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Reverse Mortgage Appraisers

www.reversemortgageappraisers.com/

Introduction
Len Fishman, a professional real estate appraiser based out of Sacramento, CA, came up with the idea of developing an appraiser management database for both reverse mortgage appraisers and reverse mortgage lenders that would fill a tremendous market need. He contacted us for our recommendations and signed with us to develop all facets of his website.

The Challenge
The main goal of the system was to allow lenders search for appraisers that met their needs in a variety of ways.

It was also important that the front-end design not only be appealing, but it’s features also had to be intuitive and the interface of the included Content Management System (CMS) had to be easy enough that non-technical staff could easily make changes to the web site.

The logo and stationery design would serve as an aesthetic compliment to enhance the user experience and define the corporate identity of Reverse Mortgage Appraisers.

The Process:
In the brainstorming phase for this project, we realized the key points for this application had to include:

• An intuitive user interface for non-IT professionals and all age users
• An attractive, yet professional, front-end design that would ensure and enhance a seamless user experience
• An extensible platform for building the community for this industry
• The compilation of various functionalities into one with unmatched capabilities to adequately meet the needs of this still growing industry

One of the most exciting ideas we came up with was to include the Geocode service to graphically display the search results and give an idea of the distance between clients on a map. We integrated this with Google Maps and all its features to provide users with easily retrievable information. In addition, users can click and drag the map indicator to their correct location in the event that it was incorrectly reported.

The Result
Since lenders are the main users of the application, it was designed to provide them with the most valuable functionalities. Within the application, appraisers can be displayed by:

• Zip code
• Proximity to lender
• Appraiser’s name or
• Approved lender

The application allows every search result to be sorted by several criteria crucial to appraisers including: zip code, proximity to lender, street address, name and approved lender. Alternatively, every search result returned can also be filtered based on user specified criteria. A different interface is also available to users who would rather search by geographic territory.

Also, a professional front-end was designed to accompany the application's back-end functionalities, begining with a logo design that is both professional and minimal in order to improve the aesthetic appeal of the website.

Lenders also have their own back-end where they have extended capabilities for managing the appraisers in their approved list. They can also send invitations to their appraisers to inform them about the community. Included in the application, is a notification system to notify lenders of any changes in statues of their appraisers. The application will also serve as a platform for future development of modules that their business will eventually require like market coverage, statistics, etc…

Lastly, an administration panel in the form of a WYSIWYG editor was designed to control every aspect of the application. This administration panel allows an administrator edit all appraiser and lender related data, edit web site content, review all payments, determine membership rates, and much, much more; all from a web browser with an Internet connection.

To wrap up the project, we delivered the client a full set of website documentation training docs to assist him and his users with website use.

We, along with the client, are satisfied with the end result and look forward to expanding the existing platform to better serve users in Phase II.

Upon project completion, he had this to say about his experience working with Epsilon Concepts:

“I came to Epsilon Concepts with an idea... and some websites I liked and some websites I didn't like... I asked them to look at the sites and look for improvements. I explained my project and what I wanted and they took off running! They looked down the road at things I would have never thought of and forced me to think a little bigger. I am not the type of person who would have ever thought about having a website developed… in fact; the extent of my computer knowledge is limited to pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL. So, I shocked myself when I realized there was a need for a new website and I undertook the project. I first interviewed local web developers since I thought that regular face-to-face meetings were necessary. I interviewed several local developers, but I came to understand that my project was too complex for them, so I expanded my search. Then I found Epsilon Concepts – they had a portfolio that was very impressive and professional… the only major issue was their distance – I'm in California and they are on the east coast. I was very concerned that I would have to fly to the East Coast from California… then they explained the program they use for project management… BaseCamp. BaseCamp allowed me to stay at home and still be part of the development team. I open my personal Epsilon Concepts Basecamp site and post messages, files, graphics and calibrate with a whiteboard – all from my home in California. Heck – I never even had the need to talk to the developers via phone – it was all done in and through Basecamp. Looking back at our entire design and development process – I don't know how we would have accomplished the project in the manner it was accomplished without Basecamp. Thank you Epsilon Concepts and thanks for using BaseCamp! I am very happy with the site you designed and look forward to our relationship and continuing to building the site together.” -Len Fishman