A Few Tips for Shorter Turn Times

Appraising is a constantly changing profession. Often, it seems, appraisers are asked to supply additional information or have steps added to their process - all to guarantee the end user receives the best information. To stay current with the constantly changing requirements, Book Value Appraisals is continuously acquiring additional tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for more efficiently. Since Book Value Appraisals knows that time is important to everyone, here are some things you can do to speed up the process whenever you order an appraisal with Book Value Appraisals:

  1. Are you ordering appraisals online? By ordering online, you receive automatic e-mail confirmations that the assignment was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This tip single-handedly will save the most time! We don't have to manually enter information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether the order was received.

  2. Verify that the subject property data is accurate and complete. Having just one number incorrect on the street address can really unnecessarily delay 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 — however, remember that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may be different from yours.

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

  3. Are you telling us up front any features of the property that might make it distinct? Cookie-cutter homes are relatively easy to appraise. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how details unique to a property 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 features of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent addition constructed, it's subject to zoning restrictions, and it's susceptible to flooding. These are things we would find out on our own anyway, and knowing them as soon as possible makes your report arrive faster.

  4. Are you making the homeowner of the home aware of what to expect? One of the most time consuming parts of the appraisal process is setting an appointment with the current homeowner. Many homeowners are justifiably uneasy with the thought that a stranger wants to come in their home, look around, and make numerous notes. With the Notion that it will increase the appraised value, a few homeowners feel they should make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection and will delay the inspection until they have cleaned.

    Coming directly from you -- a trusted party with whom they are already working -- some information about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't change their home's value one bit, will help move the process along for everyone. Please feel free to point them to this website, where we have multiple pages of helpful information for homeowners and others describing the appraisal process. They can even call us if they want to familiarize themselves with our staff and services. Remind them it's to their benefit to set the appointment soon!

  5. Are you using our website as a resource to track 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 faster to track your report's status.