5 Tips for Shorter Turn Times

Appraising is an always changing profession. Commonly, it seems, appraisers are asked to offer more information or have steps added to their process. All to guarantee the end user gets the best data to be had. In order to stay current with the continuously changing requirements, Company Name 2 is always seeking new tools and tweaking processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for our customers. At Company Name 2 we know that time is important to everybody, so here are a few tips you can do to lower turn times whenever you order an appraisal with Company Name 2.

Are you ordering appraisals online?

By ordering online, you get automatic e-mail confirmations that the order was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. Ordering online is the single biggest time saver available to both of us! We don't have to re-key information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether the order was received.

Complete and accurate subject property data is crucial.

Having just one number incorrect on the street address can really 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 — remember, however, that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may be different from yours.

If you have any questions about your property or an assignment we're working on for you, you're always welcome to call us at

Be sure to let us know about the property's distinct elements.

It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter house. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how differing features contribute to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. Let us know up front when ordering your report if there are unique features of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent addition built 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 as early as possible makes your report arrive more quickly.

Be sure the homeowner knows the the plan.

One of the most time consuming tasks of the appraisal process is confirming an appointment with the current homeowner. Many homeowners are clearly uncomfortable with the thought an outsider wants to come in their house, look around, and take copious notes. A common belief is that they ought to make the place spotless before the appraiser comes by, with the belief that will increase the appraised value. So they reschedule the appointment until it is cleaned.

Hearing it directly from you -- the person 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 change their home's value one little bit, and can shorten the appraisal inspection time. I encourage you to point them to our website, where we have multiple pages of relevant information for homeowners and others about the appraisal process. They can even call us if they want to familiarize themselves with the staff and our services. Remind them it benefits them to set the appointment soon!

Easily keep tabs on the status of your report on our website.

Phone and fax tag are a thing of the past with 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 and faster to track your report's status.