A Few Steps to Faster Turn Times

The appraisal profession is evolving continuously. Regularly, it seems, appraisers are asked to include additional information or have steps added to their process. They do this additional work to guarantee their client gets the most useful data possible. To stay current with the continuously changing requirements, Paradigm Appraisal Service is continuously acquiring new tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for our customers. At Paradigm Appraisal Service we know that time is important to everybody, so we've listed some items you can do to hasten the process when you order an appraisal with Paradigm Appraisal Service:

  1. Are you ordering appraisals online? With online ordering, you automatically get e-mail confirmations that the order 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 retype information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether we got the order.

  2. Confirm that the subject property information is accurate and complete. Being just one number off on the street address can really 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. We even welcome lists of recent sales in the area — however, remember that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may be different from yours.

    3. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about your property or a job we're working on for you.

  3. Let us know up front of the property's distinct details. Cookie-cutter houses are relatively easy to appraise. What takes time is analyzing how features unique to a property 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 features of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's recently had an addition built on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, and it's susceptible to flooding. These are things we will find out on our own anyway, and knowing them early on makes your report arrive more quickly.

  4. Let the occupants know what to expect. One of the most inefficient parts of the appraisal process is setting an appointment with the occupants of the home. Many homeowners are justifiably uneasy with the fact that an unknown persons wants to come in their house, look around, and make lots of notes. Having the thought that it will increase the value, some homeowners believe they ought to make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection . So they delay the appraisal inspection until they can get around to cleaning.

    Hearing from you -- a trusted party with whom they already have a business relationship -- some information about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't make a significant difference in their home's value, will help move the process along for everyone. I encourage you to point your clients to our website, where we have lots of pages of helpful information for homeowners and others regarding the appraisal process. Have them call us if they want to meet our staff and learn more about our services. And tell them it benefits them to set the appointment without delay!

  5. Use our website to keep tabs on 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 each important milestone in an assignment is completed, that information can be viewed instantly online. It's never been easier to keep track of the status of your report.