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Why hire a technically advanced appraiser?
We all know them. The guys who had the first computers, cell phones, digital cameras, scanners. They've checked out every new gadget that's hit the market in the past 15 years. Call them techno-gonks or nerds, but by all means, give them your appraisal business. Here's why:
Appraisers are, by far, the most technical participants in the real estate world. By necessity, they have been drawn into the digital world at a rapid pace because the appraisal process lends itself to technology. And technology pays significant dividends to those appraisers who invest in it. These dividends are shared with the appraiser's customers, in the form of shorter turn-around times, more thorough analysis, and a better final valuation report. Here are some of the ways the digital appraiser is saving himself and his client time and energy:
Online Ordering
Millions of real estate transactions are processed each year in the United States, and most of them require some sort of appraisal. Technology allows smart appraisers to reduce the amount of time their clients need to order, track and receive appraisals. For the past 10 years, the primary mode of interaction between an appraiser and his clients has been the telephone and fax machine. Clients send requests via fax, and then follow up with phone calls. But there's a better way. Using tools like this web site--complete with the ability to order and track appraisals online--clients can shave significant time off the ordering and tracking process. No more phone tag and waiting for a response. The information clients need is instantly available to them via the Internet.
Digital Data Gathering
The appraisal process is a data intensive process; appraisers spend a lot of their time gathering both specific information about the subject property and general data about the local market and developing trends. Once again, technology has stepped in to help appraisers. The digital appraiser has several tools that can expedite gathering data in the field. Tools like a la mode's Pocket TOTAL, appraisers are eliminating the duplicate data entry problems of the past, and software like Apex's PocketApex allow the appraiser to electronically sketch a home on-site. Because of this, the appraiser can complete the report and deliver it to the client faster.
On the other side of the data gathering coin is the general data. The Internet has revolutionized the ability of appraisers to get quality data quickly. Where once an appraiser would spend time finding the right location maps and then rubbing on decals, the digital appraiser gets his maps with a few mouse clicks, complete with location markers. And flood maps? Likewise just a few clicks away using services like a la mode's FloodSource. Standardized addressing, accurate postal coding, census tract information, are all at their fingertips. This ensures that the final report is as complete and accurate as possible, requiring fewer call-backs and revisions. A real time and money saver for busy appraisal clients.
Instantaneous Report Delivery
The report is done. Modern appraisers have forsaken the old print-and-mail route for a much more efficient electronic delivery system. Using Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) files, an appraiser can deliver a complete, multi-page report, (including photos, maps and text) by e-mail. Now, instead of waiting for the daily mail, or paying for expensive courier services, an appraiser's client can simply log into their company email system and download the appraisal report via a secure server.
Digital Workfiles
It would be wonderful if appraisers could complete a report, deliver it and never worry about seeing that document again. But one element of an appraisal is to describe the condition of a property at the time of sale or transfer. Accordingly, appraisers must keep their reports for 5 years, allowing them to recall any appraisal at any time to either defend the valuation or to be used in other legal proceedings. By storing almost every aspect of the appraisal--notes, sketches, supporting documentation and calculations--along with the appraisal, the professional is able to retrieve that report at any time within the five years and recall just what that report was about. And this data is not stored in boxes stacked 5 deep in some rented warehouse. Instead, the digital appraiser uses technology to electronically include all supporting documents as part of the appraisal file. These files are stored securely on searchable media, where the appraiser can find them in a fraction of the time required in the past. This helps appraisal clients by giving them immediate, virtual access to any appraisal they've ordered within the past 5 years.
These are just a few examples of how technologically advanced appraisers are improving the business workflows of their customers. Investing in the right software, services, gadgets and gizmos allows the appraiser to deliver reports quicker, more efficiently and with higher degrees of accuracy. All of which helps keep the appraiser's costs down, and saves his clients time and money.
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