Some Hints for Shorter Turn Times

Appraising is an always changing profession. Each year, it seems, appraisers are asked to provide extra information or have steps added to their appraisal process. They do this additional work to guarantee their client gets the most useful analysis. In order to stay current with the constantly changing requirements, Arrow Appraisals LLC is continuously acquiring new tools and improving processes in order to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. At Arrow Appraisals LLC we know that time is important to everybody, so we've listed some items you can do to speed up the process on any appraisals you order with Arrow Appraisals LLC:

  1. Always order your appraisals online. By ordering online, you automatically get e-mail acknowledgements that the request 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 manually enter information from a fax, and you don't have to wonder whether we received the request.

  2. Confirm that the subject property data 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. Even a list of recent area sales is welcome — however, remember that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may be different from yours.

  3. You're always welcome to contact us if you have any questions about your property or an assignment we're working on for you.

  4. Tell us up front of the property's unique details. It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter home. What takes time is analyzing how unique elements contribute to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. When ordering 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, and it's predisposed to flooding. While these are things that we would find out on our own, knowing them early on will likely make your report arrive quicker.

  5. Set proper expectations with the homeowner. Confirming an appointment with the homeowner can be one of the most tedious tasks in the appraisal process. We understand that a homeowner may be uneasy with a stranger looking in every corner of their home, taking pictures, and making abundant notes. Having the thought that it will increase the value, many homeowners feel they ought to make the place spotless before the appraiser comes by and will choose to not schedule the appointment until it is cleaned.

    Hearing it directly from you -- a trusted party with whom they already have a business relationship -- some info about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't affect their home's value one bit, will help move the process along for everyone. I encourage you to point them to this website, where we have multiple pages of helpful information for homeowners and others describing the appraisal process. Have them call us if they want to familiarize themselves with the staff and our services. And tell them it's to their benefit to set the appointment as soon as possible!


  6. Use our website 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 each important milestone in an assignment is completed, that information can be viewed instantly online. There's no easier or faster way to keep track of the status of your report.