Five Tips for Quicker Turn Times

The appraisal profession is constantly evolving. Commonly, it seems, appraisers are asked to supply additional information or have steps added to their process. They do this additional work to guarantee their client has the best data available. To keep up with the constantly changing requirements, Jaster Appraisals is always researching additional tools and tweaking processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for our customers. At Jaster Appraisals we know that time is important to everybody, so we've listed a few things you can do to speed up the process whenever you order an appraisal with Jaster Appraisals.

Order your appraisals on the Internet.: With online ordering, you automatically get e-mail confirmations that the assignment was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. Online ordering is the single biggest time saver available to both of us! We don't have to manually enter information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether we got the request.
Confirm that the subject property data is accurate and complete.: There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to 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. Even a list of recent area sales is welcome — remember, however, that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may differ from yours.
Be sure to tell us about the property's distinct elements.: 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. Let us know up front when ordering your report 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 prone to flooding. These are things we would find out on our own anyway, and knowing them sooner makes your report arrive earlier.
Set proper expectations with the occupants.: Confirming an inspection time and date with the homeowner can be one of the most tedious parts in the appraisal process. We understand that a homeowner may be apprehensive with a stranger inspecting every corner of their home, taking pictures, and making copious notes. Having the thought that it will increase the appraised value, some homeowners believe they ought to make the place spotless before the inspection. So they delay the appraisal inspection until they can get around to cleaning.

Coming from you -- the person they are working with on their loan -- some knowledge about the appraisal process, who we are, and especially that dusting and polishing won't make it more likely their sale will close, and can shorten the appraisal inspection time. Please feel free to point them to our website, where we have lots of pages of relevant information for homeowners as well as others describing the appraisal process. They can even call us if they want to familiarize themselves with our staff and services. And tell them it benefits them to set the appointment without delay!
Are you using our website as a resource to keep tabs on 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 instantly to you online. It's never been easier to track your report's status.