Overview
This article provides an overview of key settings available under the Options tab in Appraisal Scope®, including where to store UCDP credentials and how reminder automation is organized. It explains what each area controls so admins can understand how these settings affect day-to-day workflows.
UCDP
The UCDP page is where an AMC can enter their credentials to the Government-Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP). To enter credentials, an admin user will type them in the User ID and Password text fields and click Save. The AMC’s credentials will be saved in Appraisal Scope after they’ve been provided.
Reminders
The Reminders page provides settings that can be customized, configured for automation, and activated so that Appraisal Scope will automatically generate and send email reminders to appraisers and/or staff. These emails will remind platform users about upcoming important dates and time critical tasks, approaching license or E&O coverage lapses, and invoice payments that have gone delinquent.
The Reminders page is broken into three sections, each section representing a different category of reminder. The settings available under each section and how to configure them are detailed in the following text.
Setting up reminders
Order Reminders Sent to Appraisers section
When the reminders in this section are activated, Appraisal Scope will automatically send an email to any appraiser reminding them of an important due date or status requirement. Any reminder that has been activated can be deactivated by clicking the Activate/Deactivate toggle switch so that it says Activate.
Note: All time-dependent reminders will be based on the Appraisal Scope Server Time. This time counter is located in the upper right-hand corner of the Reminders page.
Appraisal due reminder
1. To set a reminder to go out when an appraisal deadline is approaching, first click the middle drop-down box and choose how you’d like Appraisal Scope to interpret the due date: by Estimated Completion Date, Appraisal Due Date, or Appraiser Due Date.
2. Now click the first drop-down box and choose one of the time increments from 1 to 48 hours before the scheduled due date arrives. This will set your platform-version to send the reminder the chosen number of hours before the due date.
3. If you want, instead, to set a reminder to go out at a specific cutoff time on the due date, click the first drop-down box and select On cut off time.
4. Next, click the Cutoff Time box and select a specific cutoff time. This will set your platform-version to send the reminder at that time on the due date.
5. When you’re finished configuring the appropriate settings, click Activate on the right side of the page.
Unaccepted reminder
1. To set a reminder that will go out at a selected time after the date an order has been assigned, type a time increment in the Hours after assigned date text box.
2. Next, if you want to configure the system to only consider business hours in its time calculation, click Options, select the Include Only Business Hours check box, and click Submit.
3. If you want to configure Appraisal Scope to exclude in its time calculation holiday hours that have been set in your platform-version, click Options, select the Exclude Holiday check box, and click Submit.
4. When you’ve finished configuring the appropriate settings, click Activate.
Note: An admin user will also receive these reminders when their email preferences have been configured to allow it by going to Staff tab, then Staff subtab, clicking the Email field associated with the Staff list entry for that admin user, and making a choice for the Unaccepted Reminder setting.
Update status reminder
1. To set a reminder that will go out when a selected amount of time has passed since a previous status update was submitted, click the Time Increment box and select a time increment.
2. This reminder will be set by appraisal form. To choose the appraisal form(s) to which the status reminder will apply, first click Select Appraisal Forms.
3. When the Select Jobtype dialog box opens, make sure the check boxes associated with appraisal forms for which this reminder will apply are selected, and clear any check boxes associated with appraisal forms for which the reminder will not apply.
4. When you’re finished, click Submit and then click Activate.
Appraisal late
1. To set a reminder to go out when an appraisal has passed its due date, first click the middle drop-down box and choose how you’d like Appraisal Scope to interpret the due date: by Estimated Completion Date, Appraisal Due Date, or Appraiser Due Date.
2. Now, click the first drop-down box and choose one of the time increments from 1 to 48 hours after the scheduled due date arrives. This will set your platform-version to send the reminder the chosen number of hours after the due date.
3. If you want, instead, to set an Appraisal Late reminder to go out at a specific cutoff time on the due date, click the first drop-down box and select On cut off time.
4. Next, click the Cutoff Time box and select a specific cutoff time. This will set your platform-version to send the reminder at that time on the due date.
5. When you’re finished configuring the appropriate settings, click Activate on the right side of the page.
Note: An admin user will also receive these reminders when their email preferences have been configured to allow it by going to Staff tab, then Staff subtab, clicking the Email field associated with the Staff list entry for that admin user, and making a choice for the Late Reminder setting.
Revisions reminder
1. To set a reminder that will go out at a selected time after the date a revision has been sent, click the Revisions Reminder box and select your desired time increment.
2. (Optional) Next, if you want to configure the system to only consider business hours in its time calculation, click Options, select the Include Only Business Hours check box, and click Submit.
3. (Optional) If you want to configure Appraisal Scope to exclude in its time calculation holiday hours that have been set in your platform-version, click Options, select the Exclude Holiday check box, and click Submit.
