Michael Reilly
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2002
Money = Muscles and in my humble opinion, it's all about speed and capacity, not the petty $300 bucks. More loans closed brings you right back to the begining = Money
mreilly NY
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A newly filed Federal
lawsuit has become the latest battleground in a fight to lower mortgage loan
fees and speed up the loan approval process for consumers seeking home equity
loans.
The lawsuit was filed yesterday by
Fidelity National Information Solutions (Nasdaq: FNIS), the nation's most
comprehensive source for real estate-related data, solutions and services; and
Market Intelligence, FNIS' property valuation subsidiary, against the
Pennsylvania State Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers.
The lawsuit alleges that the Pennsylvania Appraisal Board is improperly
forcing banks and consumers to use slower and more costly appraisals instead
of Federally approved appraisal alternatives for residential borrowers
applying for loans in Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia-based law firm of
Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP is representing the plaintiffs in the
case.
This is the second time in two years that Market Intelligence, which
provides appraisal alternatives as well as traditional appraisals, has sued a
state appraisal board to defend the use of so-called "appraisal alternatives"
to assess the value of property offered as collateral in home equity lending.
Similar to a lawsuit filed in Oregon in 2000, the lawsuit alleges that, by
requiring the use of appraisals in all lending transactions, the Pennsylvania
Appraisal Board is defying Federal banking laws and attempting to halt
Federally approved banking practices that benefit consumers in the state.
Market Intelligence fought the Oregon appraisal board over the same issue
and prevailed in October 2000 after the Oregon Appraisal Board agreed to allow
Market Intelligence to use the faster, less expensive appraisal alternatives
instead of the more expensive traditional appraisals. Among the appraisal
alternatives at issue is the use of computer generated estimates of value
known as AVMs, which cost less than 10 percent of the typical $300 appraisal
and can take seconds to perform instead of several days or weeks.
"If federal banking laws say it's okay and it benefits both the banks and
consumers, why would any state agency want to fight it?" said Mark P. Sennott,
an executive vice president at FNIS. "It appears to me that only one group
benefits by the board's actions."
The Federal Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act
of 1989 expressly allows banks to use appraisal alternatives for loans less
than $250,000. What's more, dozens of banks making mortgage loans in the
state of Pennsylvania use appraisal alternatives for home equity lending.
But in correspondence to Market Intelligence in 1999, the Pennsylvania
appraiser board asserted that all value estimates for residential properties
"must be made by a Pennsylvania State certified appraiser." And in a June 17
letter to the Company, the board threatened to file formal charges against the
Company. Despite numerous attempts to work with the board, the company was
unable to convince them that their position conflicts with Federal law.
"This is 'deja vu' all over again," said Sennott. "As we have said all
along, we are not against appraisals or appraisers. Consistent with governing
Federal law, we just think that banks and consumers should be able to have a
choice in when an appraisal is necessary and when a faster and cheaper
alternative will work just as well."
Sennott said that there is substantial lending industry pressure to reduce
the time and cost of the loan application. In some cases, appraisals are
necessary. But in many cases, banks have become comfortable using
computer-assisted estimates of value for smaller loans, said Sennott. FNIS
uses the computer estimates of value and also uses real estate agents to
gather data to run the automated valuation models.
A copy of the Complaint document and related articles may be viewed by
accessing the following Web link: http://www.fnis.com/news/today.htm .
About FNIS
Fidelity National Information Solutions (FNIS) is the first company to
effectively address the full range of needs for data, services and solutions
required by lenders and real estate professionals during a property
transaction. FNIS delivers vital business intelligence and technology to the
nation's most respected lenders and real estate professionals to speed
transactions and eliminate risk throughout the home purchase and ownership
life cycle. Market Intelligence, of Milford, Mass., is a subsidiary of FNIS.
FNIS is a majority-owned subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial (FNF),
the nation's largest title insurance and diversified real estate-related
services company. FNF's title insurance underwriters -- Fidelity National
Title, Chicago Title, Ticor Title, Security Union Title and Alamo Title --
together issue approximately 30 percent of all title insurance policies
nationally. The Company provides title insurance in 49 states, the District
of Columbia, Guam, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada.
Forward Looking Statement: This press release contains statements related
to future events and expectations and, as such, constitutes forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results,
performance or achievements of the Company to be different from those
expressed or implied above. The Company expressly disclaims any duty to
update or revise forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties
which forward-looking statements are subject to include, but are not limited
to, the effect of governmental regulations, the economy, competition and other
risks detailed from time to time in the "Management Discussion and Analysis"
section of the Company's Form 10-K and other reports and filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
Click here
mreilly NY
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A newly filed Federal
lawsuit has become the latest battleground in a fight to lower mortgage loan
fees and speed up the loan approval process for consumers seeking home equity
loans.
