Five Hints for Shorter Turn Times

Appraising is a constantly changing profession. Regularly, it seems, appraisers are asked to supply more information or have steps added to their data gathering. All of this is to ensure the end user has the best data to be had. In order to keep up with the constantly changing requirements, Residential Appraisal Service, LLC is continuously seeking new tools and tweaking processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. At Residential Appraisal Service, LLC we know that time is important to everybody, so here are a few things you can do to trim turn times on any appraisals ordered with Residential Appraisal Service, LLC.

Are you ordering appraisals online?: By ordering online, you receive automatic e-mail confirmations that the request was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This tip single-handedly will save the most time! No longer do we have to retype information from a fax, and you don't have to wonder whether we got the order.
Are you providing complete and accurate information about the subject property?: 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. We even welcome lists of recent sales in the area — though be advised that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may differ from yours.
Are you letting us know up front any features of the property that might make it distinct?: It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter home. 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. When you order your report, let us know if there are unique characteristics of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's recently had an addition built on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's predisposed to flooding. These are things we'd find out on our own anyway, and knowing them early on makes your report arrive faster.
Are you making the occupants of the home aware of what to expect?: One of the most time consuming parts of the appraisal process is setting an appointment with the occupants of the home. Many homeowners are clearly uncomfortable with the idea a stranger wants to come in their home, look around, and take numerous notes. One common belief is that they need to make the place spotless before the inspection, with the notion that will increase the appraised value. So they choose to not schedule the appraisal inspection until they can get around to cleaning.

Coming from you -- someone they are working with on their loan -- some knowledge 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 shorten the time it takes to inspect a home. Please feel free to point them to our website, where we have many pages of helpful information for homeowners and others describing 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's in their interest to set the appointment promptly!
Why not our website as a resource to verify 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. It's never been easier to keep track of the status of your report.