A Few Hints for Swifter Turn Times

The appraisal profession is evolving constantly. Commonly, it seems, appraisers are asked to supply extra information or have steps added to their appraisal process. All of this is to ensure their client has the best information to be had. In order to stay current with the continuously changing requirements, Chilmark Appraisal is always acquiring new tools and tweaking processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for our customers. At Chilmark Appraisal we know that time is important to everybody, so below are some tips you can do to hasten the process when you order an appraisal with Chilmark Appraisal.

Are you ordering appraisals online?: When you order online, you get 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 re-key information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether the order was received.
Are you providing complete and accurate data about the subject property?: There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to 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 might differ from yours.
Are you letting us know 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 characteristics contribute 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 had a recent addition put on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's predisposed to flooding. These are things we will find out on our own anyway, and knowing them early on makes your report arrive more quickly.
Are you making the occupants of the home aware of what to expect?: One of the most time consuming steps of the appraisal process is setting an appointment with the current homeowner. It's understandable for a homeowner to be uncomfortable with an unknown person inspecting every square foot of their home, taking pictures, and making lots of notes. One common belief is that they have to make the place spotless before the appraiser comes by, believing that will make the house appraise higher. So they delay the inspection until it is cleaned.

Hearing from you -- the person they've been working with on their loan -- some information about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't increase their home's value one little bit, and can decrease the time it takes to inspect a home. Our website has numerous pages of useful information about the appraisal process for homeowners. I encourage you to share it with your customers. Tell them to call us if they want to familiarize themselves with our staff and services. Remind them it benefits them to set the appointment quickly!
Easily verify the status of your report on our website.: Phone and fax tag are a thing of the past with 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 keep track of the status of your report.