If you operate as an independent real estate appraiser, you know that time is money. Are you looking for new ways to improve your efficiency? As part of our monthly survey series, we asked our community of real estate appraisers, “What’s the BEST way to save time in your workweek?” The number one recommendation, by far, was to use technology to your advantage. Read the full survey results below to learn the best time-saving tips for appraisers.
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What’s the BEST way to save time in your workweek?
Use technology to your advantage (45%)
“Streamlining processes with technology is a big time saver!”
“Use sketch app, laser device for measuring.”
“Discuss new technologies within your network! See what will work for you.”
“Technology allows some aspects of developing appraisal reports to go much faster. It is easier to streamline and automate certain parts of my reports thanks to the technology available.”
“There is so much technology that can assist in doing much of the repetitive parts of an appraisal that if you aren’t using it you are wasting time.”
“I think for us old timers we have a hard time trying things new and there are many new things out there that not only improve our reports but help us efficiently run our daily operations. It’s hard sometimes keeping up with all the changes, but we need to grasp it as our industry is ever evolving.”
“The best way to save time and effort in a workweek is to use the latest and greatest new technology to save both time and effort, particularly any use of Artificial Intelligence, which may be available for greater benefit now and into the future.”
“Using technology like Spark is a time-saving application for completing appraisal reports. Alamode has made their programs so advanced that it is possible to deliver a report the same day as the inspection with few callbacks for revisions or corrections.”
Want more tech tips? Check out our post, “8 Appraisal Software Tools to Streamline Your Process.”
Reduce revision requests by writing more detailed reports (23%)
“Use previous revision requests to add more details to the requested areas for more clarity.”
“Knowing what each lender requests is good to have in the back of your mind. I try to be detail oriented in each report, but you always have [those] one or two lenders that want even more.”
“An appraiser can accumulate a sizeable amount of information about properties nowadays via the internet, and that from an ever increasing number of sources. With enough experience in software usage, he or she can make very refined decisions regarding the pertinence and usage of this information.”
“As a reviewer, one of the biggest reasons I see for kick-backs is lack of support for comments or adjustments. All ya gotta do is spend maybe another 30 seconds–1 minute max with a few comments letting us (and the Underwriter) know a bit more that just a canned comment (if that). Like site comments—tell us about it—new landscaping? mature landscaping? (none?), owner improvements (or natural), a short comment about topo—does it slope in a direction or rolling terrain or flat as a pancake? 30 seconds will say a lot. And yes, 30 seconds here and 30 there starts to add up…maybe an extra 5+ minutes for the whole report. But is that 5+ minutes worth not having to deal with it at all as a comeback?”
Take comp photos at the same time as the inspection (14%)
“There were several applicable answers, but I always found getting your comp pictures at the time of the inspection made sense, especially if you had to travel a distance.”
Reserve one office-only day with no appointments (8%)
“I try to pick a time to answer outside questions or to verify my comps. That way the remainder of my day is focused on just my report that I’m working on. No interruptions.”
“I would rather do 2 on a Monday, 1 on Tues, none Wed, 2 on Thurs and 1 on Friday. No matter what you try, it never can be a pattern and usually end up typing all weekend :)”
Hire an assistant or trainee (5%)
“Hire a trainee so you can do twice the amount of work in the same time.”
“I have always had an office assistant since I started my appraisal business in 1986. She checks all my appraisals for typos, etc., keeps track of my appointments on google calendar, tracks payments of billings, listens to my complaints, and much more!”
“Delegation is the key. Only do the inspections, details of the approaches [and] final reconciliation. Technology is the key component.”
Other time-saving tips for appraisers (5%)
A few respondents selected “Other” and wrote in their own advice. Their responses included the following:
“All of the above.”
“Be organized.”
“Routing due to a large rural coverage area.”
“Remove the AMC from the process.”
“Be organized with appointments, driving to appointments so you do not get a ticket, once at appointment be courteous and do the inspection in an organized way, writing report up in an organized way. Being organized saves time, revision requests, and will make the day go by in a productive way.”
Save time on your CE with flexible learning options from McKissock
Life gets busy. McKissock’s Unlimited CE Membership empowers you with flexible, convenient learning options to complete your continuing education when and how you like—no matter your schedule. Get unlimited access to the largest library of appraisal course materials in the nation, including both mandatory courses that meet CE requirements and elective courses for your own professional development.
What’s your best advice for saving time in the workweek? Join the conversation! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Or, sign up for our newsletter to get a new survey question in your inbox each month.
