Next step in Mercury evolution on tap
April 20, 2004
The Mercury Network, our server hub which routed more than 17.5 million appraisal reports in the last 12 months, and its user interface, Mercury Desktop, are too often confused with one another. One of our competitors formulates and executes entire business plans on the premise of providing an alternative for appraisers who don't want to pay to use the Mercury Network; the Mercury Network is free to use. (Don't tell them.) Mercury Desktop is a tool that makes using the Mercury Network easier and more efficient. In the coming weeks and months, Mercury Desktop will be renamed and rebranded to better differentiate it from the free Mercury Network. Click to read more
Beginning of the end for AVMs
April 20, 2004
Fitch Ratings doesn't like AVMs. Neither do we and probably neither do you, but when Fitch Ratings speaks, things happen.
Click to read more
ASC continues to accumulate a surplus
April 13, 2004
The Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) took in $2,311,175 in fees from appraisers in 2003, and spent $2,030,382, including $791,317 in grant payments to the Appraisal Foundation. The information was released as part of the ASC's 2003 Annual Report, made available at the ASC's website March 31. Click to read more
What will your website do for you?
April 13, 2004
Very soon we'll be announcing Professional and Enterprise level Appraiser XSites, which will add built-in merchant account/credit card order processing, advanced Themes and Flash intros, a logo builder, site statistics reports, and a built-in "marketing kit" that will help you do business — online and offline — more productively. Click to read more
A new mortgage boom
April 13, 2004
Mortgage brokers' boom has busted, read a headline the April 10 edition of the Dallas Morning News. The premise of the story was that abating refinance activity was squeezing new brokers out of the profession, and slowing entry into the arena, so lucrative for two-plus years, to a trickle. They didn't ask us. We could have told them that mortgage activity is in fact as high as it's ever been — right up there with the summer of 2003, widely regarded as the history-making peak of mortgage demand.
Click to read more
Serve on Appraisal Foundation boards
April 06, 2004
The Appraisal Foundation said it is beginning its annual search for qualified candidates to serve on one of its three Boards. Completed applications for vacancies on the Board of Trustees, the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) and the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) must be received by July 15, 2004. Click to read more
I think I’ll stick with Appraiser XSites, thanks
April 06, 2004
We went shopping for websites for this edition of the e-Newsletter. Our Agent XSites for real estate agents and brand new Mortgage XSites have gotten some buzz lately but what about Appraiser XSites, the granddaddy of them all? Click to read more
IRS targeting real estate frauds
April 06, 2004
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has more than 4,000 returns under audit involving individuals and entities associated with the real estate business, everyone's favorite agency announced. Click to read more
Pinellas Realtor Organization Capitalizes on a la mode’s Agent XSites
April 06, 2004
The Pinellas REALTOR® Organization (PRO) has chosen to couple a la mode's innovative Agent XSites websites along with its own internally-developed PRO/IDX tool and offer this unique bundle to its REALTOR® members. Click to read more
Avoid fraud by treating E&O insurance for what it is: a serious investment
March 30, 2004
State insurance commissions, consumer groups and professional organizations offer advice on how to avoid being taken to the cleaners on your E&O insurance. Click to read more
