Five Suggestions for Shorter Turn Times

The appraisal profession is evolving at all times. Often, it seems, appraisers are asked to offer additional information or have steps added to their appraisal process. They do this additional work to guarantee the end user receives the best data possible. To stay current with the continuously changing requirements, Grantham Appraisal & Realty, Inc. is constantly testing new tools and tweaking processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. Since Grantham Appraisal & Realty, Inc. knows that time is important to everyone, below are some tips you can do to speed up the process on any appraisals you order from Grantham Appraisal & Realty, Inc..

Always order your appraisals on the Internet.: With online ordering, you get automatic e-mail acknowledgements that the assignment 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 we received the order.
Complete and accurate subject property information is key.: Being just one number off on the street address can really unnecessarily delay an appraisal assignment. Unique identifiers like a tax parcel number, plat map number, or subdivision name are good data to pass long with your request. We even welcome lists of recent sales in the area — remember, however, that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may differ from yours.
Are you letting us know 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 differing characteristics 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 details of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent addition built on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's susceptible to flooding. These are things we'll find out on our own anyway, and knowing them sooner makes your report arrive earlier.
Let the occupants know what to expect.: One of the most inefficient steps of the appraisal process is setting an appointment with the occupants of the home. Many homeowners are understandably uneasy with the notion an unknown persons wants to come in their house, look around, and take lots of notes. With the notion that it will make the house appraise higher, a few homeowners believe they must make the place spotless before the inspection. So they choose to not schedule the inspection until it is cleaned.

Hearing it directly from you -- a person they've been working with on their loan -- some knowledge about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't change their home's value one little bit, and can go a long way toward trimming the time it takes to inspect a home. Please feel free to point your customers to our website, where we have many pages of useful information for homeowners as well as others describing the appraisal process. They can even call us if they want to familiarize themselves with the staff and our services. And tell them it's to their advantage to set the appointment quickly!
Use our website to keep tabs on your report's status.: 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 is available instantly to you online. It's never been easier to keep track of the status of your report.