Some Hints for Shorter Turn Times

The appraisal profession is evolving continuously. Each year, it seems, appraisers are asked to supply extra information or have steps added to their process. They do this extra work to guarantee the end user is presented with the best information available. To keep up with the always changing requirements, Frontier Appraisal Services is always seeking additional tools and tweaking processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. Since Frontier Appraisal Services knows that time is important to everyone, below are some tips you can do to hasten the process on any appraisals ordered from Frontier Appraisal Services.

Order your appraisals electronically.: When you order online, you automatically get e-mail notifications that the request was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This tip alone will save the most time! We don't have to manually enter information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether we received the request.
Make sure that the subject property information is accurate and complete.: There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to unnecessarily slow down 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 be different from yours.
Are you telling us up front any details of the property that might make it distinct?: Cookie-cutter houses are relatively easy to appraise. What takes time is analyzing how details 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 characteristics of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's recently had an addition constructed, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's predisposed to flooding. These are things we would find out on our own anyway, and knowing them as soon as possible is likely to make your report arrive faster.
Does the homeowner know what to expect?: One of the most tedious tasks of the appraisal process is confirming an inspection date with the current homeowner. We understand that a homeowner may be apprehensive with an unknown person looking in every square foot of their home, taking photos, and making copious notes. One common belief is that they have to make the place spotless before the inspection, with the idea that will make the house appraise for more money. So they delay the inspection until they can get around to cleaning.

Hearing from you -- the person 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 affect their home's value one little bit, and can go a long way toward trimming 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 clients. Advise them to call us if they want to familiarize themselves with our staff and services. Remind them it benefits them to set the appointment without delay!
Are you using our website as a resource to verify your report's status?: No more phone and fax tag. Up-to-the-minute status updates are available online, anytime, 24/7. As we complete each important milestone in an assignment, that information can be viewed instantly online. There's no easier way to keep track of the status of your report.