Some Suggestions for Faster Turn Times

1. Order your appraisals electronically. With online ordering, you get 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! We don't have to retype information from a fax, and you don't have to wonder whether we received the request.
   
   
2. Make sure that the subject property data is accurate and complete. There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to add unnecessary time to an appraisal assignment. Unique identifiers like a tax parcel number, plat map number, or subdivision name are great data to pass along with the request. 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 may be different from yours.
   
   

	You're always free to contact us if you have any questions about your property or a job we're working on for you.



3. Be sure to tell us about the property's distinct details. It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter house. What takes time is analyzing how characteristics unique to a property contribute 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 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 susceptible to flooding. These are things we will find out on our own anyway, and knowing them as early as possible makes your report arrive sooner.
   
   
4. Did you make the occupants of the home aware of what to expect? Setting an appointment with the homeowner can be one of the most time consuming steps in the appraisal process. Some homeowners are clearly uncomfortable with the idea that an outsider wants to come in their house, look around, and make copious notes. Under the impression that it will increase the appraised value, a few homeowners think they should make the place spotless before the appraiser comes by . So they put off the appraisal inspection until they have cleaned.
   
   Coming from you -- a trusted party with whom they already have a business relationship -- some info about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't affect their home's value one bit, will help move the process along for everyone. I encourage you to point them to our website, where we have many pages of useful information for homeowners and others regarding the appraisal process. Tell them to 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 without delay!
   
   
5. Use our website to follow your report's status. 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 keep track of the status of your report.