profile picture

5 Steps to Quicker Turn Times

Appraising is a constantly changing profession. Commonly, it seems, appraisers are asked to offer more information or have steps added to their appraisal process - all to guarantee their client gets the best data that can be achieved. In order to stay current with the constantly changing requirements, Gipson Real Estate Services, LLC is constantly seeking new tools and tweaking processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for faster. Since Gipson Real Estate Services, LLC knows that time is important to everyone, we've listed a handful of things you can do to speed up the process when you order an appraisal from Gipson Real Estate Services, LLC:

  1. Order your appraisals electronically. When you order online, you automatically get e-mail confirmations that the order was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. This tip single-handedly 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.

  2. Are you providing complete and accurate information about the subject property? There's nothing like being one number off on the street address to unnecessarily slow down 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 in the area — though be advised that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may be different from yours.

  3. If you have any questions about your property or an appraisal we're working on for you, feel free to contact us

  4. Are you telling us up front any details of the property that might make it unique? Cookie-cutter houses are relatively easy to appraise. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how details unique to a property contribute to or detract from what otherwise would be a property's market value. Let us know up front when you order your report if there are unique characteristics of the home or surrounding area -- for example, it's had a recent addition constructed, it's subject to zoning restrictions, and it's susceptible to flooding. While these are things that we'll find out on our own, knowing them sooner will likely make your report arrive sooner.

  5. Be sure the occupants know the plan. Confirming an appointment with the homeowner can be one of the most inefficient parts in the appraisal process. We understand that a homeowner may be apprehensive with an unknown person inspecting every square foot of their home, taking photos, and making copious notes. A common belief is that they ought to make the place spotless before the appraisal inspection, with the belief that will increase the value and will reschedule the appointment until they can get around to cleaning.

    Hearing it directly from you -- a trusted party with whom they are already working -- a little info 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. Please feel free to point your customers to our website, where we have several pages of helpful information for homeowners and others describing the appraisal process. Have them call us if they want to familiarize themselves with our staff and services. And tell them it's to their advantage to set the appointment quickly!


  6. Our website is a great resource for tracking your report's status. 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 instantly to you online. There's no easier way to keep track of the status of your report.