Five Hints for Shorter Turn Times

The appraisal profession is evolving constantly. Commonly, it seems, appraisers are asked to offer extra information or have steps added to their appraisal process. All to ensure their client gets the best information to be had. In order to keep up with the continuously changing requirements, SC Appraisals Inc is always seeking additional tools and tweaking processes in order to increase efficiency so we can do more work for more efficiently. At SC Appraisals Inc we know that time is important to everybody, so we've listed some things you can do to hasten the process on any appraisals ordered with SC Appraisals Inc.

Always order your appraisals electronically.: With online ordering, you get automatic e-mail notifications that the order was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. It's the single biggest time saver available to both of us! We don't have to manually enter information from a fax, and you don't have to wonder whether we got the request.
Complete and accurate subject property data is key.: There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to unnecessarily slow down 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 must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may be different from yours.
Are you telling us up front any details of the property that might make it unique?: It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter home. What takes time is analyzing how differing features contribute to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. When ordering your report, let us know if there are unique elements of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's recently had an addition constructed, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's prone to flooding. While these are things that we will find out on our own, knowing them early on will likely make your report arrive earlier.
Let the homeowner know what to expect.: One of the most inefficient steps of the appraisal process is confirming an inspection date with the current homeowner. Some current homeowners are clearly uncomfortable with the fact a stranger wants to come in their house, look around, and make copious notes. Many commonly think they should make the place spotless before the appraiser comes by, thinking that will make the house appraise higher. So they put off the appointment until they have cleaned.

Hearing it directly from you -- someone they are working with on their loan -- some info about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't affect their home's value one little bit, and can shorten the appraisal inspection time. I encourage you to point your customers to our website, where we have lots of pages of helpful information for homeowners and others regarding the appraisal process. They can even call us if they want to become familiar with our staff and services. And tell them it's to their advantage to set the appointment quickly!
Our website is a great resource for tracking the status of your report.: No more phone and fax tag. Up-to-the-minute status updates are available online, anytime, 24/7. As each important milestone in an assignment is completed, that information is available to you online. There's no faster or easier way to track your report's status.