Five Steps to Quicker Turn Times

The appraisal profession is evolving continuously. Often, it seems, appraisers are asked to offer more information or have steps added to their appraisal process. They do this additional work to ensure their client gets the best analysis. To stay current with the always changing requirements, William Bradford & Associates is always acquiring additional tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for in less time. At William Bradford & Associates we know that time is important to everybody, so we've listed a few tips you can do to lower turn times whenever you order an appraisal with William Bradford & Associates:

  1. Are you ordering appraisals online? With online ordering, you automatically receive e-mail confirmations that the request was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This tip alone will save the most time! No longer do we have to retype information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether we received the request.

  2. Complete and accurate subject property data is crucial. There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to unnecessarily interrupt an appraisal assignment. Unique identifiers like a tax parcel number, plat map number, or subdivision name are great data to pass along with your assignment. We even welcome lists of recent sales from the area — however, remember that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours might differ from yours.

    3. If you have any questions about your property or an assignment we're working on for you, don't hesitate to call us at 225-937-4846

  3. Are you letting us know up front any elements of the property that might make it unique? It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter home. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how differing features 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 features 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. These are things we'll find out on our own anyway, and knowing them early on makes your report arrive sooner.

  4. Be sure the occupants know the plan. Setting an appointment with the homeowner can be one of the most time consuming steps in the appraisal process. Many current homeowners are justifiably uneasy with the thought that an outsider wants to come in their home, look around, and take abundant notes. Some think they need to make the place spotless before the appraiser comes by, believing that will increase the value . So they reschedule the appraisal inspection until it is cleaned.

    Hearing it directly from you -- a trusted party with whom they are already working -- a little bit about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't make a significant difference in their home's value, will help move the process along for everyone. Our website has lots of pages of useful information about the appraisal process for homeowners. I encourage you to share it with your clients. Have them call us if they want to become familiar with the staff and our services. And tell them it's in their interest to set the appointment soon!

  5. Our website is a great resource for following the status of your report. No more phone and fax tag. Up-to-the-minute status updates are available online, anytime, 24/7. As each important milestone in an assignment is completed, that information is available to you online. There's no faster or easier way to track your report's status.