Freddie Mac's Risk Tool Gets Appraisal Feature

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. has added property appraisal functions to its mortgage risk evaluation system, Loan Prospector.

The new software, dubbed Collateral Express, enhances an existing appraisal feature that links lenders electronically to property appraisal firms for instant assessments.

While enhancing the software, Freddie Mac also has been busy adding to the list of appraisers and real estate experts participating in the system. Three firms - ATM Corporation of America, Mortgage Support Services Corp., and Premier Appraisals - have joined the approximately 31,000 other companies available to users of Loan Prospector, according to a Freddie Mac spokeswoman.

In addition, Freddie Mac has changed the pricing structure of the module to lower lenders' costs of obtaining appraisal information, said the spokeswoman.

Freddie Mac plans to introduce additional enhancements to Loan Prospector in the fourth quarter. These will help lenders to evaluate jumbo, subprime, and government mortgages, and to underwrite home loans for borrowers with low to moderate incomes.

Introduced last year, Loan Prospector is used by 278 mortgage lenders, according to Freddie Mac.

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