Five Hints for Quicker Turn Times
Appraising is an always changing profession. On a regular basis, it seems, appraisers are asked to provide extra information or have steps added to their process. All of this is to ensure their client receives the best information possible. In order to stay current with the constantly changing requirements, Crest Appraisal Services is constantly seeking new tools and improving processes in order to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. At Crest Appraisal Services we know that time is important to everybody, so we've listed a few things you can do to accelerate the process on any appraisals ordered from Crest Appraisal Services.
- Are you ordering appraisals online?
- With online ordering, you automatically receive e-mail acknowledgements that the order was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This tip single-handedly will save the most time! No longer do we have to manually enter information from a fax, and nor will you 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 unnecessarily interrupt 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. Even a list of recent sales from the area is welcome — remember, however, that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may be different from yours.
If you have any questions about your property or an appraisal we're working on for you, don't hesitate to call us at
- Are you letting us know up front any features of the property that might make it unique?
- Cookie-cutter homes are relatively easy to appraise. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how unique features add to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. When ordering your report, let us know if there are unique features of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's recently had an addition built on, 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 early on will likely make your report arrive without delay.
- Let the occupants know what to expect.
- One of the most tedious tasks of the appraisal process is setting an appointment with the current homeowner. It's understandable for a homeowner to be uncomfortable with a stranger looking in every square foot of their home, taking photos, and making numerous notes. With the notion that it will increase the value, many homeowners feel they ought to make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection. So they delay the inspection until they have cleaned.
Coming from you -- the person they have been working with on their loan -- a little bit about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't affect their home's value one little bit, and likely decrease the time it takes to inspect a home. Please feel free to point them to this website, where we have several pages of helpful information for homeowners and others describing the appraisal process. Have them call us if they want to meet our staff and learn more about our services. Remind them it's in their interest to set the appointment soon!
- Easily follow the status of your report on our website.
- Phone and fax tag are a thing of the past with up-to-the-minute status updates available online, anytime, 24/7. As each important milestone in an assignment is completed, that information can be viewed instantly online. It's never been easier to track the status of your report.
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