5 Suggestions for Faster Turn Times

The appraisal profession is continuously evolving. Often, it seems, appraisers are asked to offer more information or have steps added to their research. They do this additional work to ensure their client receives the best information available. To keep up with the always changing requirements, Peterson Appraisal Group is constantly seeking additional tools and improving processes in order to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. At Peterson Appraisal Group we know that time is important to everybody, so we've listed a couple of things you can do to hasten the process every time you order an appraisal with Peterson Appraisal Group.

Order your appraisals online.: By ordering online, you automatically receive e-mail notifications that the request 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 you don't have to wonder whether we received the order.
Confirm that the subject property data is accurate and complete.: Being just one number off on the street address can really add unnecessary time to an appraisal assignment. Unique identifiers like a tax parcel number, plat map number, or subdivision name are helpful data to pass long with your request. Even a list of recent sales from the area is welcome — though be advised that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may be different from yours.
Be sure to tell us about the property's distinct characteristics.: It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter house. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how differing details contribute to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. When ordering your report, let us know if there are unique characteristics of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's recently had an addition constructed, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's susceptible to flooding. While these are things that we will find out on our own, knowing them as soon as possible makes your report arrive without delay.
Set proper expectations with the occupants.: Setting an appointment with the homeowner can be one of the most time consuming steps in the appraisal process. Many homeowners are understandably uncomfortable with the fact an unknown persons wants to come in their house, look around, and take lots of notes. Many commonly think they have to make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection, believing that will increase the value. And will choose to not schedule the appraisal inspection until they can get around to cleaning.

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 change their home's value one little bit, and likely go a long way toward trimming the time it takes to inspect a home. Our website has numerous pages of useful information about the appraisal process for homeowners. Please feel free to share it with your customers. They can even call us if they want to meet the staff and learn more about our services. And tell them it's to their advantage to set the appointment promptly!
Use our website to follow 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. There's no faster or easier way to track your report's status.