4. When you’ve finished configuring the appropriate settings, click Activate.
Inspection reminder
1. To set a reminder, regarding a needed inspection, that will go out at a selected time after the Assigned or Accepted date of an order, click the Time Increment box and choose your desired time increment.
2. Next, click the Date box and choose whether you want the Assigned date or Accepted date to determine when the reminder goes out.
3. (Optional) If you’d like to set reminders to go out for certain appraisal forms only, click Select Appraisal Forms, and in the Select Jobtype dialog box, make sure the check boxes associated with appraisal forms for which this reminder will apply are selected.
4. When you’re finished configuring the appropriate settings, click Activate on the right side of the page.
Update status reminder (daily)
1. To set a reminder that will go out on a regular schedule when a selected amount of time has passed since a previous status update was submitted, click the Time Increment box and select a time increment.
2. This reminder will be set by appraisal form. To choose the appraisal form(s) to which the status reminder will apply, first click Select Appraisal Forms.
3. When the Select Jobtype dialog box opens, make sure the check boxes associated with appraisal forms for which this reminder will apply are selected, and clear any check boxes associated with appraisal forms for which the reminder will not apply.
4. To set the schedule by which Appraisal Scope will send this reminder, click Set Schedule for reminder.
5. When the Set Schedule for reminder dialog box opens, select the check boxes associated with the regularly scheduled time(s) you’d like these reminders to be sent.
6. When you’re finished, click Submit and then click Activate.
Bid closing reminder
The Bid Closing reminder relates to the way Appraisal Scope handles the bidding process. If an admin user has imposed a deadline for accepting bids (i.e., 12, 24, or 48 hours), then this reminder can be set to notify a user a chosen number of hours before the bidding is closed. An admin user will choose the number of hours from the Time Increment box, and then click Activate.
Appraisal due reminder (final)
1. To set a “final” reminder to go out when an appraisal deadline is approaching, first click the middle drop-down box and choose how you’d like Appraisal Scope to interpret the due date: by Estimated Completion Date, Appraisal Due Date, or Appraiser Due Date.
2. Now, click the first drop-down box and choose one of the time increments from 1 to 48 hours before the scheduled due date arrives. This will set your platform-version to send the reminder the chosen number of hours before the due date.
3. If you want, instead, to set a final reminder to go out at a specific cutoff time on the due date, click the first drop-down box and select On cut off time.
4. Next, click the Cutoff Time box and select a specific cutoff time. This will set your platform-version to send the reminder at that time on the due date.
5. When you’re finished configuring the appropriate settings, click Activate on the right side of the page.
Profile Reminders Sent to Appraisers section
License and/or E&O expiration notice 1
1. To set a reminder to go out when an appraiser’s License and/or E&O is approaching expiration, click the drop-down box next to Send and choose whether one or both of these items should be included in the reminder.
2. Next, type the number of days before expiration the notice should be sent in the text field.
3. When you’re finished, click Activate.
License and/or E&O expiration notice 2
1. To set a second reminder to go out when an appraiser’s License and/or E&O is approaching expiration, click the drop-down box next to Send and choose whether one or both of these items should be included in the reminder.
2. Next, type the number of days before expiration the notice should be sent in the text field.
3. When you’re finished, click Activate.
License and/or E&O expiration notice 3
1. To set a third reminder to go out when an appraiser’s License and/or E&O is approaching expiration, click the drop-down box next to Send and choose whether one or both of these items should be included in the reminder.
2. Next, type the number of days before expiration the notice should be sent in the text field.
3. When you’re finished, click Activate.
Expired license and/or E&O information
1. To set a reminder to go out when an appraiser’s License and/or E&O has expired, click the drop-down box next to Send, and choose from the options which item expirations to include in the reminder.
2. Next, type in the text field the day of each month this reminder should go out.
3. When you’re finished, click Activate. Reminders Sent to Staff section
Invoice payment reminder
An admin user can set up a reminder to go out to other staff users after an invoice date has passed by clicking the Time Increment box and choosing a time increment. The admin user will then click Activate.
Options
The Options tab gives an AMC a location to configure a wide variety of settings that will impact how their Appraisal Scope platform-version performs. It’s important to note that the settings applied from the Options page are settings applied at a global level. Many of the settings applied here will serve as parameters to other optional settings, impacting how Appraisal Scope will carry out automated processes.
Some of the settings accessible from the Options page have their correspondents at the client company, client branch, and client user levels, as well. By configuring settings to apply at those levels, admin users can impact the way their platform-version processes orders on a more case-by-case basis. To read more about the functional levels within Appraisal Scope, see the Functional levels section.
