokers have done exactly that, and we're here to make it easier. Click on the button below and you can send a pre-written e-mail to your lenders encouraging them to take a look at Mercury. 

Can brokers still order appraisals?  A quick overview of the Fannie, Freddie and FHA regulations:

FHA:
On February 15, the new FHA appraiser independent guidelines went in to effect.  The rules for mortgage brokers are the same as they have always been for agents or even for “any member of a lender’s staff who is compensated on a commission basis tied to the successful completion of a loan”.  A lender would be in compliance so long as the appraiser is not “selected, retained or compensated in any manner” by the broker, agent, or commissioned staff.  Mercury Network’s tools for automated blind selection and direct payment ensure compliance with the rule.  Appraisers can even be kept completely anonymous if the mortgagee’s account administrator so desires. In the ordering appraisals section of the HUD FAQ it states:

Question: Are there situations in which a mortgage broker may order an appraisal?
Answer: Yes.  A mortgage broker may place a “blind” order for an appraisal in a data system or web-based workflow platform in which the broker has no ability to select the appraiser or influence which appraiser is awarded the appraisal assignment.

Appraiser Independence Guidelines
Appraiser Independence FAQ (Word Doc)

HVCC:
On March 31, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released an update of answers to questions frequently asked (FAQ) about the HVCC, including whether or not a mortgage broker is allowed to order an appraisal directly from an appraiser. The answer is clearly "no" and that has not changed. However, within that same HVCC FAQ update, the question of "Web portals" was addressed. Within the context of appraisal management, Mercury Network falls within the Web portal category.
The 16th question and answer located in the Freddie Mac HVCC FAQ states:

Question: May a lender direct a broker to use a Web portal set up either by the lender, or by the lender's authorized agent, through which the broker inputs a request for an appraisal and then triggers the lender's system to order an appraisal?
Answer: Yes. A lender may direct a broker to use a Web portal in this manner.

Freddie Mac FAQ
Fannie Mae FAQ