Five Steps to Shorter Turn Times

The appraisal profession is evolving continuously. On a regular basis, it seems, appraisers are asked to offer extra information or have steps added to their appraisal process. All of this is to ensure their client receives the best information possible. In order to keep up with the constantly changing requirements, Evaluating Property in the MidSouth (EPM) is always researching additional tools and improving processes in order to increase efficiency so we can do more work for our customers. Since Evaluating Property in the MidSouth (EPM) knows that time is important to everyone, we've listed a couple of items you can do to reduce turn times when you order an appraisal with Evaluating Property in the MidSouth (EPM):

  1. Are you ordering appraisals online? With online ordering, you receive automatic e-mail acknowledgements 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! No longer do we have to re-key information from a fax, and you don't have to wonder whether the order was received.

  2. Make sure that the subject property data is accurate and complete. There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to unnecessarily interrupt an appraisal assignment. Unique identifiers like a tax parcel number, plat map number, or subdivision name are great data to pass along with the request. We even welcome lists of recent sales from the area — though be advised that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours might differ from yours.

    3. If you have any questions about your property or an appraisal we're working on for you, you're always free to call us at 9014129888

  3. Tell us up front of the property's distinct elements. It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter house. What takes time is analyzing how unique characteristics contribute to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. Let us know up front when ordering your report 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, and it's susceptible to flooding. While these are things that we'll find out on our own, knowing them as soon as possible makes your report arrive earlier.

  4. Let the occupants know what to expect. One of the most time consuming steps of the appraisal process is setting an appointment with the current homeowner. It's understandable for a homeowner to be apprehensive with an outsider looking in every square foot of their home, taking photos, and making numerous notes. With the Notion that it will make the house appraise for more money, many homeowners believe they must make the place spotless before the inspection and will put off the inspection until they have cleaned.

    Hearing from you -- a trusted party with whom they are already working -- some knowledge 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. I encourage you to point your customers to this website, where we have multiple pages of relevant information for homeowners and others describing the appraisal process. They can even call us if they want to become familiar with our staff and services. And tell them it benefits them to set the appointment as quickly as possible!

  5. Why not use our website as a resource to follow the status of your report? 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 each important milestone in an assignment is completed, that information is available instantly to you online. It's never been faster to track the status of your report.