Import Public Records using Total

[bnmappraisal]

Has anyone tried this "Free" (for now) new tool that Total has?
I have not, so just looking for any feedback from those who have tried it/use it
Thanks

 

[ramrcdk]

I am also asking for a friend.
And why would I want to use public records for the SCA Grid any How???

 

[EddieB]

I used it once so far. Most of my work is new construction so their data was not accurate. One the one refi, it did pull in some good data and filled in several boxes on the URAR.

As Carnivore stated, we still have to verify for accuracy. It did save a few minutes but I can't imagine it's worth 25 cents. I have another refi setup for this weekend and will spend more time reviewing its' usefullness.

I would imagine in the Super Elite package, that it will be free

 

[Brian W Street]

I found that it was hit or miss in my area in terms of accuracy and since I have to verify and make corrections I stopped using it after a few reports. I kind of feel that this feature should be free like the census data or mapping features, even if it were accurate I wouldn't pay for the service. To me, I would rather use Spark and even then I still type my own subject data in as Spark is getting the same data as AlaMode.

 

[ramrcdk]

I used it once so far. Most of my work is new construction so their data was not accurate. One the one refi, it did pull in some good data and filled in several boxes on the URAR.

As Carnivore stated, we still have to verify for accuracy. It did save a few minutes but I can't imagine it's worth 25 cents. I have another refi setup for this weekend and will spend more time reviewing its' usefullness.

I would imagine in the Super Elite package, that it will be free

CORE: Just another way ...They want US to clean up the incorrect data for them...for FREE!

 

[andrew81]

I have used it a few times and it works, but, had to retype most of it anyway so turned it off.

 

[Fargo1]

Like others, I've been using it but it seems like a waste. I don't know the source of the info nor do I have access to the source to put it in my work file. So for every appraisal that I do, I still need to look up city data, county data, tax record and anything else so I can make a copy of the source document for my work file. The 20 seconds of typing I save does not seem worth it. I would never pay for the service.

For me it begs the question, what do we need to keep in our workfile? If others are using all of these auto populated data sources without verifying, am I putting myself at a competitive disadvantage by going to each source individually and documenting the source? I'm sure I am. I'm sure many appraisers just take the data and run with it. But I feel it is my obligation to go directly to the source and document the data in my workfile.

Until USPAP and all the government instituions declare that data coming from major data providers can be considered as a verified source, and the appraiser is not liable to verify the data, I believe we are all obligated to verify the information. Even if it was considered a verified source, I might question some of if. But I might use it if the source met my legal obligations and I felt it was ethical to rely on the data. But until such a statement is made, I will be verifying my data. So the public records info provided by CoreLogic is really worthless.

 

[Mike Ault]

I think it has possibilities. I don't like to spend 25 seconds typing anything that I don't have to. What is needed is the ability to clean up the public records import using a software process similar to the one that we used to clean up the MLS text import function, i.e the ability to automatically format the entries properly. That has saved me an incalculable amount of keyboard time and certain carpal tunnel syndrome. I prefer to verify all this stuff without typing it again if at all possible. Of course the process is working reasonably well in my area and only needs minimal refinements, if it populated my form with a bunch of gibberish I wouldn't think much of it either. If this was a democracy my vote would be for them to keep on developing it and I might not even object to a small fee for their efforts.

 

[Brian W Street]

I might not even object to a small fee for their efforts

Aren't they getting a large yearly fee already? There was a time when I copied maps or looked up the census numbers but when they added those features it wasn't an add-on option, they just added it to enhance their product.

 

[norapp]

It is covering up the report pages in lower left corner of my screen. Asked them to turn it off so I can see what I need. They said no. When the free offer expires it will go away. I do not want any help from this company doing my job. My responsibility, my neck. You know they will raise the price next year for those who choose to buy it.