Some Steps to Faster Turn Times
Appraising is a constantly changing profession. Each year, it seems, appraisers are asked to provide more information or have steps added to their research. All to ensure their client is presented with the best data available. In order to keep up with the always changing requirements, Associate Appraisers of America is constantly acquiring additional tools and tweaking processes in order to increase efficiency so we can do more work for our customers. Since Associate Appraisers of America knows that time is important to everyone, below are a couple of items you can do to trim turn times on any appraisals you order from Associate Appraisers of America.
- Are you ordering appraisals online?
- By ordering online, you automatically get e-mail notifications that the assignment was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This tip single-handedly will save the most time! We don't have to re-key information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether we received the order.
- Are you providing complete and accurate information about the subject property?
- Being just one number off on the street address can really unnecessarily delay an appraisal assignment. Unique identifiers like a tax parcel number, plat map number, or subdivision name is great information to include with your assignment. Even a list of recent area sales is welcome — though be advised that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours might differ from yours.
If you have any questions about your property or an appraisal we're working on for you, feel free to call us at
- Be sure to let us know about the property's unique features.
- It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter home. What takes time is analyzing how elements unique to a property add to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. Let us know up front when you order your report if there are unique details of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent addition constructed, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's prone to flooding. While these are things that we'll find out on our own, knowing them sooner makes your report arrive more quickly.
- Do the occupants know what to expect?
- Confirming an inspection time and date with the homeowner can be one of the most inefficient steps in the appraisal process. Some homeowners are understandably uneasy with the fact a stranger wants to come in their home, look around, and make copious notes. One common belief is that they should make the place spotless before the inspection, under the impression that will make the house appraise for more money. And will choose to not schedule the appraisal inspection until it is cleaned.
Coming directly from you -- someone they have been working with on their loan -- some information 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 decrease the time it takes to inspect a home. Our website has lots of pages of helpful 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 the staff and learn more about our services. And tell them it benefits them to set the appointment quickly!
- Are you using our website as a resource to follow your report's status?
- No more phone and fax tag. Up-to-the-minute status updates are available online, anytime, 24/7. As we complete each important milestone in an assignment, that information is available to you online. It's never been easier to track the status of your report.
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