New First American Service Tracks REOs

First American Valuation and Property Solutions, the Dallas-based branch of ""First American Corporation"":http://www.firstam.com that provides residential property valuations, inspections, and preservation services, announced on Tuesday the availability of a new Property Listing Verification report. The company explained that the report confirms and tracks REO listing activity - both past and present - for individual properties and can be used in REO marketing, fraud prevention, due diligence, and portfolio valuation.
According to First American, the new service gives lenders and investors access to local real estate market expertise on a national basis, with rapid turnaround. The report confirms that a specific property is currently listed and provides the listing price and days on the market. If a property is not currently listed, the report displays up to 12 months of listing history, time on the market, and past listing prices. The company said real estate agents with localized market knowledge will then perform verification of the data and cross-reference research, and the final verification report is made available to the inquiring lender, servicer, or investor within two business days.
First American said the report is designed for use by quality control and fraud prevention staffers in the REO and servicing arenas to identify potential cases of collusion, as well as investors who perform due diligence as part of the portfolio acquisition process.
Joni Pierce, division SVP of First American Valuation and Property Solutions, commented, ""The level of REO sales activity nationally is at an all-time high. Our new verification report gives servicers greater visibility into how their assets are being marketed at the local level and provides a red flag to detect cases of collusion. Investors can use the report to obtain a more accurate picture of specific assets within a portfolio that could affect their offering price.""