5 Tips for Shorter Turn Times

The appraisal profession is continuously evolving. Often, it seems, appraisers are asked to supply extra information or have steps added to their process. They do this extra work to ensure their client gets the best data possible. To stay current with the continuously changing requirements, Gregory James Company, Inc. is continuously testing additional tools and tweaking processes in order to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. At Gregory James Company, Inc. we know that time is important to everybody, so here are a few things you can do to trim turn times on any appraisals you order with Gregory James Company, Inc..

Order your appraisals electronically.

With online ordering, you automatically get e-mail confirmations 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 nor will you wonder whether we got the order.

Complete and accurate subject property information is essential.

There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to add unnecessary time to an appraisal assignment. Unique identifiers like a tax parcel number, plat map number, or subdivision name is helpful information to include with your assignment. We even welcome lists of recent sales from the area — remember, however, that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may differ from yours.

Feel free to call us at if you have any questions about your property or an appraisal we're working on for you.

Are you letting us know up front any features 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 elements 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 features of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's recently had an addition constructed, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's susceptible to flooding. While these are things that we would find out on our own, knowing them early on will likely make your report arrive without delay.

Let the homeowner know what to expect.

Setting an appointment with the homeowner can be one of the most time consuming parts in the appraisal process. It's understandable for a homeowner to be apprehensive with an outsider looking in every square foot of their home, taking pictures, and making abundant notes. A common belief is that they should make the place spotless before the inspection, thinking that will make the house appraise for more money. So they delay the appraisal inspection until they can get around to cleaning.

Coming directly from you -- the person they have been working with on their loan -- a little 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 appraisal inspection time. I encourage you to point your customers to this website, where we have lots of pages of relevant information for homeowners and others regarding the appraisal process. Have them call us if they want to meet our staff and learn more about our services. Remind them it's to their advantage to set the appointment without delay!

Our website is a great resource for keeping tabs on the status of your report.

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 is available to you online. There's no easier way to keep track of the status of your report.