United Wholesale Mortgage, the country’s largest wholesale lender, will begin offering in-house appraisals on Oct. 1, according to a company statement. The soon-to-be UWM Appraisal Direct will be optional, as brokers will still be allowed to work with outside appraisal management companies.
The move, though, is meant to speed up the buying process by having mortgage brokers bypass appraisal management companies.
Over the past few months, UWM has been building a team of 100 employees and developed software that will allow it to work directly with appraisers to schedule, execute and deliver appraisals in 5-7 days, without charging a management fee, according to Inman.
“We’re going to manage the entire process, from start to finish, at UWM,” UWM CEO Mat Ishbia said in a Facebook Live announcement. “We’re going to collect money from the borrowers, 100 percent of that money goes to the appraiser, paid same day or next day.”