Why hire a technically advanced appraiser?

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ANSWER: It saves YOU time and money

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I know you know them. The guys with pounds of silicon hanging from their belts. Every new gadget that has hit the market in the past 10 years around their waist. Call them geeks. Call them nerds. Call them what you will, but by all means, give them your appraisal business. Why? I'm glad you asked.

We appraisers are, by far, the most technical agents in the real estate world. By necessity, we have been drawn into the digital world at a pace not seen by our colleagues. The appraisal process is one that lends itself to technology. And technology has paid significant dividends to appraisers who have invested in it. These dividends are shared with our 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 us to reduce the amount of work our 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 (New Mexico Appraisal Group) has a better method. Using updated technologies and tools like this web site - complete with the ability to order appraisals on-line - allows you to shave valuable time off the process of ordering and tracking appraisals. Technologies are advancing this concept even further, giving you 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. We spend a lot of 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 as a key role to help us. In the past, the home inspection process has been very time consuming and difficult. To top it off, we then had to come back to the office and transcribe our 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 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 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.

On the other side of the data gathering coin is the general data. The Internet has revolutionized the ability for us to get quality data in a fraction of the time that it once took. Where we would once spend hours finding the right location maps and then rubbing on decals, we now can locate maps with a few mouse clicks, complete with location markers. And flood maps? Likewise just a few clicks away using services like FloodSource. Standardized addressing, accurate postal coding, census tract information, are all at our 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 are we going to leverage our investment in technology to improve the delivery process? We 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, we 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, you can simply log into our companies email system and retrieve all the appraisals at one time. Without wasting paper and printing the appraisal, it can be routed to the appropriate loan officer or title company in the blink of an electron.

We are not stoping there.  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? Have we included a statement of limiting conditions? These items can be checked automatically and we are notified of the deficiency without you ever getting involved. Now, when the final report is received, you 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.


These are just a few examples of how New Mexico Appraisal Groups technologically advanced appraisers are improving the business workflows for you, our customers. Investing in the right software, services, gadgets and gizmos allows us to deliver reports quicker, more efficiently and with higher degrees of accuracy.

All of which helps keep our costs down,

and save YOU time and money.