Some Tips for Shorter Turn Times

Appraising is a constantly changing profession. Each year, it seems, appraisers are asked to present extra information or have steps added to their research. They do this additional work to guarantee their client receives the most useful analysis that can be achieved. In order to stay current with the continuously changing requirements, Central Arizona Real Estate Appraisers is continuously acquiring additional tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for in less time. Since Central Arizona Real Estate Appraisers knows that time is important to everyone, here are a couple of tips you can do to hasten the process each time you order an appraisal from Central Arizona Real Estate Appraisers:

  1. Are you ordering appraisals online? When you order online, you receive automatic e-mail confirmations that the request was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. Online ordering is the single biggest time saver available to both of us! We don't have to re-key information from a fax, and you don't have to wonder whether the order was received.

  2. Complete and accurate subject property information is key. Being just one number off on the street address can really unnecessarily slow down an appraisal assignment. Unique identifiers like a tax parcel number, plat map number, or subdivision name are helpful data to include with your request. We even welcome lists of recent sales from the area — however, remember that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may differ from yours.

    3. If you have any questions about your property or an assignment we're working on for you, you're always free to contact us

  3. Be sure to let us know about the unique details of this property. It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter house. What takes time is analyzing how differing characteristics add 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 characteristics 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 predisposed to flooding. These are things we would find out on our own anyway, and knowing them as early as possible will likely make your report arrive sooner.

  4. Set proper expectations with the occupants. Confirming an appointment with the homeowner can be one of the most tedious tasks in the appraisal process. Some current homeowners are clearly uneasy with the fact that a stranger wants to come in their house, look around, and make abundant notes. Thinking that it will make the house appraise for more money, some homeowners believe they must make the place spotless before the inspection and will choose to not schedule the inspection until they have cleaned.

    Coming from you -- a trusted party with whom they already have a business relationship -- some information 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. I encourage you to point your clients to this website, where we have multiple pages of useful information for homeowners and others about the appraisal process. They can even call us if they want to become familiar with our staff and services. And tell them it's to their benefit to set the appointment soon!

  5. Easily track the status of your report on our website. No more phone and fax tag. Up-to-the-minute status updates are available online, anytime, 24/7. As each important milestone in an assignment is completed, that information can be viewed instantly online. There's no easier way to track your report's status.