A Few Suggestions for Swifter Turn Times

Appraising is a constantly changing profession. Each year, it seems, appraisers are asked to present extra information or have steps added to their data gathering. They do this additional work to ensure the end user receives the best information available. In order to keep up with the continuously changing requirements, Di Cicco & Associates is continuously testing new tools and tweaking processes to increase efficiency so we can do more work for faster. At Di Cicco & Associates we know that time is important to everybody, so we've listed a couple of things you can do to lessen turn times on any appraisals ordered from Di Cicco & Associates.

Are you ordering appraisals online?: With online ordering, you automatically receive e-mail acknowledgements that the request was received, and fast, secure .PDF format report delivery. It's the single biggest time saver available to both of us! No longer do we have to re-key information from a fax, and nor will you wonder whether we received the request.
Complete and accurate subject property data is crucial.: 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 — though be advised that professional appraisers must always do their own due diligence on comparable sales, and ours may be different from yours.
Be sure to let us know about the property's unique features.: It's relatively easy to appraise a cookie-cutter house. Most of an appraiser's time is spent analyzing how differing characteristics add 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 recently had an addition constructed, it's subject to zoning restrictions, it's susceptible to flooding. These are things we'd find out on our own anyway, and knowing them early on is likely to make your report arrive faster.
Set proper expectations with the occupants.: One of the most time consuming parts of the appraisal process is setting an appointment with the homeowner. It's understandable for a homeowner to be uneasy with an outsider looking in every square foot of their home, taking pictures, and making lots of notes. Under the impression that it will make the house appraise higher, many homeowners feel they should make the place spotless before the inspection. So they delay the appraisal inspection until the house is cleaned.

Hearing from you -- the person they are working with on their loan -- some info 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 this website, where we have lots of pages of relevant information for homeowners and others regarding the appraisal process. Have them call us if they want to meet our staff and learn more about our services. Remind them it's to their benefit to set the appointment quickly!
Our website is a great resource for keeping 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 we complete each important milestone in an assignment, that information is available instantly to you online. There's no faster or easier way to keep track of your report's status.