Five Tips for Shorter Turn Times

The appraisal profession is evolving continuously. Every year, it seems, appraisers are asked to provide more information or have steps added to their process. They do this extra work to ensure their client is presented with the most useful data that can be achieved. In order to stay current with the continuously changing requirements, J.S. Appraisals, Inc. is continuously seeking additional tools and tweaking processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. Since J.S. Appraisals, Inc. knows that time is important to everyone, we've listed a few items you can do to decrease turn times each time you order an appraisal with J.S. Appraisals, Inc.:

Always order your appraisals electronically. When you order online, you automatically get e-mail acknowledgements 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 retype information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether the order was received.
Make sure 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 area sales is welcome — though be advised that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may be different from yours.


	If you have any questions about your property or a job we're working on for you, you're always welcome to call us at (847) 910-7550

Be sure to let us know about the property's distinct characteristics. It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter house. What takes time is analyzing how differing features add to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. Let us know up front when ordering your report if there are unique details of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's recently had an addition put on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, and it's susceptible to flooding. While these are things that we will find out on our own, knowing them early on will likely make your report arrive earlier.
Set proper expectations with the homeowner. Confirming an appointment with the homeowner can be one of the most time consuming parts in the appraisal process. Many current homeowners are understandably apprehensive with the fact that a stranger wants to come in their home, look around, and make abundant notes. Not uncommonly they think they ought to make the place spotless before the inspection, with the idea that will increase the appraised value and will choose to not schedule the appraisal inspection until the house is cleaned.

Hearing it directly from you -- a trusted party with whom they already have a business relationship -- a short explanation about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't increase their home's value one bit, will help move the process along for everyone. Our website has many pages of useful information about the appraisal process for homeowners. I encourage you to share it with your customers. Encourage them to call us if they want to become familiar with the staff and our services. Remind them it's to their advantage to set the appointment as soon as possible!
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 we complete each important milestone in an assignment, that information is available instantly to you online. It's never been easier to track your report's status.