The three most common complaints about the appraisal process tend to revolve around transparency, communication, and speed. New technologies are increasing transparency, improving communication, and generally making appraisers more efficient. Finding ways to utilize technology could ultimately prevent the possibility of an appraiser-less valuation process. In fact, embracing artificial intelligence might be the key to saving the human aspect of the appraisal profession.
In an effort to reimagine the outdated and cumbersome appraisal process, some appraisal companies have adopted technology to assist appraisers and provide a better experience for clients. Tools that help with scheduling, communication, and quality control are resulting in faster report delivery, happier customers, and increased appraiser productivity. But we can do much more.
Artificial intelligence is now managing communication for customer service departments in almost every industry around the globe. Whether it be restaurants, retail, cloud servers, or cars, customers tend to ask the same questions, and AI is answering. AI isn’t just replacing FAQ pages; it’s identifying escalated issues and learning how to directly notify the people who can solve problems the most quickly.
AI can help appraisers in a similar manner without clients ever knowing that they are speaking with a computer. Basic appraisal questions tend to have basic answers, while the detailed or complex questions tend to be a warning of trouble to come. Using AI to communicate with clients is a great way to improve the appraisal experience, identify potential issues, and simultaneously give time back to the appraiser.
AI is also taking scheduling efficiency to the next level. Kairos Appraisal Services, a national appraisal management company, created an advanced scheduling technology to assist its appraisers and dramatically speed up the appraisal process.
We all have phones, but we tend to avoid phone numbers we don’t recognize, and appraisers sometimes struggle to reach the point of contact to schedule an inspection. Kairos’ scheduling technology reduces telephone delays while increasing transparency and improving communication.
Someday soon, AI will auto-schedule mutually beneficial inspection times by combining calendar availability with geocoding. When a borrower’s schedule is overlayed with an appraiser’s schedule, we can coincide with other local inspections and improve drive time efficiency. This creates minimal disruption to busy schedules, and a virtual utopia for mortgage professionals—who know exactly where their appraisal is in the process.
Using geocoding as a tool to notify all parties when the appraiser is en route also improves communication and safety. Confirming the appraiser’s location via GPS ensures that the assigned appraiser is in fact the one arriving to inspect the property, which will put borrowers, regulators, and end investors at ease.
Interpreting the appraised value is a puzzle that only a human can accurately decipher. Consideration of local land use, zoning changes, anticipated proposals, supply and demand trends, and countless market dynamics is a job that only an experienced appraiser can truly comprehend. Using analytical tools to justify adjustment methodologies ensures that the most consistent and defensible adjustments are applied. By using technology, we can guarantee that the appraiser’s opinion of value is backed by reliable data and analysis, and potentially eliminate claims of human bias.
With virtually unlimited intricacies for every local market, workload management plays a crucial part in every appraiser’s professional success. Embracing technologies that create efficiencies will make the appraisal process more streamlined, and more enjoyable for all parties involved.
The implementation of artificial intelligence, combined with the traditional on-site appraiser approach, can directly benefit the lending industry, and further protect our economy. Finding the best ways to add technology to an appraiser’s process will ultimately safeguard the integrity of the appraisal profession.
