5 Tips for Shorter Turn Times

Appraising is an always changing profession. Every year, it seems, appraisers are asked to include additional information or have steps added to their data gathering. All to guarantee the end user is presented with the best information possible. To keep up with the always changing requirements, DRA Appraisals, Inc is continuously testing new tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for faster. At DRA Appraisals, Inc we know that time is important to everybody, so below are a handful of tips you can do to accelerate the process whenever you order an appraisal from DRA Appraisals, Inc.

Always order your appraisals online.: When you order online, you receive automatic e-mail acknowledgements that the assignment was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. Online ordering is the single biggest time saver available to both of us! No longer do we have to re-key information from a fax, and you don't have to wonder whether the order was received.
Are you providing complete and accurate data about the subject property?: 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. Even a list of recent area sales is welcome — though be advised that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may differ from yours.
Are you telling us up front any elements of the property that might make it unique?: Cookie-cutter houses are relatively easy to appraise. What takes time is analyzing how elements unique to a property 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 constructed, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's predisposed to flooding. While these are things that we will find out on our own, knowing them early on will likely make your report arrive quicker.
Be sure the homeowner knows the the plan.: One of the most time consuming steps of the appraisal process is setting an inspection date with the occupants of the home. Many homeowners are justifiably apprehensive with the idea an outsider wants to come in their house, look around, and take copious notes. One common belief is that they must make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection, thinking that will increase the appraised value. So they reschedule the appraisal inspection until the house is cleaned.

Coming directly from you -- someone they've been working with on their loan -- a little info about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't make it more likely their sale will close, and likely decrease the appraisal inspection time. Please feel free to point your clients to our website, where we have multiple pages of useful information for homeowners as well as others describing the appraisal process. They can even call us if they want to familiarize themselves with the staff and our services. Remind them it's in their interest to set the appointment quickly!
Are you using our website as a resource to verify your report's status?: No more phone and fax tag. Up-to-the-minute status updates are available online, anytime, 24/7. As we complete each important milestone in an assignment, that information is instantly available to you online. There's no faster way to keep track of your report's status.