Five Tips for Swifter Turn Times

Appraising is a constantly changing profession. Commonly, it seems, appraisers are asked to present additional information or have steps added to their data gathering. They do this additional work to ensure the end user is presented with the best data that can be achieved. In order to stay current with the always changing requirements, Tortorella Appraisals, Inc. is continuously researching additional tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for in less time. At Tortorella Appraisals, Inc. we know that time is important to everybody, so here are some tips you can do to speed up the process on any appraisals ordered from Tortorella Appraisals, Inc.:

  1. Always order your appraisals on the Internet. By ordering online, you receive automatic e-mail confirmations that the request 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 manually enter information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether the order was received.

  2. Are you providing complete and accurate information about the subject property? Having just one number incorrect on the street address can really add unnecessary time to 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 area sales is welcome — however, remember that professional appraisers are lawfully required to 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 assignment we're working on for you, you're always welcome to contact us

  3. Are you letting us know up front any details of the property that might make it unique? It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter house. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how differing details contribute to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. When you order 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, and it's susceptible to flooding. While these are things that we'd find out on our own, knowing them sooner is likely to make your report arrive without delay.

  4. Set proper expectations with the occupants. One of the most tedious steps of the appraisal process is setting an inspection date with the occupants of the home. Some current homeowners are justifiably apprehensive with the idea that an outsider wants to come in their house, look around, and make numerous notes. With the belief that it will make the house appraise for more money, many homeowners feel they need to make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection . So they delay the appraisal inspection until they can get around to cleaning.

    Hearing it directly from you -- a trusted party with whom they already have a business relationship -- some info 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 customers to our website, where we have lots of pages of relevant information for homeowners and others describing the appraisal process. They can even call us if they want to meet our staff and learn more about our services. And tell them it's to their benefit to set the appointment as quickly as possible!

  5. Easily follow the status of your report on our website. 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 can be viewed instantly online. It's never been easier and faster to track the status of your report.