A Few Steps to Swifter Turn Times

The appraisal profession is evolving at all times. Regularly, it seems, appraisers are asked to provide additional information or have steps added to their process. All to guarantee the end user has the best information available. In order to stay current with the continuously changing requirements, CALI Real Estate Appraisals is always testing additional tools and tweaking processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. At CALI Real Estate Appraisals we know that time is important to everybody, so here are a couple of items you can do to lessen turn times when you order an appraisal from CALI Real Estate Appraisals.

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. This tip alone will save the most time! No longer do we have to retype information from a fax, and you don't have to wonder whether the order was received.
Verify that the subject property information is accurate and complete.: Being just one number off 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 — though be advised 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 characteristics 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 characteristics contribute to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. When you order your report, let us know if there are unique details 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'd find out on our own anyway, and knowing them early on will likely make your report arrive faster.
Set proper expectations with the homeowner.: Confirming an inspection time and date with the homeowner can be one of the most inefficient parts in the appraisal process. We understand that a homeowner may be uncomfortable with an outsider inspecting every square foot of their home, taking pictures, and making copious notes. One common belief is that they ought to make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection, having the thought that will increase the value. So they reschedule the inspection until the house is cleaned.

Coming from you -- a person they are working with on their loan -- a short explanation about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't increase their home's value one little bit, and can decrease the time it takes to inspect a home. 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 become familiar with our staff and services. Remind them it benefits them to set the appointment promptly!
Easily follow the status of your report on our website.: 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 available instantly to you online. There's no faster way to track your report's status.