Appraisers are, by far, the most technical
agents in the real estate world. By necessity, they have
been drawn into the digital world at a pace not seen by
their colleagues. The appraisal process is one that
lends itself to technology. And technology has paid
significant dividends to those appraisers who have
invested in it. These dividends are shared with the
appraiser's customers, in the form of shorter
turn-around times and a much better final valuation
report.
Ordering Let's start at the beginning.
Millions of real estate transactions are processed each
year in the United States. Almost all of them require
some sort of appraisal. Technology has allowed savvy
appraisers to reduce the amount of work their client's
need to order, track and receive appraisals. In the
past, the primary mode of interaction between an
appraiser and his clients was the telephone and fax
machine. Clients would send requests via fax, and then
often follow it up with a phone call to make sure it was
received. Tracking the progress of the appraisal meant
more phone calls - a disruption for both the client and
the appraiser.
But the modern, technologically
advanced appraiser has a better method. Using tools like
this web site - complete with the ability to order
appraisals on-line - allows clients to shave valuable
time off the process of ordering and tracking
appraisals. Technologies like a la mode's net.X network
are advancing this concept even further, giving its
users the ability to not only order appraisals, but
track their progress all the way until delivery. No more
annoying games of phone tag!
Data
Gathering The appraisal process is nothing if not 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. In the past, the home
inspection process has been the time consuming and
difficult. To top it off, appraisers then had to come
back to the office and transcribe their field notes into
the appraisal file itself. No longer.
Today's
digital appraiser has several tools that can aid in
gathering data in the field. Starting with tools like a
la mode's Pocket TOTAL, appraisers are eliminating the
duplicate data entry problems of the past. Tools like
the Leica Disto Laser meter are making the measurements
more accurate. And software like Apex's PocketApex
allows the appraiser to sketch the house on the fly. All
of this means that the appraiser can get the report done
and delivered to the client in a fraction of the time it
once took.
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 in a fraction of the time it once took. Where once
an appraiser would spend hours finding the right
location maps and then rubbing on decals, the modern
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 money saver for busy
appraisal clients.
Report delivery The report
is done. Now how is the digital appraiser going to
leverage his investment in technology to improve the
delivery process? Modern appraisers have forsaken the
old print-and-snail mail route for a much more efficient
electronic delivery system. Utilizing Adobe's Portable
Document Format (PDF) files, an appraiser can deliver a
complete, multi-page report, complete with digital
photos and maps, through simple e-mail. Now, instead of
waiting for the daily mail, or paying for expensive
courier services, appraisal customers can simply log
into their company email system and retrieve all the
appraisals at one time. Without wasting and paper
printing the appraisal, it can be routed to the
appropriate loan officer or title company in the blink
of an electron.
More advanced organizations are
leveraging a la mode's net.X network to not only order
appraisals, but also to manage the delivery process.
Before an appraisal is ever delivered, this cutting edge
technology reviews the report and ensures that it meets
certain guidelines. Have enough comparables been used?
Has the appraiser included a statement of limiting
conditions? These items can be checked automatically and
the appraiser notified of the deficiency without the
client ever getting involved. Now, when the final report
is received, the client can be sure the appraisal meets
all the basic criteria. Once again, costly follow up and
revisions are avoided, lowering everybody's cost of
doing business.
Digital Workfile It would be
wonderful if appraisers could complete a report, deliver
it and never worry about seeing that document again. But
one of the purposes of an appraisal is as a legal
document outlining the condition of the property at the
time of sale. So 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.
Here again, the digital
appraiser leverages his investment in technology to
improve service. By storing 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 like a la mode's Digital
Workfile to electronically include all supporting
documents as part of the appraisal file. These files are
stored securely on searchable media, such as a la mode's
Vault, 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 save his clients
time and money.
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