Some Steps to Faster Turn Times

Appraising is a constantly changing profession. Regularly, it seems, appraisers are asked to provide additional information or have steps added to their research. All of this is to ensure their client is presented with the most useful analysis possible. In order to keep up with the continuously changing requirements, Brett Haas Appraisal Service is continuously testing new tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for in less time. Since Brett Haas Appraisal Service knows that time is important to everyone, below are some things you can do to reduce turn times when you order an appraisal with Brett Haas Appraisal Service:

  1. Are you ordering appraisals online? When you order online, you receive automatic e-mail confirmations 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 you don't have to wonder whether the order was received.

  2. Complete and accurate subject property data is essential. Being just one number off on the street address can really unnecessarily interrupt an appraisal assignment. Unique identifiers like a tax parcel number, plat map number, or subdivision name is great information to include with your request. We even welcome lists of recent sales from the area — though be advised that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may differ from yours.

    3. If you have any questions about your property or an assignment we're working on for you, you're always welcome to call us at 732-801-1192

  3. Are you telling us up front any details of the property that might make it unique? It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter house. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how unique characteristics add 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 details of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent addition built on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, and it's predisposed to flooding. While these are things that we'll find out on our own, knowing them as soon as possible is likely to make your report arrive more quickly.

  4. Let the homeowner know what to expect. One of the most inefficient steps of the appraisal process is setting an appointment with the homeowner. It's understandable for a homeowner to be uneasy with a stranger looking in every square foot of their home, taking pictures, and making numerous notes. Having the thought that it will increase the value, a few homeowners feel they ought to make the place spotless before the inspection . So they put off the appraisal inspection 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. Our website has multiple pages of useful information about the appraisal process for homeowners. Please feel free to share it with your clients. Tell them to call us if they want to become familiar with our staff and services. And tell them it benefits them to set the appointment quickly!

  5. Easily track 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 we complete each important milestone in an assignment, that information can be viewed instantly online. It's never been easier to track your report's status.