Appraisal Order Specialist

About the team

The Appraisal Review Specialist at Zillow Home Loans (ZHL) is a key member of a new India-based collateral risk team focused on driving both loan quality and operational efficiency. This role is responsible for reviewing residential real estate appraisal reports for U.S. conventional mortgages and, over time, may support FHA appraisal reviews as well.

You will provide a collateral risk opinion that supports sound underwriting decisions, ensures alignment with agency/investor guidelines, and helps streamline our end‑to‑end mortgage operations. This team sits tangential to underwriting and partners closely with processing, helping to reduce defects, rework, and cycle time while protecting ZHL from collateral risk.

Zillow Group is a strategic, mission-driven organization focused on delivering exceptional experiences and measurable outcomes. Our work spans cross-functional partnership, scalable programs and operational excellence in support of Zillow’s mission. We bring deep experience working across diverse teams in a dynamic, high-growth environment, balancing strategic thinking with hands-on execution to drive meaningful business impact. We are seeking an experienced professional to support our workforce expansion in India.

About the role

Collateral risk & appraisal review

● Review residential appraisal reports for conventional and FHA loans, ensuring they meet ZHL standards and applicable investor/agency guidelines.

● Assess collateral risk by analyzing subject property characteristics, market conditions, comparable selection, adjustments, reconciliation of value, and property photos.

● Identify appraisal deficiencies, inconsistencies, or red flags (e.g., market anomalies, condition/quality mismatches, unsupported adjustments, data errors).

● Recommend appropriate actions, including appraisal clearance, revision requests, desk reviews, and escalations, to protect ZHL from collateral-related loss.

Quality, efficiency, and risk management

● Apply a defect-prevention mindset, focusing on clear, actionable feedback that reduces rework from appraisers and downstream teams.

● Balance quality and speed, consistently meeting or exceeding SLA expectations for turn times and review volume without compromising risk standards.

● Support implementation of appraisal review tools, checklists, job aids, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) that drive consistency across the team.

Cross-functional collaboration

● Partner closely with processing to surface collateral-related conditions and resolve issues quickly.

● Work tangentially with underwriting to help structure effective appraisal revision requests, escalation paths, and edge-case interpretations.

● Communicate clearly in writing and in meetings, documenting review outcomes, rationale, and recommendations in a way that’s easy for non‑appraisal experts to understand.

Continuous improvement in a new team

● Share recurring defect patterns and risk themes with leadership to drive process, training, and policy updates.

● Contribute to a learning-oriented, collaborative culture, including participation in calibration sessions, quality huddles, and knowledge sharing within the team.

This role has been categorized as an Office position. “Office” employees regularly work at the Zillow India office for approximately 80 to 100 percent of their time each month. Employees must live within a reasonable commuting distance of the office. Zillow has not defined a reasonable distance, and expects employees will use judgment in determining this for themselves and understand the implications re: time commitment and cost of daily commute.In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role are eligible for incentive compensation subject to applicable laws and relevant Zillow policies. Actual amounts will vary depending on experience, performance and location.

Who you are

Required experience & skills

● 3+ years of recent experience reviewing residential appraisal reports for a U.S. mortgage lender, investor, or AMC, with direct accountability for collateral risk.

● Strong working knowledge of U.S. residential appraisal concepts, including:

○ Property types, highest and best use, neighborhood/market analysis

○ Sales comparison, cost, and/or income approaches (as applicable)

○ Comparable selection, adjustments, and reconciliation of value

● Demonstrated ability to interpret and apply U.S. agency/investor guidelines for collateral (e.g., conventional; exposure to FHA a plus).

● Proven track record of meeting production and quality targets in a high-volume environment.

● Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to provide clear, structured feedback to processing and underwriting teams.

Mindset & behaviors

● Collaborative partner who builds strong relationships with processing, underwriting, and peers.

● Adaptable and comfortable with change, especially as we design and refine this new team’s scope, tools, and processes.

● Willingness to learn new products, policies, and systems as ZHL’s business and risk framework evolve.

● High degree of ownership and accountability for both quality (defects, escalations) and efficiency (turn time, throughput).

Nice to have

● Prior exposure to FHA appraisal review and HUD collateral requirements.

● Experience working in global/India-based operations supporting U.S. mortgage lenders.

● Familiarity with common LOS and collateral review tools used by U.S. lenders.

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How success is measured

● Quality: Low appraisal-related defect and repurchase rates; minimal rework/returns due to collateral issues.

● Efficiency: Consistently meeting or exceeding turn-time and volume expectations.

● Consistency: Strong alignment with underwriting decisions and collateral risk standards across reviewers.

● Collaboration: Positive feedback from processing and underwriting partners on clarity, responsiveness, and partnership.

Get to know us

At Zillow, we’re reimagining how people move—through the real estate market and through their careers. 

As the most-visited real estate platform in the U.S., Zillow helps millions of customers navigate buying, selling, financing, and renting with greater ease and confidence. Our teams in India play a critical role in building and scaling the technology, products, and operations that power this experience.

Whether you’re working in tech, operations, or shared services, you’ll collaborate with global partners to solve meaningful problems and help more people make home a reality.

Zillow is honored to be recognized among the best workplaces in the U.S.. Zillow was named one of FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2025, and included on the PEOPLE Companies That Care® 2025list, reflecting our commitment to creating an innovative, inclusive, and engaging culture where employees are empowered to grow.

No matter where you sit in the organization, your work will help drive innovation, support our customers, and move the industry—and your career—forward, together.

Zillow Group is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, maternity status, HIV status, or veteran status. Reasonable accommodations will be provided to candidates with disabilities, in accordance with applicable policies.