McDonald Appraisal & Consultants leads the pack when it comes to technologyHere at McDonald & Associates, we always strive 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 708-532-1700 for appraisal orders in Cook County! Why? I'm glad you asked.
If you asked enough appraisers, most would agree that appraising is more complicated than it used to be. We put quality first, but we know that turnaround time is always a plus since nobody likes to wait for results. Therefore, the logical place to save time is in our daily workflow. Our continuous efforts to be the best have convinced us that using the very latest in new technology allows us to provide more accurate reports, quicker turnaround times and of course, the very best in customer service.
Just look at how McDonald Appraisal & Consultants makes ordering easier
In the past, the majority of orders arrived via fax and were confirmed with phone calls once we got back into the office. Often, in this scenario, it might of taken far too long to hear back to see if the order could be taken. Things are quite a bit different different now and when an order is placed on the site, I receive a text message on my phone. I'll often log into my site from the field and send back an e-mail confirmation – including the time and date for the inspection if I've been able to talk to the occupant.
McDonald & Associates understands that real estate is all about timeliness. 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 speed up the entire appraisal process.
Data Gathering ToolsOne of the most time consuming parts of an appraisal is gathering the data. We spend quite a bit of time gathering the facts on the subject property and the local market data and trends Once again, technology has stepped in to help McDonald & Associates.
We've learned that taking notes the standard way, 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 me with a tablet PC or collecting data using an application created for my phone that even lets me sketch a floorplan right on site. Rather then using that clumsy outdated tape measure, more and more appraisers are utilizing accurate laser measuring devices that also help measure hard to access areas.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.
Report deliveryThe majority of our appraisals are delivered through e-mail as PDF documents. Most of our clients prefer e-mail because we're all accustomed to getting attachments like PDFs in our mail. It's a lot better than the old days before e-mail. But, we've even been able to innovate report delivery with this website.
Everyone knows how frustrating it is to lose a file. 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. Whenever I send an appraisal, the client is e-mailed a download link to retrieve the PDF. By bypassing email completely we can get around any problems caused by file size. And the download link is good for 90 days. So if you lose the file, you can log back into my site and retrieve it again - saving you time, since I won't even need to run back to my 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 show the condition of a property on the inspection date Therefore, 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.
To sum it all up, McDonald & 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're able to retrieve that report at any time and recall just what that assignment was about.
These are just a few examples of how we use technology daily. Utilizing 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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