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TEAMING UP WITH FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC
Zaio part of the solution to the current mortgage-crisis
Industry giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – recognizing the
importance of accurately valuing real estate, preserving the independence of
appraisers and resolving the mortgage crisis – announced sweeping new policies
scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2009. Essentially, the proposed new
secondary market policies will discourage or ban lenders from using in-house
appraisers and will require that appraisal service companies be separate from
parent financial institutions, title companies or other concerns with any
apparent structural conflicts of interest.
Zaio does not have affiliated business relationships with lenders or title
insurance companies and is thus in compliance with the proposed new policies.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will finalize the policies following a review of
comments from interested parties.
In response to these policy announcements, the Collateral Risk Network organized
a meeting in Washington, DC on April 3 with representatives from Fannie Mae,
Freddie Mac and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). The
panel interacted with those attending and responded to their questions during
the day-long session.
According to Mark Chapin, Zaio’s Vice President, Zone Sales and Business
Development, the discussion was a refreshing approach to sharing information.
“It is clear that Fannie, Freddie and OFHEO are serious about cleaning up the
current crisis, and they are equally committed to soliciting input from the
appraisal community.”
Following the day-long meeting, attended by about 80 industry representatives,
the organizers struck a number of task groups to address key issues raised
during the day. Ultimately, everyone seemed to be looking for clarification and
specifics. Chapin said, “We’re calling on the regulators to tune up their
requirements and remove some of the vagueness that currently exists.” Input from
each task group will go into a cumulative comment bin that closes at the end of
April. All feedback will subsequently become part of a comprehensive report that
will be evaluated shortly thereafter.
Zaio executives will be following this process closely. As an independent
company that operates without bias or conflict of interest, Zaio is
exceptionally well positioned to flourish within the new guidelines.
In commenting on the policy changes, Jim Kirchmeyer, Zaio’s Chief Marketing
Officer, said, “We believe the best way for lenders to ensure appraiser
independence and comply with the new regulations is to rely upon and leverage
Zaio’s independence, appraiser expertise, and proprietary technology solutions
that, to our knowledge, are not available from any other service provider.”
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