Five Steps to Quicker Turn Times

Appraising is a constantly changing profession. Commonly, it seems, appraisers are asked to provide more information or have steps added to their appraisal process - all to guarantee the end user gets the most useful information. In order to stay current with the constantly changing requirements, Davidson & Associates is continuously seeking additional tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for our clients. At Davidson & Associates we know that time is important to everybody, so below are some tips you can do to speed up the process when you order an appraisal from Davidson & Associates:

Are you ordering appraisals online? When you order online, you automatically get e-mail notifications that the order was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. Ordering online 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 we received the request.
Are you providing complete and accurate data about the subject property? Being just one number off 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 sales in the area is welcome — though be advised that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may be different from yours.


	You're always free to call us at (336) 765-5502 if you have any questions about your property or a job we're working on for you.

Tell us up front of the property's unique characteristics. Cookie-cutter houses are relatively easy to appraise. What takes time is analyzing how elements unique to a property 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 features 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 prone to flooding. While these are things that we'd find out on our own, knowing them as early as possible makes your report arrive sooner.
Do the occupants know what to expect? One of the most tedious steps of the appraisal process is setting an inspection date with the homeowner. It's understandable for a homeowner to be apprehensive with a stranger inspecting every corner of their home, taking pictures, and making abundant notes. Having the thought that it will increase the value, a few homeowners believe they ought to make the place spotless before the inspection and will reschedule the inspection until the house is cleaned.

Hearing it directly from you -- a trusted party with whom they are already working -- some information about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't affect their home's value one bit, will help move the process along for everyone. Please feel free to point your customers to our website, where we have multiple pages of helpful information for homeowners and others about the appraisal process. They can even call us if they want to meet the staff and learn more about our services. And tell them it benefits them to set the appointment as soon as possible!
Are you using our website as a resource to track 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 is instantly available to you online. There's no faster or easier way to keep track of your report's status.