BuildFax
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is BuildFax™?
Buildfax is a company that collects and organizes construction records on over 70 million properties across the United States. They collect data on new construction, major system repairs, additions, renovations, roofs, pools, demolitions, contractors and more.
2. What is included in my BuildFax report?
The BuildFax permit report provides detailed history of additions, remodels and improvements for a property. Currently, over 387 of the top lenders are now using BuildFax reports in their UAD review. The BuildFax permit report is specifically designed to meet the needs of residential appraisers. The report includes the building permit data on residential properties, and it includes the exact Permit ID, date of the permit, a description of the improvement and the contractor who performed the work. Click the link to see a sample BuildFax Report.
3. Where does the BuildFax Report data come from?
The data in the BuildFax Report comes from the building department of each city. It will include information from the permits that were filed for the particular property. Sometimes this will include the Certificate of Occupancy stored as a permit and sometimes it does not.
4. How do I get my BuildFax report?
You must have an AppraisalWorld account. Once signed in, click the BuildFax Service icon to purchase BuildFax reports. If you do not have an account, you can sign up at AppraisalWorld.com. Once registered, you will be able to sign into AppraisalWorld and purchase BuildFax reports. The BuildFax report is a standalone PDF file which you will be able to attach to your appraisal report.
5. Why should I consider purchasing BuildFax reports?
The BuildFax Report was especially created for appraisers to accurately comply with the new UAD requirements. These requirements ask the appraiser to state if the subject property has been remodeled or updated in the past 15 years and, if so, the date the change took place. With this new, BuildFax Report, appraisers can now accurately and confidently comply with this new requirement.
6. How accurate is the BuildFax information?
The BuildFax report relies on public information which you can sometimes access online from the building department in your city or you may have to go down to the department and get it. In metro areas with high populations and permit volumes, BuildFax reports have updated permit data every 30 days. On average, the information made available goes back about 20 years. However, please always make sure to check coverage as not all Building Departments have digitized their records and hence, they wouldn’t be available through a BuildFax Permit Property History Report.
7. How much does it cost?
AppraisalWorld members can purchase BuildFax Reports in packages of 10 lookups for $9.90, which is $0.99 per report.
8. When will I be charged for a report?
There are two cases when you will be charged for a BuildFax report:
A. The address is recognized
B. The address is within the coverage area of BuildFax
We strongly encourage you to check your coverage area first, before you order a BuildFax report: First, click this link to see the coverage area map, then on your State to see if your state is covered. Then, look at the individual cities covered (on the left side, scroll bar). If you are keying in an unrecognized address or an address not in the coverage area, you will not be charged. Please note that once a BuildFax report is created, you will be charged, whether there were any permits for the specific address or not.
9. What kind of property does it work on? SFR, Condo, 2-4 units?
All information in the BuildFax Permit Property History Reports are based on building permit reports collected by the Building Departments. Currently, AppraisalWorld has partnered with BuildFax to provide residential appraisers with a service to stay compliant with UAD. Hence, only residential properties are considered.
10. Is there an expiration date for the lookups I buy?
The expiration date for each lookup is 24 months. With every new purchase of lookups, you will extend your expiration date for 24 months. For example, if you purchased 10 BuildFax lookups on 12/1/2011, they will expire on 11/30/2013. If you purchase new lookups on January 2nd, 2012, all your lookup will now expire on 1/2/2014.
11. How much will each lookup cost after the introductory period?
We will announce final pricing for ClickFORMS customers and AppraisalWorld users for 2012.
12. In the sample report, it shows a report for the subject, one comp and a listing. Is this one report that contains all this info or is it 3 separate reports? What will the fee be?
The sample report contains three addresses: subject, one comp and a listing. BuildFax requires that at least one address will be queried, mostly this will be the subject property. The appraiser then defines what other addresses should be included in the report. The appraiser can add up to 10 address lookups per report (including the subject property). For each lookup, the appraiser will be charged $0.99. For example, the sample report has 3 lookups included, hence, the appraiser would be charged $2.97. Whether the appraiser requests 1 report with the 3 property addresses included or wants 3 separate BuildFax reports, the price is the same: $0.99 per lookup of a property address.
