I always thought that it was a bit incestuous for Bank of America to own LandSafe Appraisal. I could never understand how they could use their own appraisal company and insure an arms length loan transaction. Soon, LandSafe will be part of CoreLogic. LandSafe is an appraisal management company that employs about 500 appraisers and operates a Qualified Appraiser Network of independent appraisers. LandSafe was a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America and providing services to Bank of America mortgage. CoreLogic will now be the vendor to Bank of America. The size of the transaction is reported to be $70 Million.
CoreLogic has long been a leader at delivering data solutions and software solutions that enable appraisers to have indispensible information at their fingertips to perform the most accurate appraisals possible. The quality of those solutions is fundamental to the risk associated with mortgages. Banks like Bank of America and others would be hamstrung without a robust group of appraisers. They are the human element collect facts leading to consumer home finance.
According to HousingWire (http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/34721-monday-morning-cup-of-coffee-corelogics-purchase-of-landsafe-confirmed) Solutionstar, Findelity and Solidifi were all in the running to purchase the company. This is a solid win for CoreLogic. It seems to strengthen their bench in the appraisal business and reinforce their dominant position as a leader in other areas like consumer credit reporting and consumer verification services. Another product that leverages many of these data services and assets is RentSafe, which is growing in popularity among leading MLSs in America.
The $70 Million did not seem to faze the capital market for either company. CoreLogic’s market cap of just under $4.5 Billion traded down slightly when the rumor hit the media on August 6th. The stock is trading higher today.
