Faster Appraisal

5 Steps to Quicker Turn Times

Appraising is an always changing profession. On a regular basis, it seems, appraisers are asked to include more information or have steps added to their data gathering. All of this is to ensure the end user is presented with the most useful information. In order to keep up with the constantly changing requirements, Home Appraisals, Inc. is constantly acquiring additional tools and improving processes in order to increase efficiency so we can do more work for faster. At Home Appraisals, Inc. we know that time is important to everybody, so here are some items you can do to decrease turn times whenever you order an appraisal from Home Appraisals, Inc.:

1. Are you ordering appraisals online?With online ordering, you receive automatic e-mail acknowledgements that the order was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This tip alone will save the most time! No longer do we have to manually enter information from a fax, and you don’t have to wonder whether we got the order.

2. Are you providing complete and accurate data about the subject property? There’s nothing like being one number off on the street address to unnecessarily delay an appraisal assignment. Unique identifiers like a tax parcel number, plat map number, or subdivision name are helpful data to pass along with your request. We even welcome lists of recent sales from the area — however, remember that professional appraisers are lawfully requiredto do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours might differ from yours.

3. Let us know up front of the property’s distinct details.Cookie-cutter houses are relatively easy to appraise. Most of an appraiser’s time is spent analyzing how elements unique to a property add to or detract from what otherwise would be a property’s market value. When ordering your report, let us know if there are unique characteristics of the home or surrounding area — for example, it’s had a recent addition constructed, it’s subject to zoning restrictions, and it’s prone to flooding. While these are things that we’d find out on our own, knowing them sooner makes your report arrive quicker.

4. Did you make the homeowner of the home aware of what to expect?One of the most tedious tasks of the appraisal process is confirming an inspection date with the homeowner. Many current homeowners are understandably apprehensive with the thought that an outsider wants to come in their home, look around, and make numerous notes. With the idea that it will make the house appraise for more money, some homeowners feel they need to make the place spotless before the inspection . So they choose to not schedule the appraisal inspection until it is cleaned.

   Hearing from you — a trusted party with whom they are already working — some info 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. I encourage you to point them to this website, where we have multiple pages of helpful information for homeowners and others regarding the appraisal process. Encourage them to call us if they want to meet the staff and learn more about our services. Remind them it benefits them to set the appointment without delay!

5. Easily keep tabs on 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 we complete each important milestone in an assignment, that information can be viewed instantly online. It’s never been easier to track your report’s status.