MISMO focus for 2010

We had our monthly MISMO status call yesterday and started implementing our 2010 strategic plan. The group is focused on pushing the adoption of the rent roll and operating standards to help achieve transparency and mitigate risk. We all feel this is a “make or break” year for MISMO, so we want to give a focused effort to promote adoptions of standards. Toward that end, here is what MISMO will work on this year:

1. MISMO will reach out to software vendors in areas including property management, servicing and loan origination.

The goal is to convince these vendors to support the export and import of rent roll and operating statements in the MISMO XML format. I have committed to make our loan origination system, Backshop, compliant with MISMO. I encourage all other relevant vendors to do the same.

If you run a software company and get a call from MISMO (Jack Huntress is leading this effort), be nice.

2. Ease adoption of the MISMO XML rent roll and operating statement formats by providing rock-solid technical direction and tools.

This will help the tech people get their organizations on the standard in an easy, straightforward way.

I volunteered for this role, so there will be some goodies coming soon.

3. Convince Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to use and require data submissions in MISMO standards.

Both agencies are already adopting MISMO on the residential side, so we feel they should be open to doing the same on the commercial side. Our fearless leader, Jim Cooke, is leading that effort.

4. Publicize success stories of those who have adopted MISMO standards.

If you have a success story and would like to share it, contact MISMO. You might get some press in the MISMO Minute publication distributed by the MBA.

Let’s not forget about political advocacy.
That’s the one thing I pushed for that didn’t make it on the list.

I believe if we ever get a financial reform bill passed by Obama (and even if we do not), we should reach out to the SEC to make them aware of the role MISMO standards can bring to the transparency issue.

However, it was decided to keep policy and political advocacy out of our strategic plans. Instead, we are going to rely on existing MBA advocacy efforts, and try to get them to push MISMO.

The MBA has historically not supported MISMO very well, so we’ll see if that works. …

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Jim Flaherty is CEO of CMBS.com and the creator of the Backshop loan origination system. He is a trained credit professional with experience installing enterprise underwriting systems for commercial real estate lenders, rating agencies and investors.

www.cmbs.com

www.backshop.com