Alpha Valuations: On The Cutting Edge of Appraisal Technology

Here at Alpha Valuations, 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 630-301-8530 for appraisal orders in Dupage County! Why? We're glad you asked.

These days, appraisals have become more scrutinized than ever before. We put quality first, but we know that turnaround time is critical since nobody likes to wait for results. So, the logical place to save time is in our daily workflow. The appraisers that have continually adopted new technology have been the ones able to provide their customers with more accurate reports, better customer service and faster turnaround times.

	Interested in hiring a local Dupage County appraiser that takes advantage of the latest technology? Contact Alpha Valuations today!

Innovating the Ordering Experience

In the past, a great deal of orders arrived via fax and were confirmed with phone calls once we arrived at the office. It might be hours before a client even knew if we could do the order. These days, when orders are entered on this website, 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.

At Alpha Valuations we understand it's all about "cycle time". We don't make you wait around for replies because we understand 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.

Using Technology in the Field

The appraisal process is nothing if not a demanding process. 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 Alpha Valuations.

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 created for our phones that even lets us sketch a floorplan right on the spot. And instead of using an outdated tape measure, a larger percentage appraisers are starting to use accurate laser measuring devices that also help measure hard to access areas.

All of this technology ensures that the final report is as comprehensive and conclusive as possible, requiring fewer call-backs and revisions. A real money saver for busy appraisal clients.

Appraisal Report Delivery

The majority of our appraisals are delivered through e-mail as PDF documents. Generally our clients are most comfortable 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 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 it was too big? We've come up with a solution for 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.

Lastly, we use all digital workfiles...

It would probably be easier if appraisers could never have to think about an assignment again after writing and giving it to the client. However, appraisals are used to show the condition of a property on the inspection 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, Alpha Valuations leverages our embracing of technology to improve service. We store every part 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. Using the right software, services, gadgets and gizmos allows the appraiser to collect the appraisal data to finish the report faster and more accurately than previously possible.