Information regarding the way that many of the global options accessible from the Options tab impact the system is available for users through tooltips on the Appraisal Scope platform-interface. A user can access this information by pointing and hovering on the Tooltip icons, located just to the left of each setting. In cases where it was felt that users could benefit from extra context or procedural information around Options settings, this information is provided in the following sections.
Searching the Options page
A Search box is available over top of the left-hand navigation menu on the Options page. This box allows admin users to filter the Options settings in a dynamic way, each letter of a search term that they type narrowing down the selections available to them. By reducing the number of settings in this way, admin users can find what they’re looking for more easily without having to know exactly what a particular setting is called.
Options menu
The Options menu is a vertical navigation menu on the left side of the Options page. The Options settings covered in this User Guide are organized in the following sections first by the Options menu tab under which they can be found, and subsequently if necessary, by the subsection of that menu tab that they fall under.
Office Hours
The office hours options give AMCs the ability to set their holidays and regular business hours in their platform-version. These options can be accessed by clicking Office Hours in the left-hand navigation menu. Setting these hours here will guide Appraisal Scope in cases where office hours impact the automated processes that the AMC has configured.
Office Hour Settings
Configuring the Set Holidays setting
1. From the Options page, click Office Hours in the left-hand navigation menu.
2. Locate Set Holidays, and click Customize Holidays to the right of it. The Holidays dialog box will open, displaying all holidays that have already been set.
3. To add a holiday to the list from here, click Add New Holiday.
4. Enter the holiday name and date in the Holiday Title and Date text boxes, and then click Save.
5. To configure your platform-version to account for a holiday on the Holidays list, select the check box associated with a given holiday entry.
6. To configure your platform-version to account for all holidays on your Holidays list, select the check box in the header row to the left of Holiday.
7. To delete a holiday, click Delete in the Action column field affiliated with that holiday.
8. When you’re finished setting your holidays, click Save.
Configuring the Customize Business Hours setting
1. From the Options page, click Office Hours in the left-hand navigation menu.
2. Locate Hours of Business, and click the Customize Business Hours to the right of it. The Set Business Hours dialog box will open, displaying default hours for each day of the week.
3. Select the check box corresponding to each day of the week that you will be keeping regular hours.
4. Next, set business hours for each of these days by clicking the drop-down boxes corresponding to the hours and AM/PM. Please take note of the fact that all times need to reflect Eastern Standard Time. For example, if you are on Pacific Standard Time, you will want the business hours reflected in the Set Business Hours box to be three hours ahead of the business hours you are actually keeping.
5. When you’re finished setting your business hours, click Save.
Sign Up and Profile
The sign up and profile options pertain to how client users and vendor users will sign up for an AMC’s Appraisal Scope platform-version, some of the information that they will be asked to provide at sign up, and certain controls that may be placed on vendor user profiles. These options can be accessed by clicking Sign Up & Profile in the left-hand navigation menu.
Client Profile
Configuring the Manage client user types setting
Adding client user types using the Manage client user types setting will impact options in the User Type drop-down list. These are the user types available to new clients who are signing up via the Client Sign Up page. The Appraisal Scope default client user types are processor, manager, and loan officer.
Caution: Additional user types that are added to an Appraisal Scope platform-version will not be supported in any integrations.
An admin user can add client user types using the following procedures.
1. From the Options page, click Sign Up & Profile in left-hand navigation menu.
2. Locate the Manage client user types setting in the Client Profile section of the page, and click Configure to the right of it. The Client Types dialog box will open, displaying the client types currently available on your platform-version.
3. Enter your new client user type in the Add New Client Type text box, and click Add.
4. The new client user type will appear at the bottom of the list. This added user type can be changed at any time from the Client Types box by clicking Edit, editing the name, and clicking Save.
5. The user type can also be deleted by clicking Delete.
6. Click Close when you’re finished configuring a new client type.
Appraiser Sign Up
Configuring the Display Terms & Conditions to Appraisers upon first login setting
The Display Terms & Conditions to Appraisers upon first login setting allows an AMC to control whether their Terms & Conditions information will display when vendor users log into their platform-version. An AMC will need to create this information using the following procedures if they intend to use this setting.
Note: Any time an AMC updates/changes their Terms & Conditions, appraisers must agree to the new terms upon their next login.
1. From the Options page, click Sign Up & Profile in left-hand navigation menu.
2. Locate the Display Terms & Conditions to Appraisers upon first login setting in the Appraiser Sign Up section of the page, and click Configure to the right of it. The Set Terms and Conditions on Appraisers Login dialog box will open, providing a text editor to create the message.
