Why are our technology resources so important to our clients? Two simple answers:  Time and Money!

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.

The Order
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.

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 via telephone and fax. 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.

The Internet has revolutionized the ability of appraisers to get quality data in a fraction of the time it once took.  Coupled with state-of-art turn-key appraisal software programs such as a la mode, we are now just a few clicks away from flood maps, census tract information, neighborhood demographics and much more. 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. To leverage our investment in technology and improve the delivery process from the print-and-snail mail route for a much more efficient electronic delivery system, we take advantage of Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF). Through the PDF process, we can now deliver a complete, multi-page report, with digital photos and maps, through simple e-mail. 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.

As a technologically advanced firm, our software actually 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 we will be 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.

The End Result
These are just a few examples of how we are improving the business workflows of our customers. Investing in the right software, services and resources allows us to deliver reports quicker, more efficiently and with higher degrees of accuracy. All of which helps keep our costs down, and saves our clients time and money.