Some Tips for Faster Turn Times
The appraisal profession is constantly evolving. Every year, it seems, appraisers are asked to supply additional information or have steps added to their data gathering. All to guarantee the end user is presented with the best information possible. To keep up with the always changing requirements, Appraisal House, Inc. is always testing new tools and tweaking processes in order to increase efficiency so we can do more work for our customers. Since Appraisal House, Inc. knows that time is important to everyone, we've listed a couple of things you can do to accelerate the process on any appraisals you order from Appraisal House, Inc..
- Are you ordering appraisals online?
- With online ordering, you get automatic e-mail confirmations that the order was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. Ordering online is the single biggest time saver available to both of us! We don't have to retype information from a fax, and you don't have to wonder whether the order was received.
- Make sure that the subject property data is accurate and complete.
- Being just one number off on the street address can really unnecessarily interrupt 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 — remember, however, that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may differ from yours.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about your property or a job we're working on for you.
- Tell us up front of the property's unique features.
- Cookie-cutter homes are relatively easy to appraise. What takes time is analyzing how elements unique to a property contribute 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 features of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent addition put on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's prone to flooding. While these are things that we'd find out on our own, knowing them sooner makes your report arrive more quickly.
- Let the occupants know what to expect.
- Confirming an inspection time and date with the homeowner can be one of the most tedious steps in the appraisal process. Many current homeowners are justifiably uneasy with the thought a stranger wants to come in their home, look around, and take copious notes. A common belief is that they need to make the place spotless before the inspection, having the thought that will increase the value. And will delay the appointment until they have cleaned.
Hearing from you -- a person they are working with on their loan -- a little info about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't make it more likely their sale will close, and likely go a long way toward trimming the time it takes to inspect a home. Our website has multiple pages of relevant information about the appraisal process for homeowners. I encourage you to share it with your clients. They can even call us if they want to meet our staff and learn more about our services. Remind them it benefits them to set the appointment soon!
- Are you using our website as a resource to track the status of your report?
- 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 track the status of your report.
|