Vendor Profile

Background

Asteroom was founded in 2018 to deliver fast, reliable and cost-effective digital 3D virtual tours of residential properties to support realtors when marketing & selling real estate listings. Leveraging advanced 3D reconstruction algorithms and artificial intelligence, Asteroom quickly established itself as a leader in the space, and created a large network of active users, with demand driven by the social distancing restrictions enforced to fight the pandemic.

Post-COVID, after successfully completing REO interior inspections for one of the GSEs, Asteroom was invited to provide property data inspections in support of the newly introduced inspection-based waiver solutions. This is the latest offering from the GSEs as they provide borrowers and lenders with alternatives to traditional appraisals for qualifying buyers and properties.

Now integrated and approved by both GSEs, Asteroom has grown market share by offering their solution to AMCs, appraisal firms and mortgage lenders. As-of Q1 2024, Asteroom has 25% share by volume in a fast growing market segment with less than 15% utilization by mortgage lenders. Asteroom has completed orders for 70% of the current industry participants.

Key differentiators

• Technology – develops its own proprietary software, systems & algorithms that allow it to quickly deliver on customer needs without relying on third-party providers; Asteroom was among the first approved vendor for GSE Uniform Property Data (UPD).
• Customer Experience – provides a consistent, highly professional experience for borrowers, lenders and partners
• Performance – turn-times, due-date completion rates and revision rates are all top-rated by lenders & partners
• Quality – GSEs feedback indicates that vendor has a quality rating among the top vendors, attributed to the completeness of the 3D virtual tour technology, on-site quality checks, automated review and pre-submission quality assurance
• Cost basis – operates highly automated, low-cost processes for all aspects of operations

Network and Performance Management

Vendor Recruiting and Criminal Background Check

Asteroom vendors are all real-estate professionals, and typically recruited from their network of approximately 30,0000 users of the 3D virtual tour product. When Asteroom started recruiting they were 200% oversubscribed from their existing users. Each applicant must pass an initial criminal background check before starting as an Asteroom data collector. Annual background checks are completed for Asteroom data collectors, and they are disqualified from further work if any violations are reported.

Vendor Training, Testing & Certification

The company has worked with Walitt Solutions, an established servicer provider of valuation methods, compliance and education for financial institutions, appraisers and AMCs to develop a multi-step training program. To become a certified data collector, applicants must first complete the Essentials training, which includes a knowledge exam and a test data collection assignment. If they pass both the knowledge exam and the test assignment, they will receive their approval status. If an applicant fails either step they must further complete the Comprehensive training, retake and pass the knowledge exam and test data collection assignment. Each certified data collector must complete one or more test assignments successfully, before working on live orders, which are monitored closely by the operations teams and feedback provided on areas for improvement.

Vendor Performance Management, Policy Violations and Removal

Asteroom has developed standardized methods for evaluating vendor performance, based on 5 key criteria of communication, image & scan quality, accuracy of data reported, responsiveness and on-site professional etiquette & conduct. Asteroom policy is to score vendors for each criteria against a pass/fail score, and share the results with vendors along with detailed feedback about each assignment. Vendors in violation of any applicable laws, the data collector agreement or expectations covered in training, are removed from the data collector panel. Training, coaching, support & feedback are provided for each assignment, as required.

Operations, Order Management and Quality Assurance

Operations Recruiting & Performance Management

All operations team members are recruited with a 4-year graduate degree from an accredited university. The selection process for applicants includes aptitude, IQ and personality testing, with those in the 80th percentile and above selected. After hiring the team member completes a 6 week probationary training program that includes daily assignment and knowledge tests designed to test understanding. This training includes understanding the GSE data standards, sample inspection reviews, bias reviews and 5-8 QC assignments per day. Final testing must show accuracy and timeliness above 90% and only 50% of candidates successfully complete the training program and are subsequently offered employment by Asteroom. Continuous education and coaching is provided by senior team members, and performance reviews are conducted on a monthly basis.

Scheduling Team and Inspection Completion

NOMS receives orders via integrations and automatically notifies qualified data collectors of the order. If the order is not accepted within 2 hours, the Recruiting Team reaches out by phone, text and email to possible vendors. The customer is notified of the availability of the data collector within 6 hours from order receipt. Once assigned, the Scheduling Team reaches out by phone, text and email to the onsite contact to schedule the inspection, targeting the next business day. The status of all orders is updated daily, any delays are communicated within 6 hours to the customer. The inspection is conducted in approximately 1 hour. Any issues encountered by the data collector are escalated to the Scheduling Team for resolution with the appropriate party.

Quality Control Team and Quality Assurance

When an inspection is completed, and before the data collector leaves the locale, the Quality Control (QC) team conducts a live QC review of the internal and external scan, with the goal of identifying missing scans and critical information that would necessitate a return visit and inspection. Once the scan is fully processed by Asteroom systems and the Uniform Property Data (UPD) is produced the QC team conducts a two level review of the UPD, including confirming property, borrower and lender information, data, images, floor plan and 3D virtual tour. The UPD is then submitted to the GSE APIs and confirmation receipts incorporated into the UPD before being delivered to the customer.

Service Level Agreements and Communications Team

Asteroom monitors & updates the status of orders continuously, working within NOMS to ensure that service level agreements (SLAs) with customers are met, and any issues, delays or inquiries are sent to the appropriate party. Asteroom operates a 6 hour SLA from status completion to next action update, but any lender, customer or borrower requests and issues are acted upon in real-time, with an SLA of 30 minutes.

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