Why hire a technically advanced appraiser?

Here's at Tejas Appraisal Company, we're the guys with pounds of silicon hanging from around our belts. Every new gadget that has hit the market in the past 10 years has done time around our waists. Call us geeks. Call us nerds. Call us what you will, but by all means, give us your appraisal business. Why? We're glad you asked.

Appraisers are, by far, the most technical agents in the real estate world. The appraisal process is one that lends itself to technology. Tejas Appraisal Company continually invests in our technology, and it has paid significant dividends: our customers benefit as a result in the form of shorter turnaround times and a much better final valuation report.


Ordering
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 Tejas Appraisal Company to reduce the amount of work their clients need to order, track and receive appraisals. Using tools like our web site - complete with the ability to order appraisals online - allows our 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.

Data Gathering
The appraisal process is nothing if not a data intensive process. Tejas Appraisal Company spends 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.

Today's appraiser at Tejas has several tools that can aid in gathering data in the field. Starting with tools like a la mode's Pocket TOTAL, we are eliminating the duplicate data entry problems of the past. Tools are making the measurements more accurate. And, advanced software allows the appraiser to accurately sketch the house on location instead of at the office. All of this means that our chief appraiser Dave Drapela can get the report done and delivered to you 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 of Tejas Appraisal Company 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.

Report Delivery
Our appraisers 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, our appraisers can deliver a complete, multi-page report, complete with digital photos and maps, through simple email. Instead of waiting for the daily mail, or paying for expensive courier services, our customers can simply log into their company email system and retrieve all the appraisals at one time. Without the wasting of time and and paper, appraisals can be routed to the appropriate loan officer or title company in the blink of an electron.

Digital Workfile
One of the purposes of an appraisal is as a legal document outlining the condition of the property at the time of sale. So Tejas Appraisal Company keeps our appraisal reports for five years, allowing us to recall any appraisal at any time to either defend the valuation or to be used in other legal proceedings. We store every aspect of your appraisal - notes, sketches, supporting documentation and calculations - along with the appraisal, and we are able to retrieve that report at any time within the five year storage window. And this data is not stored in boxes: we use technology to electronically include all supporting documents as part of the appraisal file. These files are stored securely where the appraiser can find them in a fraction of the time required in the past. Tejas Appraisal Company gives our clients immediate, virtual access to any appraisal they've ordered within the past five years.

These are just a few examples of how technologically-advanced Tejas Appraisal Company is improving the appraisal process for 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 your costs down, saving you time and money.