Five Suggestions for Swifter Turn Times

Appraising is a constantly changing profession. Often, it seems, appraisers are asked to present more information or have steps added to their appraisal process. All to ensure their client gets the best information available. To keep up with the continuously changing requirements, Crescent City Appraisal Services, LLC is always seeking additional tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for our customers. Since Crescent City Appraisal Services, LLC knows that time is important to everyone, we've listed some things you can do to lessen turn times whenever you order an appraisal with Crescent City Appraisal Services, LLC.

Are you ordering appraisals online?: By ordering online, you receive automatic e-mail confirmations that the assignment was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This tip single-handedly will save the most time! No longer do we have to retype information from a fax, and you don't have to 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 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 from the area is welcome — remember, however, that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may differ from yours.
Are you telling us up front any details of the property that might make it unique?: Cookie-cutter houses are relatively easy to appraise. What takes time is analyzing how elements 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 built on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's susceptible to flooding. While these are things that we'd find out on our own, knowing them as early as possible makes your report arrive more quickly.
Do the occupants know what to expect?: Setting an appointment with the homeowner can be one of the most tedious steps in the appraisal process. Some current homeowners are understandably uncomfortable with the thought a stranger wants to come in their home, look around, and make lots of notes. Under the impression that it will make the house appraise higher, a few homeowners feel they need to make the place spotless before the inspection. So they put off the appraisal inspection until the house is cleaned.

Hearing from you -- the person they are working with on their loan -- a little knowledge 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 shorten the appraisal inspection time. Our website has multiple pages of helpful information about the appraisal process for homeowners. Please feel free to share it with your customers. Tell them to call us if they want to meet our staff and learn more about our services. Remind them it's to their benefit to set the appointment as soon as possible!
Use our website to keep track of 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 we complete each important milestone in an assignment, that information can be viewed instantly online. It's never been easier to keep track of the status of your report.