5 Steps to Shorter Turn Times

Appraising is an always changing profession. Each year, it seems, appraisers are asked to offer more information or have steps added to their research. All of this is to guarantee the end user receives the best data available. In order to stay current with the continuously changing requirements, E.Barbara Real Property Appraisals LLC is constantly testing additional tools and tweaking processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. Since E.Barbara Real Property Appraisals LLC knows that time is important to everyone, here are a couple of items you can do to accelerate the process whenever you order an appraisal with E.Barbara Real Property Appraisals LLC.

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. This tip alone will save the most time! No longer do we have to re-key information from a fax, and you don't have to wonder whether we got the request.
Confirm that the subject property information is accurate and complete.: There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to unnecessarily slow down 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 in the area is welcome — remember, however, that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may differ from yours.
Tell us up front of the property's unique elements.: Cookie-cutter houses are relatively easy to appraise. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how unique details contribute 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, it's prone to flooding. While these are things that we'll find out on our own, knowing them as early as possible will likely make your report arrive earlier.
Does the homeowner know what to expect?: Confirming an inspection time and date with the homeowner can be one of the most time consuming steps in the appraisal process. We understand that a homeowner may be uneasy with an unknown person looking in every square foot of their home, taking photos, and making lots of notes. Believing that it will increase the value, many homeowners believe they need to make the place spotless before the inspection. So they delay the appointment until they can get around to cleaning.

Hearing from you -- someone they've been working with on their loan -- a little information about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't make it more likely their sale will close, and can shorten the appraisal inspection time. Our website has several 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 familiarize themselves with the staff and our services. Remind them it benefits them to set the appointment without delay!
Use our website to follow your report's status.: No more phone and fax tag. Up-to-the-minute status updates are available online, anytime, 24/7. As each important milestone in an assignment is completed, that information is instantly available to you online. It's never been easier to track your report's status.