The Real Estate Property Information Workgroup of MISMO (Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization) recently announced that it is nearing completion of a Property Information Data Dictionary which will be released for public review. Real estate professionals representing assessors, county recorders, realtors, appraisers, and mortgage bankers met in January 2001 to review a draft version of the dictionary, which now includes real estate listing and public records data. "The draft dictionary represents core data elements from collateral valuation forms including appraisal and Employee Relocation Council forms, as well as input from county recorders and assessors. The working group is also coordinating with representatives from other professional organizations to review naming protocols and incorporate common elements." The resulting common data language should accommodate the requirements of a number of specifications, including Real Estate Transaction Specifications (RETS), Comprehensive Real Estate Transaction Markup Language (CRTML), Numerata's REPML, the Appraisal Institute Data Storage and Transmission Standard, and others.

From the announcement of 2001-02-21:

MISMO Workgroup Unifies Real Estate Lending Industry Communications

Property Information Data Dictionary Will Define Common Real Property Language

OXFORD, MI. February 21, 2001.

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization's (MISMO) Real Estate Property Information Workgroup met January 24 in St. Augustine, Fla., to take steps to finalize a dictionary that will unify electronic communication standards across the real estate lending industry. At the meeting, real estate professionals representing assessors, county recorders, realtors, appraisers and mortgage bankers were united in their desire to complete the draft standard for communicating real estate data. The group reviewed a draft document that will, upon approval by MISMO's Data Architect Workgroup and Governance Committee, be released to the public as version 1.1 of the Property Information Data Dictionary. The dictionary will bring the workgroup one step closer to industry-wide adoption of a single standard.

"The release of the Property Information Data Dictionary is the culmination of work that was begun in 1989 and has grown from appraisal information to include real estate listing and public records data," said John D. Johnson, who is co-chair of the workgroup; chief technology officer of FNC, a data-centric lending solutions firm; as well as chief technology officer of AIRD (Appraisal Institute Residential Database). "The significance of the dictionary is that it represents the agreement of the entire industry that a single protocol for real estate terminology is needed so that lenders and their service providers can communicate across multiple software platforms. This technology will improve every aspect of real estate property valuation and reporting."

"We are rapidly approaching the day when all participants in the real estate lending process will have a common data language to communicate with one another," said Gabe Minton, senior director of industry technology at the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. "The standard that we're working toward today will bring tremendous benefits to all segments of the real estate lending industry and would not be possible without the positive and enthusiastic contribution of all stakeholders."

The draft dictionary represents core data elements from collateral valuation forms including appraisal and Employee Relocation Council forms, as well as input from county recorders and assessors. The group is also working with representatives from other professional organizations to review naming protocols and incorporate common elements including the following:

• Appraisal Institute Data Storage and Transmission Standard [http://www.airdport.com]
• The National Association of Realtors (NAR) Real Estate Transaction Specifications (RETS) [http://www.rets-wg.org]
• Numerata's real estate property markup language (REPML)
• A draft public recorder extensible markup language (XML) standard presented by Carl Ernst, CEO of Ernst Publishing.
• Alliance for Advanced Real Estate Transaction Technologies
• Comprehensive Real Estate Transaction Markup Language (CRTML) [http://www.aartt.org]
• The Real Estate Information Providers Association (REIPA)

The Real Estate Property Information Workgroup, chaired by Johnson and Market Intelligence (a division of Fidelity National Financial, Inc.) Chief Information Officer Jeff Harris, is made up of professionals in real estate, appraisal, public records and technology. The workgroup collects, reviews, approves and maintains the business data definitions and resulting electronic formats used to report and value real estate property information, which may incorporate the business information found in real estate appraisals, Broker Price Opinions (BPO), multiple listing services (MLS), inspections and public records. The group's focus is comprehensive business solutions for the real estate finance industry through consolidation of XML initiatives.

MISMO is a standard-setting body addressing electronic commerce issues in the mortgage industry. Its subscribership is comprised of MBA members, technology companies and key industry players such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. MISMO is led by its Governance Committee, which develops policy, approves project development and design and manages relationships with other industries.

FNC, Inc., based in Oxford, Miss., is a data-centric e-finance solutions firm helping migrate the financial services sector to the digital economy. The company currently develops Web-based collateral services platforms for real estate lenders. FNC utilizes emerging technologies to power the pipes, data and analytics that will maximize data value and drive process improvements for its clients. Visit FNC's Web site at http://www.fncinc.com.

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