Appraisers can now schedule dates and times for their property inspections right from within the system with the Inspection Scheduler. Appraisers no longer need to send separate emails or call sellers or Realtors on the phone to schedule inspections: it can all be done right within the system.
Additionally, with the ability for appraisers to upload Profile Pictures, the property owner, seller or Realtor can match a face with the name of the appraiser that will be appraising the property.
Here’s How it Works
When an order is routed to an appraiser, they will go to the Accept Order screen to review the details of the order (what the job looks like, fee, special instructions, etc.).
Partway down this screen is a Request Inspection Date with Entry Contact section. This is an optional section, available whenever a property access contact (aka entry contact) email has been entered on an order, that can be used to facilitate scheduling information between the appraiser and whoever the contact person is to access the subject property.
In the Request Inspection Date with Entry Contact section, appraisers can propose a Primary and Secondary date and time to schedule the appraisal.
You can also enter a message to send to the contact person to access the property.
Please note that a Date and Time must be entered together to fulfill the requirements for the Accept button at the bottom of the screen to be available should you choose to utilize the scheduler feature.
Once the order has been accepted by the appraiser, date and time information will be emailed to the email address that was entered into the Contact to Access Property section of the order along with any notes the appraiser enters.
What the Property Access Contact Person Sees
When the Property Contact person opens the email, they will see a message from Appraisal Firewall about scheduling the inspection, and they can click the link in the enclosed email to “Review Inspection Date and Time.”
On the resulting web page, the property contact can either approve one of the dates/times, or they can propose another time.
Once an inspection time is accepted by the entry contact, the order status will automatically change to Scheduled Inspection, and the system will auto-notify the appropriate personnel. Please note that if the entry contact requests an alternate inspection time, the appraiser will need to work with them outside the system to confirm the time.
Reminder:
- The Inspection Scheduler feature is only available on orders where your lender has entered entry contact information.