Featured news — posted April 26, 2005

The XSites Network rankings of appraisers now are different than the rankings the old Mercury Network produced. This is a result of our recent switchover of the Mercury Network to the new XSites Network, and here's how they work.

Previously, Mercury put fee and service details of your competitors up next to yours, and made it easier for them to compete with you. But we shouldn't be deciding how to convince clients to hire you, you should. We heard this in one form or another from many Mercury Network users over the years.

Now, to be ranked at all, you have to have an XSite, because the directory will route clients to XSites. The directory isn't the focus of your XSite — and you shouldn't treat it like it is. Convincing clients to do business with you is in your hands.

Whether you're ranked at the top or on page two or three, your clients are going to make the decision who to hire based on how you present yourself and your business on your XSite, not where you rank on a search. That's the point, in fact. They'll look at fees, coverage area, products offered, designations, education, everything you tell them on your XSite. Our not getting in the middle of your branding and marketing is a big plus, but only if you take advantage of it.

We've cleaned the directory up in two ways, one we've accomplished and one you'll see happening in the coming weeks. First, we queried our database and identified anyone who's been listed in the directory for more than 30 days but has never accepted an order through their XSite. XSites are so cost effective and easy to use we have people who get them for other things than their appraisal practice. Others set up a demo or trial site but abandoned it for whatever reason. This query identified them.

Then, we contacted each such site owner and asked them if they wanted to remain in the directory. If they clicked on the link indicating they did, they were retained. This eliminated the "dead wood" from the directory. The result is a listing of appraisers who actually use the XSites Network to do business, a plus for your clients as well as for you, since non-Network users won't be ranked ahead of you.

Anyone who received any kind of order via the Mercury Network in the last year but didn't have an XSite was given one free for 90 days. Now that everyone who uses the Network has an XSite, we rank you by how long you've had an XSite. That's an objective, ironclad and easily available (to us) standard for rankings.

With this new way of determining search results, you won't find your competitors gaming the system to artificially appear higher in the rankings. To even better ensure that, the second improvement we're making over the coming weeks is limiting coverage areas to a single state. While you will be able to purchase additional states (or get a certain number of additional states free if you have our Elite bundle — be on the lookout for details), this will be enough of a disincentive that you won't see a single appraisal office appearing at the top of the rankings for all the major markets in the country. The directory will be more useful and reliable, and you'll be reliably identified as a true appraisal provider in your coverage area.

Directory and ranking improvements weren't the whole point of the recent switchover. Your XSite now represents your branding and marketing, without the intrusion of another company or brand. Lenders aren't ordering from some entity called the Mercury Network, they're ordering from you. That's why you don't log on to the old Mercury Network to manage your orders, but instead use your XSite's admin area. Orders are placed directly on your XSite.

We've also named Brian Ringer, who managed the release of XSellerate to the appraiser, agent and mortgage markets, XSites Network Product Manager. He'll have the responsibility of expanding this service and driving more XSite collaboration features as we leverage our unique position in the real estate industry to benefit our customers.

"Collaboration among all our XSites will be an important goal for the very near future," Ringer said. "Mortgage and Agent XSites are growing by leaps and bounds, and we plan XSites for other types of vendors and clients as well. Soon you'll see a true interactive network with XSites owners of all stripes relying on one another and keeping each other productive and profitable."

At our first annual convention, held in Las Vegas in February, people couldn't help noticing that there is an organization out there which brings together a majority of U.S. appraisers and which is a vigorous advocate for the profession. Many of you told us it's been a while since you felt that way. Our CEO, Dave Biggers, made it clear that if the associations were filling this role effectively, he would be applauding and supporting them. But we haven't seen it. Seeing so many of you in Vegas, hearing how you felt about your business and profession, and experiencing firsthand how great it can be to make a difference, it would be hard for us to stay on the sidelines. Stay tuned. And watch our new two minute video, "Going To Bat" by clicking "click to play" above.

Bankruptcy reform means sunset for "cram-downs"

Loan servicers submit Fannie Mae form 975 when a homeowner in Chapter 13 (payment plan) bankruptcy petitions the bankruptcy court to reduce his mortgage balance because the property value is smaller than the outstanding balance. In a time of 125 percent LTV loans, mortgage fraud, second mortgages and (some say) a possible "home price bubble," you might expect this form to get a good workout in the near future.

As it happens, Fannie may do well to retire the form. The bankruptcy reform bill passed overwhelmingly by both houses of Congress and signed this month by the President prohibits such a reduction in mortgage (or any other secured loan) balances, commonly called "cram-downs."

Bankruptcy courts routinely commissioned appraisals to inform its decision to lower a balance, and a servicer submitting form 975 was instructed to submit the court's appraisal, its own appraisal, or a BPO. Now, it won't matter what the value of a property is, even if the bankruptcy is prompted in part by the homeowner's inability to sell out from under the loan because the balance far exceeds market value.

70 new XSellerate campaigns

In the last two months we've made available 70 new campaigns in XSellerate, the online marketing resource bundled with Enterprise-level XSites. There are a lot of meaty items here that will help you convey a professional, expert image to clients.

One great example is "Automated valuations: You get what you pay for." Excerpt:

Computers, the Internet, and technology in general have made appraisal turnaround times faster than ever. But some of our clients are still interested in dipping their toes into using Automated Valuation Models (AVMs), because they’re relatively cheap and fast. You know what they say about things that seem too good to be true? Or how they say you get what you pay for? Here are just some of the things that you don’t get from an AVM.

If the house is really there? A computer can’t so much as drive by a house to see if it’s actually located where it’s supposed to be, has four walls and a roof, and really is a four bedroom split level and not a one bedroom shack. Many of our clients like to know these things, and not be left to wonder.

Do unique features of a property add to or detract from its market value? So a computer returns an estimated value of $150,000. Did it account for the sewage treatment station next door? The railroad tracks nearby with trains that blow their whistles every night? The school district? The desirability of its tree-lined street versus the next street over? Short answer: No. Computers can’t know or account for such factors.

There are new payment "reminders," including for 30-day and 60-day past due invoices, and a demand letter. Twenty-four new holiday and special occasion e-mails get your name and business in front of potential and past clients, helping drive future business. A wide selection of sympathy and get well messages likewise give your clients the personal touch. And new substantive newsletters of interest to clients and home buyers alike are available, with new content planned every month.