National appraisal management company (AMC) Class Valuation, which includes reverse mortgage appraisal services as a part of its full product suite, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Greenville, S.C.-based AMC SouthEastern Evaluation (SEE) in an effort to increase the company’s market share for AMC services in the southeastern United States. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
SEE serves more than 150 customers including mortgage lenders, community banks and credit unions, using its network of professional appraisers to serve a customer base spread across 20 states. The company’s immediate business focus is centered on the states of South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and other neighboring states within the region, according to an announcement of the acquisition.
“We are excited to join forces with Class Valuation,” said Mark Chapman, CEO and Founder of SEE in the announcement. “We are confident that our existing team and Class will continue to provide customers with the same excellent, unparalleled quality and service they have come to expect from [SEE].”
Class’ pre-existing clients in the regions served by SEE should experience more responsiveness to their appraisal needs now that the acquisition has been made, according to Class Valuation CEO John Fraas.
“The talented SouthEastern Evaluation team, empowered by Class Valuation’s proprietary technology, will allow the combined organization to drive even better service-level outcomes for SouthEastern Evaluation customers,” Fraas added.
When asked if this acquisition would have a material impact on Class’ existing reverse mortgage appraisal operations, a company spokesperson said that such an outcome isn’t expected, although there will be benefits for the entire organization at-large including Class’ dedicated reverse mortgage appraisal division.
“There is no specific benefit to Class’ reverse mortgage operations, however any reverse clients in the southeastern U.S. will see the same benefits as traditional clients—Class clients will benefit from the heightened geographical knowledge and appraiser network in the southeast from the SEE team, and current SEE clients will benefit from Class’ tech-enabled operations and service model to streamline the appraisal process,” the spokesperson said.
Earlier this year, Class was itself acquired by Connecticut-based investment firm Gridiron Capital, in a deal for which terms were not disclosed.
Last year, Class launched a mobile-based app that allows homeowners to share interior photos and property data with appraisers who are completing exterior-only appraisals, a process which became more common after the onset of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
