Specifics of Organizing Inspection Processes for Collateral Valuation by Romanian Banks

VIEWAPP is a universal digital inspection platform that effectively addresses a wide range of banking sector tasks. One of the important stages is property valuation. At the same time, valuation processes can differ significantly across countries and banks. In some cases, valuations are performed by in-house specialists, while in others, the bank engages external valuers. Let us consider the model involving external valuers.

How the Valuation Process Works with External Valuers

In this model, the external valuer is responsible for inspecting the property and preparing the valuation report. Before preparing the report, the valuer must inspect the property, collect the necessary data, and document its condition. The report is then submitted to the bank, where it is reviewed and used to make a decision regarding the collateral.

Several factors are particularly important for the bank:

• how quickly the valuer can access the property;
• how much time the inspection and report preparation takes;
• how completely the relevant information is documented.

The speed of this process directly affects the speed of decision-making and, consequently, the number of deals the bank can process. For apartments and houses, that is, in the mass-market segment, obtaining a valuation report takes an average of 3–5 days, with a significant part of this period taken up by scheduling and the valuer’s visit to the property. With a VIEWAPP digital inspection, the client completes the inspection independently, typically within approximately 15–60 minutes, depending on the property. Let us look at how this works in practice.

The digital format makes it possible to move the inspection into a remote process. The valuer remains responsible for the result, while the collection of information follows a predefined scenario. The client receives a link and completes the inspection step by step: showing the property on video, photographing the required areas, and filling in the specified fields.

Controlling Inspection Completeness

For the bank, a remote format should not mean losing control over what exactly has been shown to the valuer. The question also arises from another perspective: could the client intentionally fail to show part of the property or choose only convenient angles?

In VIEWAPP, the inspection scenario is predefined. The client receives a sequence of required actions, while the valuer can review the collected materials and check their quality and completeness. If any information is insufficient, the inspection can be sent back for completion with a comment specifying what needs to be photographed or shown again.

At the same time, the system records the inspection data itself and does not allow materials to be uploaded from the smartphone gallery, while also helping identify signs of possible anomalies. The final decision on whether the materials are sufficient remains with the valuer.

Why Offline Mode Matters

There is another practical consideration when inspecting real estate: a connection is not available everywhere. The signal may be lost in an underground parking garage, elevator, or other areas. Therefore, a digital inspection should not depend on a constant internet connection.

With VIEWAPP, an inspection can be completed offline, and the collected materials are synchronized once the connection is restored. This is particularly important for real estate valuation, since the valuer needs to see not only the apartment itself, but also the route to it: the building, entrance, floor, staircase, or elevator.

What Changes for the Bank When Valuation Takes Less Time

The 3–5-day valuation period for an apartment or house in the mass-market segment consists of waiting for the valuer, travelling to the property, and preparing the report. A digital inspection removes the need to coordinate a time and travel to the property, while the valuer continues to prepare the report themselves. Therefore, the effect should not be calculated as savings on the inspection itself, but as a reduction in the time during which an application is effectively on hold.

Consider a hypothetical example: with 100 applications per month, or approximately three applications per day, an average valuation period of four days means that around 13 applications are waiting for valuation at any given time, compared with around 7 when the process takes two days. The larger the volume, the more noticeable the difference: for a bank processing several hundred applications per month, this represents dozens of applications that are no longer sitting in the queue. Each application in that queue represents a customer who has not yet received a decision and may submit their documents to another bank, as well as an employee who has to continue managing the application manually.

The direct costs of this format are relatively low: a digital inspection costs approximately six times less than an apartment valuation report. At the same time, travel expenses and the cost of the valuer’s time are usually borne by the external valuer. For the valuer, an inspection via a link replaces the trip and the need to coordinate a visit with the client, while the time saved can be used to prepare other reports.

The calculation is illustrative and provided as an example: the bank should substitute its own application volume and actual valuation period.

If the Valuer Works In-House

The same model can also be applied when the valuation is performed by the bank’s own specialist. In this case, the valuer’s role does not change — they remain responsible for inspecting the property, analyzing the collected data, and determining the final valuation. What changes is only the way the information is obtained from the property.

Instead of requiring the specialist to visit the property, the inspection can be conducted remotely according to a predefined scenario. The client independently completes the required steps, shows the property, and documents the required areas, while the valuer receives the materials for subsequent review and valuation.

For an in-house valuer, this format is particularly convenient when dealing with a large number of similar properties. There is no need to spend time travelling to the property or coordinating each individual visit, while the inspection scenario remains consistent across all clients. If the materials are insufficient, the specialist can request a repeat inspection with specific instructions on what needs to be provided.

Thus, regardless of whether the valuer is an in-house bank employee or an external specialist, a digital inspection addresses the same task — reducing the time required to collect information about the property without transferring responsibility for the valuation to the technology. The main difference lies in the organization of the process and the distribution of roles between the bank, the valuer, and the client.

What the Bank Gains from VIEWAPP Technology

With this approach, the bank does not change its overall model of working with external valuers. What changes is the way one of the most time-consuming stages — the property inspection — is carried out.

Instead of coordinating a visit, waiting for the valuer, and subsequently transferring the materials, there is a digital scenario that can be completed remotely. The inspection results are stored in a standardized format and can be used by the valuer when preparing the report.

For the bank, this primarily means an opportunity to reduce the time required to value collateral while maintaining control over the process and preserving the professional valuer’s responsibility for the final assessment.