Elliott calls for the return of the review appraisal

I received my copy of the Elliott & Company Appraisers monthly e-mail newsletter today. It's one of the few company newsletters I receive that regularly adds value. I also get a lot out of Kirchmeyer's print newsletter and the monthly eNewsletter from Equi-Trax, but then our own Matt Strickberger helps out on the content for that one.

In the current issue of Elliott's newsletter, Charlie W. Elliott, Jr., MAI, SRA, ASA, president of the national real estate appraisal company, calls for the return of an old product.

"Given all of the changes in the past, what new appraisal forms or techniques should we expect in the future? If I were a betting man, I would say that the next wrinkle in appraisals will not be new at all but a rehash of a previous tool whose time has come again. The time is right for a revival of the review appraisal."

Elliott isn't the only one saying so, of course. With the number of valuation-related buy back requests going through the roof, plenty of folks are interested in taking another look at the property appraisal.

Recently, we helped break the news that Interthinx had entered the appraisal review business by hiring industry veteran Mark Chapin and launching a new appraisal review product.

We expect to be a lucrative business for those firms that have the experience, access to the data and the technology to efficiently review the valuation information lenders originally used to originate the loans servicers are struggling with today.