RL Carmichael & Assoc, Inc.: Technically Advantaged AppraisersHere at RL Carmichael & Assoc, Inc., we always try to be on the forefront of appraisal technology. 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 757-465-5600 for appraisal orders in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk or Virginia Beach VAy! Why? We're glad you asked.
If you asked a typical group of appraisers, most would agree that appraising is more complicated than it used to be. We offer the highest quality appraisals, and cutting corners has never been an option for us. Therefore, we've found that the best place to save time is by adjusting our workflow. Our continuous efforts to be the best have convinced us that keeping up with new technology allows us to provide more credible reports, quicker turnaround times and excellent customer service.
Innovating the Ordering Experience
In the past, a great deal of orders came in via fax and were confirmed with phone calls once we got back into the office. It might be hours before a client even knew if we could do the order. Things are quite a bit different now and when an order is placed on the site, we receive a text message on our phones. We often 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.
RL Carmichael & Assoc, Inc. understands that real estate is all about timeliness. We use our resources 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 reduce the amount of time needed for your appraisal.
RL Carmichael & Assoc, Inc. is a pioneer in efficient data gatheringOne of the most time consuming parts of an appraisal is gathering the data. We spend quite a bit of time obtaining the facts on the subject property and the local market data and trends. Once again, technology has stepped in to help RL Carmichael & Assoc, Inc..
We've learned that taking notes regularly, using pencil and paper, generally takes longer since we we have to enter everything back in at the office. Don't be surprised to see us with a tablet PC or collecting data using an app written for our phones that even lets us sketch a floorplan right on site. And instead of using an old tape measure, a larger percentage appraisers are starting to use accurate laser measuring devices that also help measure hard to access areas.
We combine all of these different technologies to ensure that the final report is comprehensive and without error. This benefits both you and us by requiring less time for call-backs and revisions. A real money saver for busy appraisal clients.
Appraisal Report DeliveryDelivery of appraisals as PDF files through e-mail is definitely the standard these days. Most of our clients prefer e-mail because we're all accustomed to getting attachments like PDFs in our mail. It's much more efficient than the old days before e-mail. But, we've even been able to innovate how you receive your report with this website.
Ever lost a file that was sent to you? Or have you ever had problems sending or receiving an e-mail because of the file size? We have the technology to overcome those problems, too. When we deliver an appraisal through this website, the client is e-mailed a download link 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 much easier if appraisers could never have to think about an assignment again after writing and giving it to the client. However, appraisals are employed to document the condition of a property on the inspection date. Therefore, appraisers must keep their reports for 5 years in case any disputes or other matters arise regarding the property.
To sum it all up, RL Carmichael & Assoc, Inc. uses all the technology available to us 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 precisely what that assignment was about.
These are just a few examples of how we use technology daily. Investing in the right software, services, gadgets and gizmos allows the appraiser to collect the appraisal data to finish the report faster and more accurately then previously possible.
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