A Few Tips for Shorter Turn Times

Appraising is an always changing profession. On a regular basis, it seems, appraisers are asked to supply extra information or have steps added to their process. They do this additional work to ensure their client gets the most useful information that can be achieved. In order to stay current with the continuously changing requirements, Prestige Appraisal is constantly seeking additional tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. At Prestige Appraisal we know that time is important to everybody, so we've listed some items you can do to lower turn times on any appraisals you order from Prestige Appraisal:

Are you ordering appraisals online? By ordering online, you automatically receive e-mail confirmations 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 re-key information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether we received the request.
Are you providing complete and accurate data about the subject property? There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to add unnecessary time to an appraisal assignment. Unique identifiers like a tax parcel number, plat map number, or subdivision name are great data to pass along with the assignment. 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.


	You're always welcome to contact us if you have any questions about your property or an appraisal we're working on for you.

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 house. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how unique elements contribute to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. Let us know up front when you order your report if there are unique elements of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent addition put on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, and it's prone to flooding. These are things we will find out on our own anyway, and knowing them as early as possible makes your report arrive earlier.
Set proper expectations with the occupants. One of the most tedious tasks of the appraisal process is confirming an inspection date with the occupants of the home. We understand that a homeowner may be uneasy with a stranger looking in every corner of their home, taking pictures, and making lots of notes. With the Notion that it will make the house appraise for more money, a few homeowners think they must make the place spotless before the inspection and will delay the appraisal inspection until the house is cleaned.

Coming directly from you -- a trusted party with whom they already have a business relationship -- a little info about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't affect their home's value one bit, will help move the process along for everyone. Our website has numerous pages of useful information about the appraisal process for homeowners. I encourage you to share it with your customers. They can even call us if they want to familiarize themselves with our staff and services. Remind them it benefits them to set the appointment quickly!
Why not use our website as a resource to track 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 is instantly available to you online. There's no easier way to track your report's status.