The parent company of appraisal software firm Veros Real Estate Solutions has acquired California-based appraisal management company Valligent Technologies.
Valligent, founded in 2003 and led by Jeremy McCarty and Jeff Wickham, provides traditional, desktop and hybrid appraisal services to lenders, credit unions and others.
Its bend toward digital valuation services comes during a time of growing acceptance by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the VA to use desktop appraisals and hybrid appraisals.
Hybrid appraisals rely on third-party data collection, while desktop appraisals require photos and a floor plan. Both are alternatives to the traditional appraisal, and potentially reduce the amount of time an appraiser spends driving to and performing an on-site inspection. Proponents say these alternatives lead to faster turnaround times and help mitigate a declining workforce.
It’s for these reasons that AMCs have been hot commodities of late — more than a dozen AMCs have been sold over the last year.
Earlier this week, Class Valuation, one of the country’s largest AMCs, acquired 75-worker strong AppraisalTek for an undisclosed sum. It’s the AMC’s fifth acquisition in recent years.
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In a press statement Thursday, Veros executives said the Valligent acquisition was done out of a need to innovate.
“Veros acquired Valligent to further revolutionize and drive the property valuation industry beyond where it is today,” Darius Bozorgi, president & CEO of Veros Software and Veros Real Estate Solutions, said in a prepared statement. “Together, we represent a powerful collateral valuation innovator in the market, providing a full spectrum of appraisal, valuation data and analytics and related collateral risk management solutions.”
Veros, in business since 2001, provides services for automated valuations, fraud and risk detection, portfolio analysis and forecasting. It’s the primary architect and technology provider for Fannie and Freddie’s Uniform Collateral Data Portal and works with the FHA on its Electronic Appraisal Delivery system. Veros also signed an appraisal management services contract with the VA in 2019.