The lawsuit was filed yesterday by
Fidelity National Information Solutions (Nasdaq: FNIS), the nation's most
comprehensive source for real estate-related data, solutions and services; and
Market Intelligence, FNIS' property valuation subsidiary, against the
Pennsylvania State Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers.
The lawsuit alleges that the Pennsylvania Appraisal Board is improperly
forcing banks and consumers to use slower and more costly appraisals instead
of Federally approved appraisal alternatives for residential borrowers
applying for loans in Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia-based law firm of
Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP is representing the plaintiffs in the
case.
This is the second time in two years that Market Intelligence, which
provides appraisal alternatives as well as traditional appraisals, has sued a
state appraisal board to defend the use of so-called "appraisal alternatives"
to assess the value of property offered as collateral in home equity lending.
Similar to a lawsuit filed in Oregon in 2000, the lawsuit alleges that, by
requiring the use of appraisals in all lending transactions, the Pennsylvania
Appraisal Board is defying Federal banking laws and attempting to halt
Federally approved banking practices that benefit consumers in the state.
Market Intelligence fought the Oregon appraisal board over the same issue
and prevailed in October 2000 after the Oregon Appraisal Board agreed to allow
Market Intelligence to use the faster, less expensive appraisal alternatives
instead of the more expensive traditional appraisals. Among the appraisal
alternatives at issue is the use of computer generated estimates of value
known as AVMs, which cost less than 10 percent of the typical $300 appraisal
and can take seconds to perform instead of several days or weeks.
"If federal banking laws say it's okay and it benefits both the banks and
consumers, why would any state agency want to fight it?" said Mark P. Sennott,
an executive vice president at FNIS. "It appears to me that only one group
benefits by the board's actions."
The Federal Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act
of 1989 expressly allows banks to use appraisal alternatives for loans less
than $250,000. What's more, dozens of banks making mortgage loans in the
state of Pennsylvania use appraisal alternatives for home equity lending.
But in correspondence to Market Intelligence in 1999, the Pennsylvania
appraiser board asserted that all value estimates for residential properties
"must be made by a Pennsylvania State certified appraiser." And in a June 17
letter to the Company, the board threatened to file formal charges against the
Company. Despite numerous attempts to work with the board, the company was
unable to convince them that their position conflicts with Federal law.
"This is 'deja vu' all over again," said Sennott. "As we have said all
along, we are not against appraisals or appraisers. Consistent with governing
Federal law, we just think that banks and consumers should be able to have a
choice in when an appraisal is necessary and when a faster and cheaper
alternative will work just as well."
Sennott said that there is substantial lending industry pressure to reduce
the time and cost of the loan application. In some cases, appraisals are
necessary. But in many cases, banks have become comfortable using
computer-assisted estimates of value for smaller loans, said Sennott. FNIS
uses the computer estimates of value and also uses real estate agents to
gather data to run the automated valuation models.
A copy of the Complaint document and related articles may be viewed by
accessing the following Web link: http://www.fnis.com/news/today.htm .
About FNIS
Fidelity National Information Solutions (FNIS) is the first company to
effectively address the full range of needs for data, services and solutions
required by lenders and real estate professionals during a property
transaction. FNIS delivers vital business intelligence and technology to the
nation's most respected lenders and real estate professionals to speed
transactions and eliminate risk throughout the home purchase and ownership
life cycle. Market Intelligence, of Milford, Mass., is a subsidiary of FNIS.
FNIS is a majority-owned subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial (FNF),
the nation's largest title insurance and diversified real estate-related
services company. FNF's title insurance underwriters -- Fidelity National
Title, Chicago Title, Ticor Title, Security Union Title and Alamo Title --
together issue approximately 30 percent of all title insurance policies
nationally. The Company provides title insurance in 49 states, the District
of Columbia, Guam, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada.
Forward Looking Statement: This press release contains statements related
to future events and expectations and, as such, constitutes forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results,
performance or achievements of the Company to be different from those
expressed or implied above. The Company expressly disclaims any duty to
update or revise forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties
which forward-looking statements are subject to include, but are not limited
to, the effect of governmental regulations, the economy, competition and other
risks detailed from time to time in the "Management Discussion and Analysis"
section of the Company's Form 10-K and other reports and filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
Click here
