The recent winter storm imposing a deep freeze across the United States has done things like cut power and close off roads, raising a challenge for servicers that need home inspections.
“The bomb cyclone is front-and-center in my mind right now…There are going to be a lot of areas that are inaccessible,” said Mark Walser, president, Incenter Appraisal Management, a unit that also works with inspectors and offers remote technology.
The sudden storm, like other types of disasters that create home-access issues for third parties, highlights how remote automation tools that helped mortgage companies work with owners to get property information during the pandemic keeps evolving.
It was too early to know the full scope of need for such automation in response to the bomb cyclone at deadline, but some mortgage companies confirmed that they’ve used the technology to handle access challenges in other disasters and would employ it again.
“The inspections were quick, easy for the customer because they just had to hold their phone and point it at the home while the remote inspector took the picture,” said Lori Reische, chief appraiser, American Pacific Mortgage. APM used the technology during Hurricane Ian.
An interesting interplay between inspections and appraisals has emerged as government-sponsored enterprises that buy a significant number of U.S. mortgages have allowed for the use of some tech-enabled hybrids in certain circumstances. It’s not so much an option in the also-large Federal Housing Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs markets, but with a VA modernization bill moving forward, Walser thinks it’s possible it could be in the future.
The inspections servicers need to assess properties after a disaster or weather event generally aren’t quite as rule-bound and restricted as appraisals or hybrid forms of valuations where an inspector gets involved, so servicers may have more leeway to broadly use automation for them. Incenter’s Remote Inspection Technology, which allows the borrower to grant permission and assist the inspector in gathering property information, was adapted from appraisal automation, but is used for a separate purpose.
Mortgage companies generally will have the most luck getting on-site information quickly after a weather event or disaster if they have automation that helps borrowers partner with them on reporting or can help them access an area not otherwise possible to enter in person, according to Jane Mason, CEO of servicing technology provider Clarifire.
“If their bank or nonbank’s website has automated workflow, they can click on and say, ‘Hey, I’m in a disaster. I’ve got flooding, I’ve got snow,'” she said, noting that some servicers still lack this.
“Drones also can go in and give you the basics as to what’s happening, which moves the cycle along very rapidly,” she added.
“If you think about the bomb cyclone and, and everything everyone’s experiencing outdoors, we really have to remember that automation is the way to get everybody the relief that they need,” said Mason. “This is just another lesson for servicers that don’t have the right technology in place to automate these types of demands.”
