There are several reasons a financial institution might need a property appraisal. Perhaps, for example, a customer wants to put a property up as collateral for a loan or has claimed an increased value for a property already on their books based on improvements.
And if a bank is going to put a property on its books, it must know that property’s precise value. Owing to this simple and absolute business principle, over the course of a business year, banks require a whole lot of appraisals.
So many, in fact, that many banks have their own in-house appraisal team. Others contract out to appraisal companies. Because here’s the thing: appraisals can only be completed by licensed appraisers, no exceptions, that’s the rule.
Knowing their value, appraisers charge accordingly.
Banks have a (pardon the pun) vested interest in securing accurate, rapid, and cost-effective appraisals, and any efficiency that can be added to the process can only help banks’ bottom line.
What are Desktop Appraisals? How do Property Condition Reports Support Them?
Desktop appraisals are a key way that banks manage appraisal costs. Here’s how it works:
- An independent contractor inspects the property to be appraised, completing a report on the bank’s behalf.
- That report--which can include photographs, measurements, sketches, and key property details-- is then funneled to one of the bank’s licensed appraisers.
- The appraiser takes this report and inputs the various values into a computer appraisal application, which algorithmically derives at a value.
- The value is then officially reported to the bank.
With this process in place, a single appraiser can complete multiple appraisals per day, far more than possible were they to personally inspect each property, take appropriate sketches and notes, and then return to the office to complete the official appraisal.
TrendSource Property Condition Inspection Reports
TrendSource has been providing reliable and rapid Property Condition Reports to banks and their appraisers for well over a decade. Ranging from the superficial to highly detailed, TrendSource has a Property Condition Inspection scope that can match the depth of inquiry appraisers need.
With a closed, proprietary, national database of Inspectors, TrendSource can deploy an Inspector to any property in the United States. Once the report is submitted to TrendSource, the QA team takes over, ensuring accuracy and legibility.
At that point, it is submitted to the client, to pass on to the appraiser to feed into their desktop appraisal.
TrendSource Property Condition Inspections bring efficiency and reliability to financial institutions’ appraisal needs.
