Company Details
Company type:
Independent commercial property valuation services
Location:
Offices in Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville servicing all of Florida and Georgia (with licensure covering the entire Southeastern US)
Specializations:
C-store, quick service restaurants, assisted living and memory care facilities, rural acreage and farms, subdivisions, automobile dealerships, hotels and a range of properties requiring advanced discounted cash flow analysis
Number of appraisers:
10+
Background
Valtrust is an independent valuation services firm based in Florida, providing coverage across the Southeastern United States. The team of over 20 local experts has completed thousands of appraisals in Florida, blending the personal touch of a boutique firm with the technical capabilities of a national entity. The firm’s approach is fundamentally client-centered, technology-driven and detail-oriented, and the team distinguishes itself through its unwavering commitment to precision and reliability, bolstered by their adoption of cutting-edge property valuation technology.
Led by Scott Tew, MAI, alongside partners Ryan Zink, MAI, and James Toro, MAI, the firm has had a number of evolutions. Starting out as a privately-owned appraisal firm, the team then spent a number of years at a national franchise and recently made the decision to embrace their entrepreneurial roots and transition back to a fully independent, privately-owned firm. To do so, they knew they needed an extremely well-designed software platform that was turn-key, ready to go, and had the ability to onboard the Valtrust team rapidly with minimal downtime.
Enter Valcre.
The challenge
Valtrust needed turn-key appraisal software that was advanced, secure, and could support rapid onboarding
In making the transition from a franchise model to an independent firm, there was never a question for Scott and his team that they needed to be using the most advanced appraisal software available.
“If you don’t equip yourselves to use the better technologies in the market you will find yourself falling behind very quickly. [The right technology] can really be a gamechanger in terms of your business, the success of your personnel, the quality of your appraisals, and beyond.”
Scott Tew, MAI
Scott is no stranger to appraisal software – he’s been evaluating options in the market for the past decade. When it came to choosing a partner for the new firm, he knew exactly what he was looking for:
A high quality, turn-key solution provided by a third-party partner
Having previously maintained his own report-writing software, Scott knew the effort required to build something himself and it was not a road he wanted to go down. “I found that I was spending what I thought was way too much time trying to manage the software… I wasn’t spending any time running my business, marketing, and doing my day to day on the appraisal side,” he said.
“I’ve really come to the mindset of, let’s leave the software development for the software developers and appraisal for the appraisers. I’ve learned enough over the past 10 years to stay in my lane,” says Scott.
Advanced security capabilities and credentials
Among one of Valtrust’s top goals is to provide best-in-class cyber-security that meets and exceeds the needs of its clients. Highly cognisant of the increasing security concerns that appraisers are being faced with in the handling of sensitive client information, Scott knew Valtrust needed a software partner that showed a true commitment to security and had strong technological know-how.
The ability to onboard his team and bring them up to speed, essentially overnight
As a result of transitioning to an independent firm, the Valtrust team needed to move off their existing system. They needed a partner with strong onboarding, training, and support resources to get them up and running and producing appraisals as quickly as possible to minimize any downtime.
The solution
Valtrust selects Valcre as their strategic technology partner
“When we looked at Valcre, I could see that it was highly developed compared to any of the other products that are available in the marketplace,” says Scott Tew.
Having reviewed all available appraisal technologies on the market, Scott and his partners decided to move forward with Valcre for the following reasons:
Valcre’s third-party, advanced appraisal software was largely turn-key and ready for customization
When comparing different third-party appraisal technologies, Scott and his team were impressed by how robust and developed Valcre was, with features they knew would save them time in the report-writing process. They specifically appreciated Valcre’s mobile app, comprehensive template library, and the ability to incorporate cash flows directly into the software which they knew would help the team move quickly.
Additionally, Scott was happy with Valcre’s ability to easily incorporate Valtrust’s color scheme and other user-defined report customizations into Valtrust’s reports ensuring they are consistent with the company’s brand and product.
“Partnering with a technology leader like Valcre was a strategic move. It provided us access to advanced tools and platforms without the substantial initial investment and ongoing development costs associated with rebuilding our own technology. This partnership allows us to focus on our core expertise—appraisal—while leveraging cutting-edge technology.”
Scott Tew, MAI
Valcre’s industry-leading security
Valcre’s SOC 2 (Type I and II) and ISO 27001 certifications were imperative for Valtrust.
“I’ve had enough exposure running my own software and working with large organizations to know that Valcre is that far ahead of the game on SOC compliance,” says Scott. “It shows a true commitment to security on their part, and a really strong technological know-how, because from what I understand, obtaining these SOC approvals is not for the faint of heart.”
Valcre’s ability to provide rapid implementation, training and support
Valtrust was impressed with the scale of the Valcre team, the level of dedicated, practical customer support, and detailed library of training videos they were able to offer to support Valtrust’s appraisers as they rapidly transitioned onto a new appraisal technology.
When we looked at Valcre, I could see that it was highly developed compared to any of the other products that are available in the marketplace.
Scott Tew, MAI
Executive Managing Director, Partner
Valtrust
The impact
Valtrust rapidly transitions onto Valcre with minimal downtime
“Valcre really provided us with what we needed to launch on the platform quickly and efficiently with a minimum of downtime. To have that kind of high quality uptake of the software in a 60 day period, I think it says a lot about the quality of the product that Valcre has created.”
Scott Tew, MAI
In the lead up to transitioning onto Valcre, Valtrust’s team started using Valcre’s educational resources – including watching training videos and joining Valcre-hosted weekly training sessions as a team. Despite having a highly competent, fast-learning team, and confidence in how the software was laid out and organized, on launch day Scott was prepared for things to go wrong. But things did not go wrong.
The team put their heads down in an organized way and participated in multiple live training sessions with the Valcre team. And for users who were having a hard time, Valcre provided additional resources and support.
“Valcre just did an amazing job of putting people and resources in front of us,” says Scott. “Every time I asked, it was immediately met with a high quality response to get us the training and or resources that we needed.”
As a result, the team has gotten up to speed on Valcre quickly. After just one month, Scott estimates that Valtrust’s stronger technology users were becoming fairly comfortable. After two months, they were at the 90-plus percent confidence interval, while intermediate users were at the 75 percent comfort ratio or above.
“Valcre has significantly impacted our team by reducing turnaround times and improving the overall quality of our appraisals, enhancing client satisfaction,” concludes Scott.
Valcre has significantly impacted our team by reducing turnaround times and improving the overall quality of our appraisals – enhancing client satisfaction.
Scott Tew, MAI
Executive Managing Director, Partner
Valtrust