A la mode announced March 24 that Mercury Mobile, a new iOS app enabling appraisers to respond to new Mercury Network orders instantly, was named a Top Innovation of 2013 by the Progress in Lending Association.
Mercury Mobile, which is available for free for iPhone and iPad users, allows appraisers to accept, decline or negotiate an order placed on Mercury Network, a technology provider for appraisal management companies (AMCs) and lenders, from their mobile device.
The app eliminates common delays in the appraisal process and has had a significant impact on the efficiency of the industry: Over 600 lenders and AMCs rely on Mercury Network to power over 20,000 appraisal deliveries a day. With the release of the Mercury Mobile app to the appraisal vendors on the platform, lenders and AMCs placing orders on the Mercury Network can see instantaneous turnaround time improvements.
Mercury Mobile can help eliminate delays in the appraisal ordering process caused by appraisers in the field doing inspections on other properties without a connection to accept, decline or negotiate orders. With the app, appraisers can immediately act on a Mercury Network client order, resulting in faster operations for any Mercury Network lender or AMC, and the elimination of lost opportunities for appraisers who are away from the office on field inspections.
For appraisers, the Mercury Mobile app combines with a la mode’s mobile appraisal inspection and sketching product, TOTAL for Mobile, so they can efficiently handle the entire order-inspection cycle onsite on their mobile device.
“We’re grateful for the honor from Progress in Lending,” said Jennifer Miller, president of a la mode’s Mortgage Solutions Division. “Mobile apps are an important trend in the industry, but Mercury Mobile goes beyond typical mobile app significance because more appraisers nationwide use our software than all other brands combined. With the training, support and distribution network to successfully penetrate the appraisal vendor population in significant numbers, Mercury Mobile can solve industry-wide problems immediately.”
A la mode’s Mercury Network has won the Innovations Award three consecutive years for three different technology products and is the only team in the history of the Progress in Lending Association to win more than once.