5 Steps to Faster Turn Times

The appraisal profession is always evolving. Every year, it seems, appraisers are asked to include additional information or have steps added to their data gathering. All to ensure their client has the best data possible. In order to stay current with the continuously changing requirements, The August Group Inc. is constantly acquiring new tools and improving processes in order to increase efficiency so we can do more work for faster. At The August Group Inc. we know that time is important to everybody, so we've listed some tips you can do to reduce turn times when you order an appraisal with The August Group Inc..

Order your appraisals electronically.: When you order online, you automatically receive e-mail confirmations that the request 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 retype information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether the order was received.
Verify that the subject property information is accurate and complete.: Being just one number off on the street address can really unnecessarily delay 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 from the area is welcome — remember, however, that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours might differ from yours.
Are you telling us up front any characteristics of the property that might make it distinct?: It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter home. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how characteristics unique to a property 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 recently had an addition constructed, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's prone to flooding. These are things we would find out on our own anyway, and knowing them early on is likely to make your report arrive without delay.
Did you make the occupants of the home aware of what to expect?: Setting an inspection time and date with the homeowner can be one of the most time consuming tasks in the appraisal process. Many current homeowners are understandably uncomfortable with the notion a stranger wants to come in their house, look around, and take lots of notes. Some think they have to make the place spotless before the appraiser comes by, with the idea that will make the house appraise for more money. So they delay the appraisal inspection until they have cleaned.

Hearing from you -- a person they've been working with on their loan -- a short explanation about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't make it more likely their sale will close, and likely go a long way toward trimming the time it takes to inspect a home. I encourage you to point your clients to this website, where we have several pages of relevant information for homeowners and others regarding 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 benefit to set the appointment promptly!
Our website is a great resource for verifying the status of your report.: 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 instantly available to you online. There's no faster or easier way to keep track of your report's status.