Five Suggestions for Faster Turn Times

The appraisal profession is always evolving. Every year, it seems, appraisers are asked to include more information or have steps added to their research. All of this is to guarantee their client gets the best data available. To stay current with the constantly changing requirements, Bower Appraisal Inc. is continuously seeking new tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. Since Bower Appraisal Inc. knows that time is important to everyone, below are a couple of things you can do to hasten the process on any appraisals ordered with Bower Appraisal Inc..

Are you ordering appraisals online?: With online ordering, you automatically receive e-mail acknowledgements that the assignment was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This is the single biggest time saver available to both of us! No longer do we have to retype information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether we got the order.
Are you providing complete and accurate data about the subject property?: There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to add unnecessary time to an appraisal assignment. Unique identifiers like a tax parcel number, plat map number, or subdivision name are great data to include with the assignment. We even welcome lists of recent sales from the area — though be advised that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours might differ from yours.
Let us know up front of the property's unique features.: Cookie-cutter houses 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. Let us know up front when you order your report if there are unique characteristics of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's recently had an addition put on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's predisposed to flooding. These are things we will find out on our own anyway, and knowing them as soon as possible is likely to make your report arrive quicker.
Be sure the homeowner knows the the plan.: One of the most tedious steps of the appraisal process is confirming 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 belief that it will increase the appraised value, a few homeowners believe they ought to make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection. So they delay the inspection until it is cleaned.

Hearing it directly from you -- the person they are 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 decrease the time it takes to inspect a home. Our website has many pages of useful information about the appraisal process for homeowners. I encourage you to share it with your customers. Advise them to call us if they want to meet the staff and learn more about our services. And tell them it's in their interest to set the appointment as soon as possible!
Our website is a great resource for keeping tabs on 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 we complete each important milestone in an assignment, that information can be viewed instantly online. It's never been faster to track your report's status.