It seems as if cyber-attacks are increasing and the latest area to fall victim to it is the appraiser community. Recently, ACI, an appraisal software company and its affiliate companies were victims of a cyber-attack. This has left a number of appraisers in the industry who rely on ACI software as their primary report output method to be unable to complete appraisal XML files and upload them to AMCs and lenders, which in turn caused delays and fallout on a number of files.
Unfortunately, this is an ongoing issue, and with so many appraisers affected it does have the potential impact of delaying appraisal files into the foreseeable future.
We at the Class Valuation family of companies would like to provide some useful information to help deal with it.
- If you manage a panel of appraisers, check with them to see how many have been impacted. You may also ask them if they have made alternative technology arrangements to continue working while the issues are being fixed.
- If working with AMCs, ask them the same thing and find out how many active appraisal orders are impacted, and if they have a plan to help convert the files so they can be submitted to UCDP/EAD for you.
For our part at Class, here are the things we are doing to help our lenders and appraisers through this situation:
- We are able to convert appraisal PDFs generated by our appraisers using their ACI Software into compatible XML files that will work for submissions to UCDP etc. using our proprietary technology platforms.
- We have already looked at the active files in our systems for all of our clients. If a file was in pre-inspection and we could assign it to a non-ACI appraiser with no impact to turnaround time, we have done so. If the file is in flight and has already been inspected, we are working with the appraiser directly to convert their PDF into a usable file for completion without impacting your turnaround time.
- We are currently assigning new orders to appraisers who do not use ACI software until they can fix the issues. Class is the largest AMC and has over 20000 appraisers in our national network, over 75% of which use other types of software. Thus, we can provide appraisals anywhere and with minimal issues to help all of our clients.
Whether you are impacted today or down the line by this issue with ACI software, it is a good thing to be aware of and make sure you proactively plan with your AMC vendors how to deal with the fallout of this situation.
Please reach out to me or Sally Carothers, EVP of ClassUnion, with any questions, or if ClassUnion can be of help to your organization or appraisers.
Regards,
Mark Walser
Senior Vice President, Sales and Strategy | ClassUnion (A Class Valuation Company)
Acting President, Incenter Appraisal Operations (A Class Valuation Company)
mwalser@classvaluation.com | Mobile: 925 698 2056