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Why hire a technically advanced appraiser
It's simple: Reece Appraisal Company can deliver the appraisal report, with digital signatures, photos, sketches and the rest of the completed appraisal package within 15 minutes of the time we complete the report. Amazing since only a few years ago we were getting photos developed, taking sometimes 3 or 4 days, pasting them into the report and finally, after a week or more sending them through the mail taking 3 days to a week. Then if there was some change needed, phone calls, doing the work change and then sending the package again in snail mail. Not so today. We deliver immediately upon finishing our work, you have your report and if a change is needed, a phone call, changes made and within another 15 minutes you have your report back on your desktop. What a great saving of time for those rush closings. There are several ways we can send your report, but the one outstanding way that everyone can get their reports on their computers is with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, courtesy of www.adobe.com.
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.
At Reece Appraisal Company we use such technology as GPS (Global Positioning System). With this piece of equipment we can place our map locations within 3 meters of the actual location, no more guessing. Digital Cameras so we when we are back at the office we can download all of the photographs and enhance them with such tools as Adobe Photo Deluxe, Erfaview, Shutterfly, Microsoft Photo Editor and several other tools. We currently use two Compaq Hand Held Computers, model 3975, loaded with PocketTotal, a product of AlaMode. While at the subject site we enter pertinent data, make a sketch of the suject property and enter other data that allows us to describe the amenities while we are actually looking at the property. Once back at the office we download the information from the hand held to our main computer. We then complete our work on a Windows XP Professional computer, we spell check and error check then we USPAP check, before signing with a digital signature. We can then send the report to anyone on earth if they have an internet connection and the wonderful piece of free software, called Adobe Reader, from http://www.adobe.com . Just click on the blue web site shown here, or on the yellow tab in the left column, to take you to the Adobe web site and where you can download the free reader. We have the program, in our office,to convert the files to PDF (Portable Document Format, called Adobe Acrobat. At this point we send the complete report to our Client, whether an Appraisal Management Company, An individual Bank or other lenders or Individuals. They then open it with the Adobe Reader, and print out the report, all within minutes of the appraiser completing his or her job.
 We accept orders placed through appraisal port. Just go to http://www.appraisalport.com/ where you can place orders with our firm and get the report back on AI ready Software.
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. E-mail us at reecesra@sonet.net about questions you may have that was not answered on this web site.
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, we are using two of these at Reece Appraisal Company 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 allow 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. We also gather GPS data at all appraisal sites and comparable sales sites. This assures us that we are locating the data on the maps with the most precision possible.
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.
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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