The appraisal profession is evolving at all times. Regularly, it seems, appraisers are asked to include more information or have steps added to their process – all to ensure the end user receives the most useful information that can be achieved. To keep up with the constantly changing requirements, APPRAISALS ONLY is constantly testing new tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for our clients. Since APPRAISALS ONLY knows that time is important to everyone, we’ve listed a couple of items you can do to lower turn times every time you order an appraisal from APPRAISALS ONLY:
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- Are you ordering appraisals online? By ordering online, you automatically receive e-mail confirmations that the order was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. Online ordering is the single biggest time saver available to both of us! We don’t have to re-key information from a fax, and you don’t have to wonder whether the order was received.
- Complete and accurate subject property information is essential. There’s nothing like being one number off on the street address to unnecessarily delay an appraisal assignment. And if you have a tax parcel number, plat map number, subdivision name or anything else that uniquely identifies the property, please pass it along. We even welcome lists of recent sales in the area — however, remember that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours might differ from yours.
- Are you letting us know up front any details of the property that might make it unique? Cookie-cutter houses are relatively easy to appraise. What takes time is analyzing how unique characteristics add to or detract from what otherwise would be a property’s market value. Let us know up front when ordering your report if there are unique details of the home or surrounding area — for example, it’s had a recent addition built on, it’s subject to zoning restrictions, and it’s prone to flooding. While these are things that we’ll find out on our own, knowing them early on is likely to make your report arrive sooner.
- Set proper expectations with the homeowner. One of the most time consuming parts of the appraisal process is setting an appointment with the occupants of the home. We understand that a homeowner may be uneasy with an unknown person looking in every square foot of their home, taking photos, and making copious notes. Under the impression that it will increase the appraised value, a few homeowners believe they ought to make the place spotless before the inspection and will reschedule the appointment until it is cleaned.Hearing from you — a trusted party with whom they are already working — a little information about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won’t make a significant difference in their home’s value, will help move the process along for everyone. Our website has numerous pages of helpful information about the appraisal process for homeowners. Please feel free to share it with your clients. They can even call us if they want to become familiar with the staff and our services. Remind them it’s to their benefit to set the appointment without delay!
- Easily follow the status of your report on our website. Why are you still playing phone and fax tag when our website offers up-to-the-minute status updates available online, anytime, 24/7? As each important milestone in an assignment is completed, that information can be viewed instantly online. There’s no easier way to keep track of your report’s status.