Question: Why use a technically advanced appraiser?

Answer: Because that decision will save you money...

...and time is money.

Ordering On-Line immediately notifies me that the order has been placed.

Technology allows me to reduce the amount of work my clients' needs to order, track and receive appraisals. While in the past, the modes of interaction between an appraiser and his clients were the telephone and fax machine, the present and future interactions reside in the digital world.  The advanced appraiser, using modern technology, has a more efficient routine.  When you use the tools like the ones on this web site - complete with the ability to order appraisals on-line - you reduce valuable time off of the process of ordering and tracking appraisals. Technologies like a la mode's XSite Network advance this concept even further, giving its users the ability not only to order appraisals, but also to track their progress all the way until delivery. No more annoying games of phone tag!

My Data Gathering and Reporting tools include the best available technology.

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. Today's digital appraiser has several tools that can aid in gathering data in the field. I use the Leica Disto Laser meter which makes the measurement process far more accurate. Also software, like the Apex sketch program which I use, allows the appraiser to present a very high-quality and descriptive Building Sketch. 

The Internet has revolutionized my ability of appraisers to get quality data in a fraction of the time it once took.  And location maps? Where once an appraiser would spend hours finding the right location maps and then rubbing on decals, I provise a location map with digial markers placed accurately on a sattellite photo.  Standardized addressing, accurate postal coding, census tract information, are also at my fingertips. This ensures that the final report is as complete and accurate as possible, requiring fewer call-backs and revisions. A real money!

Report delivery - You need the report fast!

Technology provides for a more efficient electronic delivery system. Utilizing Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) files, I deliver multi-page reports, complete with digital photos and maps, through simple e-mail. No need to wait for the daily mail, or expensive courier services, my appraisal customers simply log into their email and retrieve appraisals.   Without wasting any paper printing, the appraisal report can be routed to the appropriate loan officer or title company in the blink of an electron.

Today, many 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

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.  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, I am able to retrieve that report (within the five years) at any time and recall just what that report was about. This data is not stored in boxes deep in a rented warehouse. I use a la mode's Digital Workfile technology to electronically include all supporting documents as part of the appraisal file. These files are stored securely on searchable media where I can find them in a fraction of the time required in the past. ordered within the past 5 years.

These are just a few examples of how technologically is improving the business workflows in the offices of technologically advanced appraisers. I have invested in the right software, services, gadgets and gizmos which allow me to deliver reports quicker, more efficiently and with higher degrees of accuracy, All of which saves my clients time and money.