The appraisal business has seen many changes over the past few years, and one area that we love to explore is all of the new ways to incorporate technology into our practice. There are so many ways to do this, but one area where we have been able to save a lot of time for both us and our clients is the inspection process. As we outlined here, one of the things we do on an inspection is measure the house and make a basic sketch of the home to insert into our report later.
We used to do this using a measuring wheel and graph paper. This method worked well enough, but using the wheel means that every little bump can mean an inaccuracy, and using graph paper in any weather other than sunny presented a lot of problems! Torn paper, running ink, and making a hurried sketch while crouching under the eaves hiding from the rain all made for less-than-stellar sketches in any sort of rainy weather.
About a year and a half ago, we began using a Disto laser measuring tool
and an iPad for our sketches, and we've never looked back. The Disto measures by pointing a laser, which means you can go over fences, over the piles of storage in the garage, or measure the rear of the house while standing under the patio cover in the rain. We use the sketching program Apex Mobile on our iPad to enter the measurements and create a sketch, as well as label all of the rooms and any fireplaces, stairs, etc. When we get back to the office, we email the sketch to the computer from the iPad, and insert it easily into the report.
We love using the Disto and iPad for sketches-- it's simpler and saves us time on the inspection, which saves our clients time when we're in their homes! Appraisers, what are some ways you've incorporated mobile appraising or newer appraising technology to save time? We'd love to hear!
