Sarma is Hiring Again

It is still a tough economy out there but San Antonio has faired pretty well the last couple of years. Our offices at the corner of Broadway and Grayson have seen enormous growth around us.

Several years ago the Pearl Brewery started its rennovation efforts. This effort has been a catalyst for even more growth in our area of what is called "lower Broadway." At the threshold of beautiful downtown, this entryway is becoming one of the most robust and vibrant areas of town.

Along with the Pearl updates, which include an ampitheatre, a Riverwalk extension, culinary school, fine restaurants and meetings places, the area is adding unprecedented upscale housing.

More than 500 apartments and condomiums are under construction at this time. The area is exploding with activity and Sarma is no different. We are hiring again and looking to grow our own family of team members. If you are looking for a great place to work with a lot of opportunity, look no further than this budding area and its potential. Take a look at our job postings and join us in our path to success. As a company with stability and key relationships with over 100 years of experience, we can offer you a great opportunity.

Sarma Offers Discount on CDIA Compliance Training Tools

Made available through the CDIA, the FCRA Certificate Program for Data Furnishers and the Data Security Awareness Program are on-demand training opportunities designed to help prepare organizations to better understand their regulatory obligations with respect to FCRA/FACTA and safeguarding consumer data.

The Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA), the nation’s trade association representing the consumer data industry, has designed a series of new compliance training tools to help prepare your organization in understanding its regulatory compliance requirements as set forth by the FCRA/FACTA ; and to help you protect your sensitive data.

Sarma in support of this unique educational opportunity is offering for a limited time only a 5% program discount to you.  Take advantage of this great offer by applying coupon code “SARMA” during your registration process.

The FCRA Certificate Program for Data Furnishers is a comprehensive on-demand self-paced online course to help compliance teams and senior staff with their FCRA/FACTA reporting obligations when furnishing data to Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs). The course is completed with a final comprehensive exam and awards each successful participant a certificate. Approximate course completion time: 5- 10 hours depending on familiarity with the FCRA/FACTA.

The Data Security Awareness program is a synced-up audio/visual online presentation developed to guide end-users with the necessary security processes in place when handling personally identifiable information (PII). The course includes engaging Q&A sessions and allows the user to be in full control of the presentation. Approximate course completion time: 45 minutes. This is a must do training session for everybody who regularly uses and processes sensitive PII.

Visit the CDIA Learning Center to learn more or contact CDIA directly at (202) 408 7408.

New Features Added for AppraisalComply Direct UCDP Submissions

UCDP Pre-Submission Review Tool Prepares You for Electronic Appraisal Submission

Through the storm of appraisal regulation changes, AppraisalComply has always provided a safe harbor for you to meet GSE, federal, and state appraisal requirements. While your business could be bogged down by the tedious process of review and submission of appraisal files to the Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP), we are working to make the new guidelines impact your business as little as possible. As a result, AppraisalComply has recently been updated with a new UCDP Pre-Submission Review feature to help support direct UCDP submission functionality (which is coming soon).

New UCDP Pre-Submission Review Feature Improves UCDP Appraisal Quality

Your time is valuable. They shouldn’t waste it by having to submit an appraisal to UCDP multiple times due to simple appraiser errors. To save you time, we have developed our UCDP Pre-submission Review feature designed to catch common mistakes that would cause the UCDP to reject the appraisal, resulting in time-costly UCDP resubmission. It will run automatically whenever an appraiser uploads a completed appraisal formatted in XML.

How this feature works:

Whenever an appraiser uploads an XML appraisal report, the file will automatically be reviewed by the UCDP Pre-Submission Review tool (Note – the Pre-submission Review will not run on PDF-formatted appraisals. Only XML-formatted appraisals). The review analyzes five main appraisal points including a valid appraisal amount, the inclusion of the appraiser’s license and signature, property address, and checks for an appraisal amount greater than $5,000. If any errors are identified, they will appear in the Communications Log next to the XML Validation entry shortly after the report is uploaded. The XML Validation data will be available to you, all lender users (including Managed Users), and the appraiser that worked on the file.

The Pre-Submission Review feature is available in advance of our Direct UCDP Submission features, which are currently in a testing phase. We will let you know with plenty of fanfare when they are ready for your transactions.

Along with the Pre-Submission Review feature, we have created some additional changes to lay the foundation for UCDP delivery. There is now a checkbox on the Communications tab to track UCDP activities, and the Communicate drop down menu has a ‘Send to UCDP’ option. Although these features are not fully available yet, having hints of them gives you a little heads-up that they’re coming.

Credit Card Delinquencies Hit New Record Low

The national credit card delinquency rate (the rate of borrowers 90 or more days past due) decreased for the sixth consecutive quarter, dropping to 0.6% at the end of the second quarter in 2011. This is the lowest mark observed in 17 years. Credit card debt per borrower increased $20 in the quarter to $4,699, though it remains near record-low levels. This information is reported by TransUnion and is part of its ongoing series of quarterly analyses of credit-active U.S. consumers, evaluating how they are managing credit related to mortgages, credit cards and auto loans.

Electronic Appraisal Submissions Direct to UCDP from AppraisalComply Coming Soon

Since the GSE’s (Fannie and Freddie) have implemented their Loan Quality Initiative (LQI), they will soon be requiring lenders to submit appraisals electronically to their Uniform Collateral Data Portal, or UCDP.  Whether you are a direct Fannie or Freddie client (seller-servicer), or if you provide loans on the secondary market to investors who are seller-servicers, AppraisalComply will have you prepared with a solution well in advance of the upcoming deadlines.

Preparing Your Appraisal Providers for the September 1, 2011 UAD Effective Date

The September 1, 2011, effective date for the use of the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD)-compliant forms is quickly approaching. If you haven’t already, now is the time to contact your appraisal providers (appraisers and appraisal management companies) to confirm they are prepared to begin using the UAD compliant forms. 

New Notice Requirements for Credit Score Users under Dodd-Frank