3. Alter the template text, using the editor controls to give your message the formatting you want.
4. Click Save when you’re finished.
Appraiser Profile
Configuring the Calculate Appraisers CU R&W score setting
An AMC can use the Calculate Appraisers CU R&W score setting to have Appraisal Scope automatically calculate the Collateral Underwriter (CU) R&W score. When it’s enabled, an appraiser’s CU R&W score will be visible on that appraiser’s profile. An admin user can configure the settings that will dictate how Appraisal Scope calculates this score using the following procedures.
1. From the Options page, click Sign Up & Profile in the left-hand navigation menu.
2. Locate the Calculate Appraisers CU R&W score setting in the Appraiser Profile section of the page, and click Configure to the right of it. The CU R&W Score Settings dialog box will open.
3. Enter the number of completed reports in the text box, up to 500, that you’d like Appraisal Scope to use when calculating this score.
4. Next, click the Enter base rating drop-down box and choose from the available options the rating that you’d like to set as the baseline.
Note: The CU R&W score is calculated as a percentage. Appraisal Scope will take the up-to-date number of completed reports (determined by the number provided in Step 3) for any given appraiser, and from these, the system will count each time a report is completed where the CU score falls below the base rating established in Step 4. The number of reports with CU falling below the base rating will be divided by the total number of completed reports to determine the CU R&W score.
5. Click Save when you’re finished.
Configuring the Automatic FHA Roster Management setting
The Automatic FHA Roster Management setting is at the bottom of the Appraiser Profile section of the Sign Up & Profile page. If a user clicks Reset Appraiser Profiles to Global, this will eliminate any instance in a platform-version where an appraiser’s FHA roster status is being managed at the vendor profile level.
In other words, if the Automatic FHA Roster Management setting is Enabled, and Reset Appraiser Profiles to Global has been clicked, Appraisal Scope will make no exceptions for any vendor profile configuration and will automatically manage the FHA roster status for all vendors.
Dashboard
Note regarding platform-interface terminology: When the tooltips related to these setting options refer to the dashboard, they are referring to the views accessible via the Dashboard tab on the main tab menu.
Dashboard View Settings
Configuring the Staff dropdown should display setting
Although the tooltip and drop-down box are fairly self-explanatory for this setting, it’s important to recall that AMC staff users are divided into subtypes, depending on the roles they fill within the AMC. Users will either be staff users or reviewers. So, when Only users of the same type is selected from the drop-down box associated with the Staff dropdown should display setting, staff users will then afterwards see other staff users in the Staff drop-down list, and reviewers will see other reviewers.
Note regarding the Highlight orders with a balance due in the New queue in the Dashboard in green setting
Note: This feature is in the process of being updated.
Configuring the Clear UCDP tab setting
When the Clear UCDP tab setting is Enabled, Appraisal Scope will clear the information under the UCDP tab a set number of days after submission. An admin user will need to set the number of days in the Days after submission date text box to the right of the setting.
Configuring the Display priority flag in Appraiser view setting
An AMC can turn a priority flag on to be displayed in the Main Dashboard in association with any order (see Priority (On/Off) section for further details regarding priority flags). The Display Priority flag in Appraiser view setting, when enabled, allows a vendor user to see the Red exclamation icon from their platform interface when an AMC has turned the flag on for an order assigned to that vendor user.
Configuring the Display an alert when users first log on setting
The Display an alert when users first log on setting allows AMCs to create alert messages that Appraisal Scope will display to all users of their platform-version—staff users, client users, and vendor users. To set this up, an admin user will select Enabled in the drop-down box and then click Configure Alert. When the Set Display an alert when users first log on box pops up, they can use the text editor to type and style their message.
This setting can be useful for posting things like holiday notices, new regulations, or general company information.
Configuring the Custom Order Flags setting
The Configuring Custom order flags setting refers to the colored flags that can be used to distinguish certain order types from others. Once configured, these flags can be selected from the profile pane associated with an order. The flags will appear alongside order details in the Flags column of the status list views accessible from the Dashboard tab. By default, an AMC’s platform-version will have no custom flags available until the AMC configures these flags.
1. From the Options page, click Dashboard in the left-hand navigation menu.
2. Locate the Custom Order Flags setting at the bottom of the page, and click Configure to the right of it. The Flag Configuration dialog box will open.
3. 3. First, enter a category of order that you’d like to associate with a flag in the Add New Custom Flag box.
4. Next, point and click over the grayed-out box to the left of Add. Select a color using the color control panel that pops up.
5. Once you’ve chosen your color, click Add.
6. All flags created here will be accessible from the Flag list and can be edited or deleted at any time by accessing the Flag Configuration box.
7. Click Close when you’re finished.
Outcome
After reviewing this article, you will be able to enter and save UCDP credentials in Appraisal Scope® and describe what the Reminders page is used for. You will also understand how reminder settings are grouped and where to adjust common reminder options such as time increments, schedules, and business-hours rules.