Some Suggestions for Quicker Turn Times

The appraisal profession is continuously evolving. Each year, it seems, appraisers are asked to provide additional information or have steps added to their appraisal process. All to guarantee their client receives the best data available. To stay current with the constantly changing requirements, A. M. Appraisals is constantly acquiring additional tools and tweaking processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. At A. M. Appraisals we know that time is important to everybody, so below are some items you can do to speed up the process whenever you order an appraisal from A. M. Appraisals.

Order your appraisals on the Internet.

With online ordering, you automatically get e-mail notifications that the order was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This tip alone will save the most time! No longer do we have to re-key information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether the order was received.

Confirm that the subject property information is accurate and complete.

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. We even welcome lists of recent sales from the area — 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.

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

Are you telling us up front any characteristics of the property that might make it unique?

Cookie-cutter houses are relatively easy to appraise. What takes time is analyzing how unique characteristics add to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. At the time you order your report, be sure to let us know if there are unique characteristics 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. These are things we would find out on our own anyway, and knowing them early on makes your report arrive quicker.

Did you make the homeowner of the home aware of what to expect?

Setting an inspection time and date with the homeowner can be one of the most tedious steps in the appraisal process. Some current homeowners are understandably uneasy with the notion an unknown persons wants to come in their house, look around, and take lots of notes. A common belief is that they ought to make the place spotless before the inspection, under the impression that will increase the value. And will delay the appraisal inspection until they can get around to cleaning.

Hearing from you -- someone they have been working with on their loan -- a little bit about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't change their home's value one little bit, and likely shorten the appraisal inspection time. Please feel free to point your customers to this website, where we have many pages of useful information for homeowners and others describing the appraisal process. Have them call us if they want to become familiar with the staff and our services. And tell them it's to their benefit to set the appointment promptly!

Easily follow the status of your report on our website.

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 available instantly to you online. There's no easier way to track your report's status.