5 Tips for Swifter Turn Times

Appraising is a constantly changing profession. Often, it seems, appraisers are asked to offer more information or have steps added to their research. They do this additional work to guarantee their client receives the best data available. To keep up with the always changing requirements, Aanerud Appraisal Service is constantly seeking additional tools and tweaking processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for more effectively. At Aanerud Appraisal Service we know that time is important to everybody, so below are a handful of tips you can do to decrease turn times when you order an appraisal with Aanerud Appraisal Service.

Order your appraisals online.: When you order online, you receive automatic e-mail acknowledgements that the order was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This tip single-handedly will save the most time! No longer do we have to manually enter information from a fax, and you don't have to wonder whether we received the request.
Confirm that the subject property data 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 — remember, however, that professional appraisers are lawfully required to 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. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how unique details add 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 characteristics of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent addition constructed, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's susceptible to flooding. These are things we'll find out on our own anyway, and knowing them as early as possible makes your report arrive faster.
What are you doing to make the homeowner of the home aware of what to expect?: One of the most tedious steps of the appraisal process is setting an inspection date with the occupants of the home. Many homeowners are clearly uneasy with the fact an unknown persons wants to come in their house, look around, and make lots of notes. With the belief that it will make the house appraise for more money, many homeowners think they should make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection. So they delay the appointment until they can get around to cleaning.

Coming directly from you -- the person they are working with on their loan -- some knowledge 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 decrease the appraisal inspection time. Please feel free to point your clients to this website, where we have multiple pages of relevant information for homeowners and others about the appraisal process. They can even call us if they want to become familiar with the staff and our services. Remind them it benefits them to set the appointment as soon as possible!
Why not our website as a resource to follow 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 each important milestone in an assignment is completed, that information can be viewed instantly online. It's never been easier to keep track of the status of your report.