Bothell, Washington
March 29, 2011

ARC is in Full Compliance with new Appraisal Guidelines.

American Reporting Company (ARC) has recently been audited by RSM McGladrey on its appraisal management practices in accordance with Appraisal Independence Requirements, Interim Dodd-Frank and Interagency Guidelines.

“There have been an unprecedented number of appraisal guidelines announced in the last six months. We wanted to provide assurances to our clients that we are fully compliant. We have been following the spirit of these Appraisal Independence guidelines for over 5 years. RSM McGladrey has further confirmed our efforts to follow these guidelines. This is the second successful audit performed by RSM McGladrey, which replaces the previous one based on HVCC Compliance.” Francois Madath, President ARC  

Specifically, the following procedures were audited:

• Policies and Procedures
  
• Appraisal Orders, Review of Appraisal Reports, and Appraiser Evaluations
  
• New Appraisers
  
• Banned Appraisers
  
• Complaint Process
  
• ARC Staff Training/Appraiser Qualifications

In 2005, ARC invested in a robust technology solution that adheres to all of these newly released guidelines, along with a great staff that is knowledgeable in real estate appraisal practices. This combination of appraisal experience, technology and regional focus allows ARC to deliver a perfect solution for clients who are looking to outsource their appraisal services.
 

Results

  “Based on the results of our review of the Company’s processes for complying with the Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines, FannieMae Appraiser Independence Requirements, and ARC internal policies and procedures, we concluded ARC has implemented essential aspects of the guidelines above into its operating environment. We did not identify any material operating exceptions during our review… We have therefore assigned a Satisfactory Audit rating, which is the highest McGladrey audit rating available.”

– RSM McGladrey

FannieMae/FreddieMac’s AIR which replaced HVCC provided lending guidelines to all depository and non-depository institutions which opted to sell their loans to the GSEs. Interagency Appraisal Guidelines are regulatory guidelines for depository institutions regardless of who those institutions sell to or choose to portfolio. Dodd- Frank and the Consumer Protection Agency in November 2010 indicated they will further clarify in the coming year the issue of the collateral evaluations process – some have indicated that these recent Interagency Guidelines may be adopted by the Consumer Protection Agency which would then cover most lending activity, depository, non-depository, portfolio, correspondent etc.

About ARC

American Reporting Company specializes is providing settlement services to the mortgage lending communities. Founded in 1986, ARC was traditionally known as a premier credit reporting agency but expanded their product offering to include appraisal services, escrow and mortgage lending education. In 2007, 2008 and 2010. ARC was named to INC’s Fastest Growing Companies List. ARC was ranked #48 in Puget Sound Business Journals top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in 2010.