CU Appraisal Services: Making History as a CUSO

DAYTON, Ohio - March 30, 2016 - PRLog -- CU Appraisal Services is very proud to announce that partial ownership shares of the company have been acquired by CU Advantage, Inc. This makes CU Appraisal Services the first, and only appraisal management company, in the country, to become a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO).

Only companies who do business exclusively with credit unions are eligible to become a CUSO. Ron Stickelman founded CU Appraisal Services, in 2012, to support the credit union industry. In 2000, after running Stickelman and Associates (the sixth largest appraisal firm in the country) for more than 20 years, he recognized what was happening with inflated home values and the housing market. He also recognized that credit unions were the most responsible lenders in the mortgage industry. At that point, he stopped working with banks and began working exclusively with credit unions. He opened CU Appraisal Services in 2012, to responsibly help credit unions grow their share of the mortgage market.

"Our competitors are generally large, impersonal, organizations-focused on serving the banking industry (and the banking industry business model)," said Ron Stickelman, CU Appraisal Services' executive chairman, "Credit unions are an afterthought to them. We are an agile company, who is able nurture very personalized and focused relationships with our credit union partners-an extension of the credit unions' philosophy of collaboration and community-building."

Guy Messick, the foremost legal expert on CUSOs, structured the offering, and financial services industry expert, Hipereon, Inc., provided an independent business valuation to support the prospectus. This CUSO distinction signals other credit unions that the company is an actual extension of credit unions, not just a vendor to them. It sends a strong message about the alignment of CU Appraisal Services' core business model, with that of credit unions.

"When we first decided to open the company to partial credit union ownership, we knew we were breaking new ground and it would be a challenge," said CU Appraisal Services President, John Theobald, "But it has been great for us in a number of ways. The process helped us bring our business into sharper focus than ever before, and has helped us refine processes to make us an even tighter running machine."

"We are excited about the recent investment in CU Appraisal Services," said Andy Dunn, VP of CU Advantage, "We have been working with them for over 18 months, both as a client and as a potential CUSO investor. We recognized the need for an appraisal partner who truly understands us-they help us better serve our members, and we want to support the company's continued growth and to grow along with them."

In addition to helping credit unions grow their share of the mortgage market, CU Appraisal services is dedicated to growing and supporting the dwindling appraisal industry. In their daily business practice, they work to humanize an industry that has become commoditized. They are actively working, from within the industry, to evaluate, develop and implement strategies to address the growing appraiser shortage issue.

ABOUT CU APPRAISAL SERVICES

CU Appraisal Services maintains appraiser independence by managing the mortgage appraisal process and mitigating risk for credit unions, and their members, across the country. They support smart lending decisions by providing credit unions with timely, credible and reliable real estate appraisals and valuations. Steadily working to develop strategic partnerships with the most experienced and qualified appraiser professionals in the regions they serve; their compliant appraisal reports include an appraisal summary, risk scoring, red flags, and comparable sales ranking. Company management is composed of mortgage industry veterans-appraisers, bank and credit union executives, and real estate agents-experts who understand the complete picture. CU Appraisal Services is also working to strengthen the appraisal industry by supporting the competency of the appraisal profession, paying fair fees, and actively developing strategies to address the decline in appraisers, nationwide. http://cuappraisalservices.net/index.php/lender/