5 Tips for Quicker Turn Times

The appraisal profession is constantly evolving. Regularly, it seems, appraisers are asked to include extra information or have steps added to their process. They do this extra work to ensure the end user receives the best information possible. In order to keep up with the continuously changing requirements, AppraisALL Inc. is always acquiring additional tools and improving processes in order to increase efficiency so we can do more work for our customers. At AppraisALL Inc. we know that time is important to everybody, so below are some things you can do to decrease turn times whenever you order an appraisal from AppraisALL Inc..

Order your appraisals electronically.: When you order online, you receive automatic e-mail notifications that the request was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. Online ordering is the single biggest time saver available to both of us! No longer do we have to manually enter information from a fax, and you don't have to wonder whether we received the request.
Complete and accurate subject property information is essential.: There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to add unnecessary time to 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. Even a list of recent sales from the area is welcome — remember, however, that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may differ from yours.
Let us know up front of the property's distinct characteristics.: Cookie-cutter homes are relatively easy to appraise. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how differing elements contribute to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. At the time you order your report, be sure to let us know if there are unique elements of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent addition put on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's susceptible to flooding. These are things we will find out on our own anyway, and knowing them early on makes your report arrive without delay.
Does the homeowner know what to expect?: One of the most tedious steps of the appraisal process is confirming an inspection date with the current homeowner. We understand that a homeowner may be apprehensive with an unknown person looking in every square foot of their home, taking photos, and making numerous notes. A common belief is that they have to make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection, thinking that will increase the value. So they reschedule the inspection until it is cleaned.

Coming directly from you -- a person they've been working with on their loan -- some 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 can go a long way toward trimming the time it takes to inspect a home. Our website has lots of pages of useful 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 familiarize themselves with the staff and our services. Remind them it's to their advantage to set the appointment quickly!
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. It's never been faster and easier to track the status of your report.