Placing the Order

At CES we use RIMS to manage all of your workflow.  RIMS is a secured, regulatory compliant cloud-based workflow management system that allows ordering any assignment to take place, anywhere, at any time. Many Banks, especially larger Banks, use this system because of its versatile capabilities and its security.

So, when you need an appraisal, evaluation, or other due diligence service that we offer for real estate loan transactions, your Relationship Manager or other authorized person within your organization simply logs into RIMS and completes the “Service Request” form and submits it for CES to process.

The “service request” provides our Staff and the vendors with vital information required to properly process and place the order. CES staff reviews this information to determine if any additional information is needed prior to placing the assignment out for bid.

The CES Process strictly follows and adheres to all state and federal regulations and specifically with regard to “appraiser (vendor) independence.  Our Staff works independent of the transaction; therefore, our process with regard to appraiser independence fully meets federal regulatory requirements.

Engaging the Assignment

CES uses a “blind bid” process for obtaining fee quotes and delivery times for assignments. Our “blind bid” process was developed in accordance with the FIRREA law and is now widely accepted by all federal and state regulators. “The CES Process” ensures no input is ever allowed by requestors regarding which vendors will bid on assignments.

Once bids are returned, CES reviews and ranks them with comments based on each appraisers past performance, delivery time, and fee.  The quotes are sent to the Loan Officer or another Bank Representative for authorization to engage.

Appraisers names are never disclosed to the Loan Officer or any other Bank Representative before, or during the bidding process.

Work in Progress

Once an appraisal is engaged, the appraiser logs into RIMS and accepts the assignment. At that time they are instructed to contact CES directly if any issues arise during the course of the assignment that could delay its delivery.

Two business days later, an automated email is generated by RIMS and sent to the appraiser to confirm that they are moving forward with contacting the Property Contact in order to setup their inspection and obtain any additional information required to complete the assignment.

Five business days prior to the date of the scheduled delivery an automated email is generated by RIMS and sent to the appraiser requesting they contact CES immediately if they are experiencing any issues that could delay their delivery. At this time the appraiser is instructed to request more time and any assistance from CES or the Bank, if needed.  If no response by the appraiser is provided, CES will assume the assignment is on schedule and delivery will be on time.

If an appraisal is not delivered on time, CES will immediately communicate with the appraiser the morning after it was due by phone and email requesting an update on its status. CES will also request reasoning for why it was not delivered on time. The Bank will be notified immediately as well.

When appraisals are delivered late by an appraiser, it is up to the Bank to determine if they will enforce a late penalty for the appraiser’s tardiness.

Once the Appraiser uploads the Appraisal Report and their Invoice to RIMS, the Bank and CES receive an automated email informing us that these documents have been delivered. At this time, CES will immediately assign the appraisal report to be reviewed by a CES Review Appraiser. CES will also release the invoice (and appraisal if this is standard protocol) to the Bank.

The Review Process

Once an assignment is delivered by a vendor, it is immediately assigned to a reviewer who is appropriately licensed and skilled in the valuation of that specific property type.

When issues are found in a report that are not value related, but the report still requires revisions before it can be released, the reviewer is allowed to release the value(s) so that the client may move forward with the closing of their loan. However; the report is not released to the bank until all revisions/corrections have been resubmitted, reviewed again, and accepted.

If issues are found that affect value(s), then the reviewer will not release the value(s) or the report until all revisions and/or corrections have been resubmitted, reviewed again, and the value(s) prove to be adequately supported, credible and ultimately acceptable.

If the report is still not acceptable after revisions, the report can be sent back for further revision, or, it may be rejected.  If rejected, the Bank has the following options:

• Order a new report, which will also require a new review; or,
• Authorize CES to provide an opinion of Value in its Review Report.

Rejection of a Report by CES historically has occurred less than 1% of the time. However, it is good to have an option that can save on both time and cost.

Each vendor assignment is graded and scored in RIMS based on quality of workmanship, timeliness of delivery, responsiveness to requests for comments, corrections and revisions, and overall professionalism exhibited during the valuation and review process.

CES Service Agreement (SLA)

• Residential Administrative Review – 2 business days, void errors or omissions found.
• Residential Technical Review – 3 business days, void errors or omissions found.
• Commercial Administrative Review – 3 business days, void errors or omissions found.
• Commercial Technical Review – 5 business days, void errors and omissions found.
• Commercial Environmental Review – 5 business days, void errors and omissions found.
• Residential/Commercial Inspections – 2 to 10 business days, depending on scope of work

What Makes Us Different?

• We meet with client representatives quarterly to discuss past performance of vendors and CES’ past performance over any period selected for review.
• We only allow appropriately licensed and highly experienced real estate appraisers to perform appraisal reviews for our clients.
• CES Review Appraisers have a minimum of 5 years as a fee appraiser and 5 years as a review appraiser. The majority of our review appraisers have more than 20 years of experience on average, and most possess one or more designations.
• CES Review Appraisers are required to take continuing education annually and are required to train initially under Larry Woodall, CES founder and Chief Appraiser.
• CES Review Appraisers are audited on an annual basis to assure they are always performing at their peak ability.
• We are the only AMC that operates like a Virtual Appraisal Department, seamlessly integrating with your bank’s existing systems and processes.
• We offer the widest range of services of any AMC.
• CES knows the rules better than anyone else.  In fact, we helped write the book on FIRREA legislation, which raises the bar of excellence in our industry.