How PRMG is Driving Digital Transformation With Appraisal Technology [Case Study]

Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Inc. (PRMG) is a privately-held mortgage company that maintains its status as a top-25 mortgage lender. With around 3000 employees across 250 branches, PRMG manages a large team that strives to provide exceptional customer service and innovative solutions for its borrowers.

When PRMG’s Chief Lending Officer and mortgage industry veteran, Kevin Peranio, looked to modernize the company’s approach, he ran into major pitfalls around the appraisal process. Communication lapses, process surprises, frustrating user experiences, plus muddled front-end operations and workflows caused turn times to lag.

Peranio knew he needed a solution that could shrink turn times for appraisals and open transparency in the process to help the company hit more closing dates. Read on or download the full case study to learn how Reggora helped PRMG manage AMCs and originators all in one workflow.

The Challenge: Modernizing PRMG’s Appraisal Operation

PRMG wanted to remove hurdles between the operations and sales teams, create a frictionless user experience for borrowers and employees, and fully understand when backups arise from appraiser shortages versus issues in their software or workflow. The company was in the middle of a digital transformation across its mortgage process but quickly realized that the appraisal operation needed a lift, as well.

“We always felt that our drive for quality service in a relationship, which is a passion for me, was a great foundation to start from, but we had to build up the rest of the system around it,” Peranio explains. “What I realized was our tech wasn’t great in many facets of our business and we’d look at industry leaders and they were cleaning our clocks on many different levels.”

Peranio and his team wanted to make originators more successful, remove surprises and elongated processes, and stay relevant in the lending space while growing the bottom line. After searching for potential solutions to address PRMG’s challenges, Peranio decided on Reggora, a platform he describes as working “at the speed of business.”

Assisting In PRMG’s Digital Transformation

As PRMG continued to grow in volume, it switched from managing its appraiser panels to an AMC partnership model. The change removed some communication breakdowns, but PRMG still needed a transparent, rapid-speed communications system that could adapt to changes on the fly.

“Nobody likes surprises in our business, they’re tough, and transparency is important, but when the technology is good, which it is with Reggora, it minimizes those surprises,” says Peranio. “It’s also very important to distinguish between appraiser shortages and inherent system flaws versus the portal software.”

Once PRMG teamed up with Reggora, each step — including implementation — went smoothly.

“Reggora did a good job of changing the communication within the system where everyone can see the notes…because at the end of the day, we’re purchase driven in our retail channel in a normal market, we’re 89% purchases and you cannot miss purchase closing dates,” Peranio explains. “If we have a good transparent system and process, and good technology where communication is open, like with our Reggora software, then we can have as few surprises as possible.”

A Smooth Implementation Process

Within 60 days of their Reggora implementation, PRMG turned off ordering on their previous systems for 90 percent of their branches and reworked critical workflows with the new platform to increase efficiency and communication among all players in the appraisal process.

“It was really quick and we sunsetted our last system fast. With 1,400 people in our retail channel, if you include all the processors and 250 branches, it was pretty smooth,” says Peranio. “I felt like Reggora’s team was always there and available. If things were escalated to me, their team was receptive and fast and invested in the change management.

“We’re also an Encompass user and for lenders thinking about switching over to the TPO world, the integration was fantastic.”

Results: An Efficient Appraisal Process For The Future

With the changes in borrowing over the last few years, including refinance activity and equity shifts, having software that allows PRMG to stay flexible has been vital — especially with industry blind spots and economic uncertainties.

“This software has made things easier for us, and that has really shrunk down the turn times, opened up the communication and transparency, and has a lot less surprises, hitting many more closing dates,” says Peranio. “Having software that allows you to direct appraisal management or AMCs coming down on their price, or appraisers coming down on their appraisal price, all those things could be impacted with potential shifts. We’re looking at that and planning for using Reggora’s appraisal software for years to come. You must think about what’ll be unexpected and the value of that frictionless appraisal ordering system.”

PRMG’s appraisal department has never been happier as they can be much more efficient with their time and tasks. The ability to have an actual feedback loop with their team members using Reggora’s software, such as AMCs and originators, also helped PRMG monitor the efficiency and productivity of specific employees in addition to turn times. AMCs can now share pain points with PRMG’s appraisal department, which is now empowered to adjust to the needs of both AMCs and originators.

“I’d say the level of efficiency we’ve created has been better than expected and we haven’t even utilized all of Reggora’s software,” says Peranio.

Would you like to see how Reggora can help modernize your appraisal operations? Request a demo of our platform to see how your company can save time on each loan file with Reggora.