Five Tips for Shorter Turn Times

The appraisal profession is evolving at all times. Each year, it seems, appraisers are asked to offer more information or have steps added to their process. All to ensure their client gets the best information to be had. In order to keep up with the constantly changing requirements, Theresa Misyak, SCRREA is constantly researching new tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. Since Theresa Misyak, SCRREA knows that time is important to everyone, here are a couple of items you can do to trim turn times on any appraisals you order from Theresa Misyak, SCRREA.

Order your appraisals on the Internet.: By ordering online, you get automatic e-mail notifications that the assignment was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This is the single biggest time saver available to both of us! No longer do we have to retype information from a fax, and you don't have to wonder whether we received the request.
Make sure that the subject property data is accurate and complete.: 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 from the area — though be advised that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours might differ from yours.
Tell us up front of the property's unique features.: Cookie-cutter homes are relatively easy to appraise. What takes time is analyzing how differing elements 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 features of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's recently had an addition built on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's prone to flooding. These are things we'll find out on our own anyway, and knowing them as soon as possible makes your report arrive earlier.
Be sure the occupants know the the plan.: Setting an appointment with the homeowner can be one of the most time consuming tasks in the appraisal process. It's understandable for a homeowner to be uneasy with an unknown person inspecting every square foot of their home, taking pictures, and making lots of notes. Thinking that it will make the house appraise for more money, many homeowners think they need to make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection. So they delay the appraisal inspection until it is cleaned.

Hearing it directly from you -- the person they've been working with on their loan -- a little bit 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 go a long way toward trimming the time it takes to inspect a home. Our website has lots of pages of useful information about the appraisal process for homeowners. I encourage you to share it with your clients. They can even 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 quickly!
Why not use our website as a resource to follow the status of your report?: Phone and fax tag are a thing of the past with up-to-the-minute status updates available online, anytime, 24/7. As each important milestone in an assignment is completed, that information is available instantly to you online. It's never been faster to keep track of your report's status.