How the platform works

An end-to-end tour of the appraisal order lifecycle, the people involved, and the states an order moves through.

Every appraisal in OmniValVMS flows through a deterministic lifecycle. This page is the map; each stage links to a detailed guide and to the exact API operations involved.

The lifecycle at a glance

An order begins as a Draft and progresses through a series of statuses. Each transition is recorded in the order history with who, what, when, where, and why.

Stage by stage

  1. Create the order (draft)

    A Client User creates an order through the client portal. It starts in draft and walks through loan selection, property details, vendor assignment, conditions (fee and due date), and review. On submission it becomes Order Assigned1. See Create an order ·

  2. Activate the order (un-draft)

    Activation is the revenue gateway: SLA tracking begins and vendor capacity is consumed. Some fields become irreversible after this point. See Activate the order ·

  3. Assign a vendor

    The system suggests qualified vendors based on coverage, product compatibility, capacity, and pricing. Once assigned, the vendor is notified. See Assign a vendor.

  4. Accept, decline, or counter

    The Vendor reviews the order and responds: Order Accepted3, a counter-offer (Accepted with Conditions4), or Order Declined2 — which sends the order back to Order Unassigned16 for reassignment. See Accept, decline & conditions.

  5. Schedule & complete the inspection

    The vendor schedules the property inspection (Inspection Scheduled14), performs it, and marks it done (Inspection Completed15). See Schedule & complete inspection.

  6. Upload the report

    The vendor uploads the appraisal report, creating a submission record. The order moves to Report Submitted11. See Upload report & submission.

  7. QC review & the revision loop

    The report is reviewed. If it passes, it becomes Report Accepted13. If not, it enters Revision Requested12 with a reason, the vendor fixes and resubmits, and it returns to Report Submitted11 — the loop repeats until it passes. See QC review & revision loop.

  8. Deliver to the borrower

    The accepted report is released and sent to the borrower, who acknowledges terms and downloads it. See Deliver to borrower.

  9. Submit to UCDP / EAD (if required)

    For qualifying orders, the report is submitted to the GSE portals (Fannie Mae UCDP / Freddie Mac EAD) and the SSR response is tracked. See UCDP / EAD submission.

  10. Invoice & collect payment

    An invoice is generated and payment is collected. Payment is gated — it can't complete until delivery and approval are done. See Invoicing & payment.

  11. Complete

    With QC passed, delivery done, GSE submitted (if required), and payment processed, the order reaches Order Completed6. See Completion, hold & cancel.

Special paths

Not every order runs straight through. Orders can be paused (On Hold9) and reactivated, or Cancelled8 from most states with a reason — which may trigger a refund and vendor unassignment. Borrowers and clients can also dispute the appraised value (Reconsideration of Value). These are covered in Completion, hold & cancel and QC review & revision loop.

Every transition is auditable

Each status change writes an authoritative order-history record. If you need to prove who did what and when, see Audit trail & history.

Next

Once you understand the flow, set up access and then your organization: