A Few Tips for Swifter Turn Times

The appraisal profession is always evolving. Each year, it seems, appraisers are asked to include extra information or have steps added to their appraisal process. All of this is to ensure the end user is presented with the most useful analysis possible. In order to stay current with the always changing requirements, Baldwin Appraisals is always acquiring additional tools and tweaking processes in order to increase efficiency so we can do more work for more efficiently. At Baldwin Appraisals we know that time is important to everybody, so here are a few items you can do to accelerate the process on any appraisals ordered from Baldwin Appraisals:

Are you ordering appraisals online? When you order online, you automatically get e-mail acknowledgements that the request was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This is the single biggest time saver available to both of us! We don't have to manually enter information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether the order was received.
Complete and accurate subject property information is key. Being just one number off on the street address can really unnecessarily interrupt 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.


	Feel free to call us at 919-244-7026 if you have any questions about your property or an appraisal we're working on for you.

Tell us up front of the property's unique characteristics. Cookie-cutter homes are relatively easy to appraise. Most of an appraiser's time is spent 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 details of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent addition constructed, it's subject to zoning restrictions, and it's prone to flooding. These are things we will find out on our own anyway, and knowing them early on makes your report arrive faster.
Are you making 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 inefficient parts in the appraisal process. Many current homeowners are understandably uneasy with the idea that a stranger wants to come in their house, look around, and take abundant notes. Many commonly think they need to make the place spotless before the appraiser comes by, believing that will make the house appraise higher and will put off the appointment until they have cleaned.

Coming directly from you -- a trusted party with whom they are already working -- a little information 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. Our website has multiple pages of helpful information about the appraisal process for homeowners. Please feel free to share it with your customers. They can even call us if they want to familiarize themselves with our staff and services. And tell them it's in their interest to set the appointment promptly!
Why not use our website as a resource to verify 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 your report's status.