Hurricane Sandy has had a major effect on the lives of millions of Americans living on the East Coast. Now, some businesses are taking steps to ease some of the burdens on civilians.
That’s why real estate technology provider a la mode, inc. has announced its Mercury Network service will completely waive all fees related to gathering disaster reports in affected areas. In the wake of Sandy, orders for disaster inspection reports rose to more than 200 times the normal level, leaving many homeowners with a troubling outlook.
Real estate damages from Sandy are potentially larger than was originally forecasted, with more than 8.2 million homes out of power in 17 states. In fact, disaster modeling company EQECAT has doubled its insured and economic damage estimates, estimating numbers are now up to $50 billion.
Mercury Network by a la mode is the nation’s premiere vendor management platform, handling millions of transactions each year for the largest lenders and appraisal management companies. The company’s waived fees removes an economic barrier for hurricane victims in their time of need. It also allows appraisers to scale up operations to meet the demands of the current crisis -- a win-win in a region that has seen many losses in the past few weeks.
“Our focus right now is to make sure lenders are able to immediately move forward on closings for unaffected properties, and get rapid assessments using the Catastrophic Disaster Area Inspection Report, or CDAIR, on those that have been impacted,” said Jennifer Miller, president of a la mode’s Mortgage Solutions Division. “We’re glad to be in a position to help the industry and the local area’s housing markets at a time when they need it most. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by Hurricane Sandy, but especially our lenders, appraisers, management companies, and agents. It’s a real estate disaster which will alter their livelihoods for years to come.”
Vendors and clients will conduct transactions at no charge within minutes of arriving on site. More than 3,300 appraisers are available in the affected areas, so lenders can be assured every property is well within reach of a professional appraiser who can provide inspection reports, safety conditions permitting.
Lenders, appraisers, and management companies can visitwww.mercurcyymp.com/sandy to learn how to smoothly scale up disaster operations to meet the crisis.
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