5 Suggestions for Shorter Turn Times

The appraisal profession is always evolving. Regularly, it seems, appraisers are asked to supply extra information or have steps added to their research. All of this is to ensure their client receives the best information possible. To keep up with the constantly changing requirements, Miller Appraisal Services, LLC is continuously seeking new tools and tweaking processes in order to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. At Miller Appraisal Services, LLC we know that time is important to everybody, so below are a few things you can do to hasten the process each time you order an appraisal with Miller Appraisal Services, LLC:

Are you ordering appraisals online? By ordering online, you get automatic e-mail notifications 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 re-key information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether we got the request.
Are you providing complete and accurate information about the subject property? Being just one number off on the street address can really add unnecessary time to 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. We even welcome lists of recent sales from the area — however, remember that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may be different from yours.


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

Be sure to tell us about the property's unique details. Cookie-cutter houses are relatively easy to appraise. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how unique elements contribute to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. Let us know up front when ordering your report if there are unique details of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent addition put on, it's subject to zoning restrictions, and it's predisposed to flooding. While these are things that we will find out on our own, knowing them as soon as possible will likely make your report arrive quicker.
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. It's understandable for a homeowner to be uneasy with an unknown person looking in every corner of their home, taking pictures, and making numerous notes. A common belief is that they have to make the place spotless before the appraiser comes by, with the notion that will increase the appraised value . So they reschedule the inspection until they have cleaned.

Hearing from you -- a trusted party with whom they are already working -- a little knowledge 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. I encourage you to point your clients to this website, where we have lots of pages of helpful information for homeowners and others regarding the appraisal process. They can even call us if they want to meet our staff and learn more about our services. And tell them it benefits them to set the appointment soon!
Why not use our website as a resource to verify the status of your report? Phone and fax tag are a thing of the past with 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. It's never been easier to track the status of your report.