Five Suggestions for Quicker Turn Times

Appraising is a constantly changing profession. Every year, it seems, appraisers are asked to provide more information or have steps added to their appraisal process. They do this extra work to ensure the end user has the best information possible. To stay current with the always changing requirements, R.F.Robin Enterprises/Appraisals is continuously researching new tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for quickly. At R.F.Robin Enterprises/Appraisals we know that time is important to everybody, so we've listed a few items you can do to lessen turn times when you order an appraisal from R.F.Robin Enterprises/Appraisals.

Order your appraisals on the Internet.: 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 nor will you wonder whether the order was received.
Are you providing complete and accurate information about the subject property?: There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to 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 — remember, however, that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may differ from yours.
Tell us up front of the property's unique elements.: It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter home. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how unique features contribute to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. At the time you order your report, be sure to let us know if there are unique characteristics of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent 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 as early as possible is likely to make your report arrive more quickly.
Set proper expectations with the homeowner.: One of the most time consuming parts of the appraisal process is confirming an appointment with the occupants of the home. It's understandable for a homeowner to be uncomfortable with a stranger looking in every square foot of their home, taking pictures, and making numerous notes. Thinking that it will make the house appraise for more money, a few homeowners think they need to make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection. And will choose to not schedule the inspection until they have cleaned.

Coming directly from you -- a person they've been working with on their loan -- some info 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 shorten the appraisal inspection time. Please feel free to point your customers to our website, where we have lots of pages of relevant information for homeowners as well as others describing the appraisal process. They can even call us if they want to meet the staff and learn more about our services. Remind them it's in their interest to set the appointment quickly!
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 to you online. It's never been faster and easier to track your report's status.