contacted by Ziao

[Squareitup]

"it does geo-scoring?

ONE GUY who owns zones said he had a part time clerical person in India.

The last thing this forum needs is to give Zaio evidence that the analysis of its business and appraisal practices on this forum isn't sane. "Zaio" doesn't score the properties.

Steven, over at AppraisalScoop, Greg Wood indicated he knows of more than one Zaio zone owner who outsources "prescoring" work. He responded to my questions and added that Zaio has not yet stated a company policy on outsourcing and that he thinks appraisers who bought only one or two zones would not likely outsource. Those who bought many zones would be more tempted to consider outsourcing. Zaio appraisers seem to have complete liberty to use outsourcing at this point.

Greg Wood has made it clear that "geoscoring" work is more properly called "prescoring" which is followed up with checks in the field by licensed appraisers; it's a two-stage process to prepare the database. I've mostly meant prescoring when previously calling the process "geoscoring".

 

[Fred]

Steven, over at AppraisalScoop, Greg Wood indicated he knows of more than one Zaio zone owner who outsources "prescoring" work. He responded to my questions and added that Zaio has not yet stated a company policy on outsourcing and that he thinks appraisers who bought only one or two zones would not likely outsource. Those who bought many zones would be more tempted to consider outsourcing. Zaio appraisers seem to have complete liberty to use outsourcing at this point.

Greg Wood has made it clear that "geoscoring" work is more properly called "prescoring" which is followed up with checks in the field by licensed appraisers; it's a two-stage process to prepare the database. I've mostly meant prescoring when previously calling the process "geoscoring".

FWIW, that's sounds like I guy I had a back-and-forth with over there.

He called me dishonest for saying Zaio software is AVM software, even after I pointed out to him it says the same thing in the Zaio contract. Then I snipped a piece of an announcement by Zaio offerring AVM services. His response was to call me a liar again and banned me from that forum.

I wouldn't quote him as a source of anything. In my opinion, his blog is a maze of misinformation. He ran from this forum precisely because his posts could tolerate a bright light, to go over there were he can censor. Ask yourself a question. The Zaio contract says that the software will provide a value for every scored property, and that the appraise must approve or change the value. How is it possible for someone scoring their properties not to see this values appear on the screen and not to know an AVM put them there? Now, you can see why they had to run me off there - before I made that point and others like it.

FWIW, ranking properties in your area of coverage is a perpertual process for any appraiser - whether you work for AMC's like Zaio or not. It makes no difference to me if people in India are using the photographs and Google Earth to "improve" the assessor's database that they start with. Every time they do an appraisal for the rest of their time as zone owners, they will update the database. Sooner than later, it will be irrlevant what they are overwriting - assessor data, improved data, or data from their own prior inspection.

I think I have put up about three factual errors in 9,000 posts here and every time when someone pointed it out, I said thanks. Then again, you are posting under a pseudonym, you don't have to need to be concerned about factual accuracy.

 

[Squareitup]

Then again, you are posting under a pseudonym, you don't have to need to be concerned about factual accuracy.

:icon_idea: I might just go buy a pin-on name badge and have "Pseudonym" engraved on it, just to see how people react.

Regarding Zaio, my interest in factual accuracy is not based on being an appraiser since I am not one, but Zaio is being watched by many more groups than just appraisers. I do not want appraisers harmed by Zaio.

Zaio is a stale old mule at the starting gate. I applaud appraisers who persist in hunting facts. Zaio deserves all the persistent doubt, endless questioning and certainly some of the derision it encounters. I applaud Ken Verrett, Jeff Van Camp and Greg Wood for trying to be truth tellers while Zaio abandons them in the PR field. I wouldn't be too hard on Greg Wood if he doesn't satisfy your questions, he's left on his own and owes people nothing.

The issue of just how much automation goes on in Zaio software isn't something I can answer. Zaio doesn't seem too keen on revealing that depth of information.

 

[Mike Plumlee]

There's quite a string of dots that have been connected on the India outsourcing issue. There is more to it than just one appraiser in San Diego. Outsourcing of this nature is for large projects with short time frames. Trust your instincts on this one.

 

[Fred]

I applaud Ken Verrett...and Greg Wood for trying to be truth tellers while Zaio abandons them in the PR field.

