More appraisals,
in less time,
with less work.
Build, buy, or partner?
A practical guide for commercial real estate appraisal companies
For today’s appraisers, appraisal software is a must-have
Appraisal technology has advanced rapidly over the last decade, partly due to innovation in general, but also out of a need to keep pace with the increasing demands of clients. This has made software a must-have for appraisal teams when it comes to their ability to serve clients, run a business, and retain talent.
Thanks to these advances, for the first time, today’s appraisal teams have modern,
institutional-level appraisal software that’s budget friendly and available off the shelf.
In one system, firms are able to structure the incredibly valuable data their teams are
capturing and verifying. They also have the tools to produce high-quality, accurate
reports for clients faster. But such software hasn’t always been available
Today, technology strategy is front and center for these firms. Many are
faced with tough decisions as they evaluate how to progress their appraisal software in line with the needs of their teams and clients, and ensure they are taking advantage of the latest innovations.
While there might be some existing tools that are working well, there may still be gaps
in other areas. Additionally, the effort required to maintain these systems over a long
time frame can be unsustainable with the resources allocated. And harder still – given
the expense, time and effort invested in developing proprietary systems, the idea of
replacing them (not to mention the perceived sunk cost) can feel like an insurmountable headache.
To illustrate, we’re familiar with various scenarios faced by appraisal firms today:
- A legacy system (such as an internal database) exists; it’s working some of the time, but often it breaks and causes the team pain. The system used to work, but now with growing client demands, it’s falling short. That said, you don’t have the time to start from scratch.
- You have a system in place that’s collecting comparables, however the data
structure isn’t set up so that your team can understand what information has been verified. - Given the current market, you want to redeploy staff to focus on a particular
valuation speciality (such as eminent domain). However, you’re unable to scale
template development with your current systems and resources. - You have diverse teams with different focus areas who operate distinctly (e.g. some might have been acquired through M&A) and on disparate systems. You need to consolidate data and processes to create efficiencies across the board.
- You want to give your teams the ability to produce reports faster, but you can’t wait for internal IT to develop a product – it’s not justifiable, and/or the team doesn’t have the bandwidth to do it. Additionally, your IT team may not understand what your appraisers need in great depth because you don’t have someone with appraisal experience who can act as a subject matter expert (SME) and intermediary between developers and appraisers.
Given these complex scenarios, it’s clear that the traditional build versus buy
equation simply doesn’t apply anymore for many firms.
It’s rare that appraisal teams are starting completely from scratch and there may be
components of your legacy system that are worth maintaining and complementing with third-party software.
Instead, a third option needs to be introduced – partnership
Software providers like Valcre can partner with you to advise where technology can
augment your legacy systems; we can explore the elements that should stay intact, and prioritize focus on areas where new technology can have an outsized impact.
Evolving your tech strategy can seem overwhelming, especially when you’re faced with many competing priorities. But the choice doesn’t have to be a black and white one, or force you to start again and throw away internal work and resources invested to date.
Valcre has developed this whitepaper as a resource to help appraisal firms as they explore and evaluate their options when it comes to appraisal software. This
whitepaper will explore:
- What actually constitutes a modern appraisal platform – and how they power the modern appraiser
- Considerations needed when deciding whether to build internally or to partner with a vendor and complement your existing systems
- Most importantly, how to upgrade your set-up effectively, with minimal downtime for your team
