A Few Tips for Swifter Turn Times

Appraising is an always changing profession. On a regular basis, it seems, appraisers are asked to present extra information or have steps added to their data gathering. They do this additional work to guarantee the end user gets the best information available. In order to keep up with the constantly changing requirements, Lundquist Appraisals & Real Estate Services is continuously testing new tools and tweaking processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for more efficiently. Since Lundquist Appraisals & Real Estate Services knows that time is important to everyone, we've listed a handful of tips you can do to speed up the process on any appraisals you order with Lundquist Appraisals & Real Estate Services.

Are you ordering appraisals online?: With online ordering, you automatically get e-mail acknowledgements that the assignment was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. Ordering online is the single biggest time saver available to both of us! We don't have to retype information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether we received the order.
Complete and accurate subject property data is essential.: 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 in the area — though be advised that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may differ from yours.
Be sure to tell us about the property's distinct elements.: It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter house. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how features unique to a property add 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 elements of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent addition constructed, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's susceptible to flooding. These are things we would find out on our own anyway, and knowing them as early as possible makes your report arrive more quickly.
Be sure the homeowner knows the the plan.: One of the most time consuming steps of the appraisal process is confirming an inspection date with the homeowner. Many current homeowners are understandably uneasy with the idea an outsider wants to come in their house, look around, and take abundant notes. Thinking that it will increase the value, some homeowners think they have to make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection. So they delay the appraisal inspection until they have cleaned.

Hearing from you -- someone they have been working with on their loan -- a little information about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't change their home's value one little bit, and can go a long way toward trimming the time it takes to inspect a home. Our website has lots of pages of useful information about the appraisal process for homeowners. I encourage you to share it with your clients. They can even call us if they want to meet our staff and learn more about our services. Remind them it benefits them to set the appointment promptly!
Use our website to keep tabs on your report's status.: 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 we complete each important milestone in an assignment, that information can be viewed instantly online. It's never been easier to track the status of your report.