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Walker & Associates: On The Cutting Edge of Appraisal Technology
At Walker & Associates, technology is the name of the game. We're great at making appraising look easy and we believe a large amount of it is our ability to understand how to use the newest gadgets. From smart phones, to laptops, GPS, you name it. Call us geeks. Call us nerds. Call us what you will, but by all means, call us at (704) 366-0661 for appraisal orders in Mecklenburg County! Why? We're glad you asked.
The appraisal process has rapidly evolved in recent years and these days, is a lot more demanding. We offer the highest quality appraisals, and cutting corners would compromise everything we stand for. Therefore, we've found that the best place to save time is in our our workflow. The appraisers that have regularly embraced new technology have been the ones able to use their time more effectively and bring their customers more accurate reports, better customer service and faster turnaround times.
Let Walker & Associates show you how we innovate ordering appraisals
Way back when, a lot of our orders were delivered via fax and were confirmed with phone calls once we arrived at the office. Often, in this scenario, it might of taken hours to hear back to see if the order could be taken. Things are quite a bit different now and when an order is placed on the site, we receive an e-mail on our phones. We can even log into this site from the field and send back an e-mail confirmation – including the time and date for the inspection if we've been able to talk to the occupant.
When you order from Walker & Associates you can expect us to be concerned about your deadlines. We aim to reduce waiting between communications since the speed at which we get things done directly effects your bottom-line. Through features on this website, we can actually speed up the entire appraisal process.
Walker & Associates is a pioneer in efficient data gathering
One of the most time consuming parts of an appraisal is gathering the data. We spend a great deal of time gathering both specific information about the subject property and general data about the local market and developing trends. Walker & Associates takes advantage of technology to close the gap once again.
Instead of using paper forms and pencils and then re-keying all the information back at the office, don't be surprised to see us with a tablet PC or collecting data using an application developed for our phones that even lets us sketch a floorplan right on site. And instead of using an outdated tape measure, we're seeing that more appraisers are utilizing accurate laser measuring devices that also help measure hard to access areas.
All of this technology 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.
Appraisal Report Delivery
Delivery of appraisals as PDF files through e-mail is definitely the standard these days. Generally our clients are most familiar with receiving PDFs attached to their e-mail. It's a lot better than the old days before e-mail. But, we've even been able to improve on e-mail with how you receive your report with this website.
Ever lost a file that was sent to you? Or have you ever had an attachment blocked because of the file size? We have the technology to overcome those problems, too. Whenever we send an appraisal, the client gets a link sent to their email to retrieve the PDF. So, at that point, it doesn't matter if all the extra photos and maps in the report result in a large file that would normally be blocked by e-mail. And the best thing is that the file will be hosted on this site for 90 days. So if you lose the file, you can log back in here and retrieve it again - saving you time, since we won't even need to run back to the computer.
Finally, we use all digital workfiles...
It would be great if appraisers could never have to think about an assignment again after writing and giving it to the client. But one of the purposes of an appraisal is as a legal document outlining the condition of a property on a specific date. Therefore, appraisers need to 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, Walker & Associates uses all the technology at our disposal technology to improve service. By storing every aspect of the appraisal - notes, sketches, supporting documentation and calculations - along with the appraisal electronically, we can pull up the entire file whenever it's needed and recall exactly what that report was about.
These are just a few examples of how we use technology daily. Investing in the right tools, along with the appraisal know-how that you've grown to expect allows the appraiser to deliver reports quicker, more efficiently and with higher degrees of accuracy.
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