I hope everyone has been having a great month and is enjoying the holiday season thus far! We started this newsletter in December 2016, and I’ve really enjoyed the communication I’ve shared with so many of you based on the content in each issue. For this month’s edition, I wanted to finish our deep dive into Dart’s file management flow by walking you through our quality control process. I’ll also share some updates on our company as a whole, including an exciting milestone next year.

Quality Control. Once an appraisal report has been uploaded into our system by the appraiser, it enters our quality control queue. As a standard, all appraisal reports undergo a manual review by member of our QC team. Every report is reviewed for completeness, accuracy, and typical investor/industry standards. Our QC process can also be complemented with Dart iQ, which is an automated appraisal scoring system that reviews up to 2000 data points within an appraisal report. Our QC review is customized to our clients’ individual needs; Dart utilizes a proprietary system so it’s easy for us to make adjustments to our audit process. At the very minimum, our review includes items such as analyzing grid items/adjustments to typical underwriting standards, reconciling borrower and subject property information to the information provided by the client, checking that any comments correlate to associated data throughout the appraisal report, etc.

Once the report has been audited, it is either sent to the client through their preferred delivery method (email, LOS integration, etc.), or sent back to the appraiser for corrections. Any post-delivery requests received from the client are sanitized to ensure compliance with Appraisal Independence requirements before they are sent to the appraiser. Corrections are due back to Dart within 48 hours; Dart’s QC staff reviews the items requested for correction before delivering back to the client.

Client-focused QC

We understand how important the appraisal report is for any transaction, but especially for purchases. As an added value for our clients, we conduct a management review for purchase transactions that come in under the purchase price.

Dart actively monitors our client’s corrections each month for any trends. If a trend is identified, we’ll discuss with you whether that item should be added to your client requirements to reduce future correction/addendum requests.

Additional Items

Dart does have the ability to upload reports to UCDP and/or EAD on our clients’ behalf. We are integrated with both portals, which adds a layer of efficiency for our clients by removing any potential for errors or delays that could be introduced by manually uploading appraisal reports. We can also electronically deliver appraisals to borrowers if the client requests.

Executive Offsite. Dart’s annual executive management team offsite meeting was held earlier this month, where all six members of our executive team take dedicated time away to focus on the business. This multi-day meeting allows us to strategically look at our company, and explore how we can serve our clients, appraisers and employees well. We talk about what’s working and what’s not, take a deep dive into core values, and identify opportunities where we can improve. We also develop the company’s strategic plan for 2018, and establish the company vision for 2019 and 2020. I look forward to implementing the goals we’ve set for next year, and continuing to improve the service we provide to all of our clients.

New Finance VP. Christie Visconti joined Dart Appraisal this fall as Vice President of Finance. In this role, she oversees finance, accounting, and human resources. She has more than ten years of relevant experience, and most recently served as Finance Manager/Controller for MB Technologies’ US division. Strong financial leadership is a key element of any company, and I’m confident Christie’s expertise and experience will be a true benefit to Dart as we continue to grow. I’m thrilled to welcome her to the team.

25 Years. 2018 marks Dart Appraisal’s 25th year in business. The company was founded in 1993 as an appraisal management company, and has been continuously operating as such ever since. We’re incredibly proud of this milestone, and look forward to celebrating with our clients, brokers and appraisers throughout next year.

Holiday Hours. We at Dart Appraisal want to wish all of you a wonderful holiday season. We will be closed on Monday, December 25th and Monday, January 1st in observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

We look forward to another great year in 2018. If there is anything we can do to assist you, please don’t hesitate to contact me at michael@dartappraisal.com.

Thank you,

Michael Dresden
President
Dart Appraisal