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Forming an Appraisal Giant
By Anthony Garritano
As lenders look for internal efficiency, speeding up the appraisal process without compromising quality is becoming important. To fill this need, Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Zaio Inc. has closed the acquisition of New York based Kirchmeyer & Associates Inc. and Real Info Inc.
Thomas Inserra, Zaio CEO, said, "The closing of these two acquisitions marks an important milestone because Zaio is now actively serving lenders by providing them with a full range of conventionally produced valuation services in all 50 states. As our proprietary database is populated in the coming months, Zaio will gain the additional capability of being the only company that can deliver within seconds, a completed USPAP compliant appraisal performed by a licensed local appraiser expert.
"These transactions represent the second and third business acquisitions in the past three months. We believe that acquisitions that give us access to our target markets and accelerate our core business will continue to be an important part of our growth strategy," Mr. Inserra added.
Specifically, the latest acquisitions add 400 lender customer relationships, which already generate substantial revenue streams and 6,500 appraiser relationships. Zaio is now positioned to seamlessly integrate and deliver to lenders a full range of new automated solutions and has successfully established a solid foundation for continued growth. The company is now evaluating plans for accelerating its previously announced five-year national expansion plan.
In addition to significantly increasing its customer base and revenues, the acquisition: 1) reduces the company's customer acquisition costs; 2) lowers the planned cost structure since operational costs in Buffalo, NY are among the lowest in the USA; 3) doubles the company's human and technical resources as well as other needed infrastructure to improve the firm's technical support and customer service functions; and 4) creates bi-coastal operation centers enabling customer service and operating hours from 6am to 8pm PST with business continuity assurances in case of location or geographical disruption, the company noted in a prepared statement.
Zaio develops and maintains a site-verified database of photos, valuations and property information of virtually every property for entire cities in which it offers coverage, using a proprietary "GeoScore" property rating system. Zaio and its network of appraiser experts photograph and appraise entire cities, one building at a time, from the street.
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