5 Hints for Swifter Turn Times

The appraisal profession is continuously evolving. Every year, it seems, appraisers are asked to provide more information or have steps added to their data gathering - all to guarantee their client receives the most useful analysis possible. To stay current with the constantly changing requirements, William Lento is continuously seeking new tools and improving processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for you. At William Lento we know that time is important to everybody, so here are some items you can do to speed up the process on any appraisals you order with William Lento:

Always order your appraisals online. When you order online, you get automatic e-mail notifications that the request was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. It's the single biggest time saver available to both of us! We don't have to re-key information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether the order was received.
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. Even a list of recent area sales is welcome — however, remember that professional appraisers are lawfully required to do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours might differ from yours.


	If you have any questions about your property or an assignment we're working on for you, you're always welcome to contact us

Tell us up front of the property's unique elements. It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter house. What takes time is analyzing how differing features 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 elements 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 susceptible to flooding. These are things we'll find out on our own anyway, and knowing them as early as possible makes your report arrive more quickly.
Are you making the homeowner of the home aware of what to expect? One of the most tedious parts of the appraisal process is confirming an inspection date with the occupants of the home. Some current homeowners are justifiably uncomfortable with the notion that an outsider wants to come in their home, look around, and take copious notes. Having the thought that it will increase the value, a few homeowners think they have to make the place spotless before the inspection and will choose to not schedule the appraisal inspection until they have cleaned.

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 increase their home's value one bit, will help move the process along for everyone. Our website has numerous pages of relevant information about the appraisal process for homeowners. I encourage you to share it with your customers. Have them 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!
Easily track the status of your report on our website. Phone and fax tag are a thing of the past with up-to-the-minute status updates available online, anytime, 24/7. As we complete each important milestone in an assignment, that information can be viewed instantly online. It's never been faster to keep track of the status of your report.