I don't applaud trying, especially when it is part of failing. They'll have to actually succeed before I consider clapping. The same is true of India rumors.

I wouldn't be too hard on Greg Wood if he doesn't satisfy your questions, he's left on his own and owes people nothing.

I wasn't asking him questions.

The issue of just how much automation goes on in Zaio software isn't something I can answer.

Agreed. The issue is that certain people kept say it was zero and saying that I was either lying or had lapsed judgment for saying so. Or what you call "trying" to be honest.

 

[Ken Verrett]

I've got a little google search thingy to help me find references to my name in case there are discussions that I can contribute to. It works...after a fashion. Guess I need to learn how to refine it.

So, it brought me here this morning. I've read this thread. I'm guite up to speed on the India out sourcing issue, I know who is doing what. Here's the scoop.

Acorn has two Indian outsourcing projects. One is our expanding clerical support function which we have patiently developed over the last eight months. I've reported on it, more will be reported later. We are simply trading $20 per hour Houston clerical costs to our Indian partner at $3.50 per hour or less. We have a full time person assigned to Acorn there. That is exclusively for our traditional appraisal business.

Acorn had initiated another project with our Indian outsourcing partner five months ago to work on a photo matching project related to the building of the Zaio Data Base. It too is a clerical function. Senior Bright Horse developed the procedure, actually preformed it for several thousand properties, and then trained a separate project team in our Inidan partner to accomplish the task. All data is returned to SBH for quality control, then released to the Zaio Data Base and their QC functions before it's accepted into the data base.

Acorn and Zaio meet weekly to discuss the findings of this project, and compare to to other similar but not outsourced teams who are working this same project in other markets. We will be closing that porject by the end of this month, it having achieved its objective in Houston.

The innovative Zone Owner in San Diego is doing something else...pre scoring activities. I've discussed it with him several times. Initially I was against the activity. My concerns were the ones which have been inferred here from a qualtiy and improper delegation of licensed appraiser analysis, and from a public relations point of view....the APPEARANCE that it might involve delegation of licensed required activity.

We have a private forum for Zaio Zone owners and Zaio Staff. Last month I challenged Eddy from San Diego to detail what he was doing, as all zone owners are affected by the quality of the rest of us. Ruffled some feathers as I often do initially, but all zone owners read the exchanges, asked questions, were satisfied with the answers, as I was. It's also a clearly clerical function, a first step in the scoring process...scrubbing the records to make sure the proper fields are all there, and flagging those that need attention. Prescoring as someone here correctly identified it.

We in Acorn are considering using that approach in our next phase, but are first going to test another potentially more efficient alternative which shows great promise. That test begins next week, and will be done by two of our Bright Horses.

The PR issue on this subject clearly remains, and it's one we are sensitive to. We are satisfied with our compliance or we wouldn't allow it. We have several layers of QC built into the entire process, including these initial data scrubbing activies to ensure high quality...that's important, for in reality that's all we will have to sell. If it doesn't meet the standards of the market we fail.

National Lenders are also being kept abreast of our development work, our steps taken, our QC efforts, to be certain they will find it to meet their needs. One national lender was in our Phoenix offices yesterday receiving detail briefings and sat in on numerous project meetings, obeserving developments and discussions.

As to Greg, Jeff, myself, being abandoned to "defend the flag", we really aren't. In reality, it's mostly Greg now with his fine Zaio Chronicles posts on Appraisal Scoop...he's simply trying to give his personal insights and experience.

We aren't abandoning discussions. We contribute when we can, address issues when they are raised, state our positions, then retire when the dialogue and our contribution to it ends. Those of you who patiently waded through my first appearance here a year ago will remember that I announced my time of contribution was ending, and it did....much later than some felt it could have!

We are just all very busy, engaged last year in managing our respective businesses through a tough time while moving the massive Zaio Project along. This year it's even more intense in the Zaio Project as we are nearing the objective of going live in several new major markets, and managing the increase in volume from our respective traditional businesses that has occured and will hopefully and likely continue to occur throughout 2008.

We hope all of you are also enjoying the return of business, if in fact you experienced a decline last year, and we wish all a profitable new year!