Given the recent developments regarding the spread of COVID-19 in the United States and associated government directives, we are paying special attention to how this crisis is impacting our industry and our customers. We want to keep our customers informed in this rapidly changing environment:
We are starting to experience extended turn times throughout our network due to markets with government limitations on movement, additional precautions that appraisers must take in ensuring their safety and the safety of the homeowner, and increased workloads as loan origination volume remains strong. Appraisers’ concern with face to face borrower interaction is increasing and some appraisers are choosing not to conduct assignments with interior inspections. As always, we are working hard to assign your order to a qualified appraiser who can complete it in an expeditious manner. In cases where appraisers decline to enter a home due to sickness, we will notify you on a case by case basis and discuss your potential options. Please let us know if you would like to switch any portion of your order volume to drive-bys rather than interior inspections to widen the potential pool of appraisers. As of today, while this list is not exhaustive, here are the areas where we are aware of extended turn times:
We are also seeing an increasing number of counties shut down operations, which may impact our ability to conduct title searches and record documents depending on the county’s online capabilities.
CSS remains committed to servicing your needs in these challenging times. As this is a constantly evolving situation, we will continue to provide updated information as we receive it. If you have more specific questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your CSS operations contact. We wish everyone the best in remaining safe and healthy.