Appraisers have been very excited about SmartAddress – our upcoming feature that allows you to check your database for prior use of a property. (Learn more here.) And we can’t wait to release it to you for free. In fact, we expected to have it in your hands by now, but it will be released this month.
It’s been tested by our beta appraisers and here’s some of the feedback we’ve gotten:
"When the Collateral Underwriter program was announced, I was very concerned about how I would ensure data consistency within my UAD-formatted reports. Working in a small rural market means that I am constantly reusing the same comparables. Now, with SmartAddress, I am confident that my UAD-formatted comparables are 100% consistent. Every time. SmartAddress is a must-have tool!
SmartAddress has improved my workflow and saved me time. Now, I just type the addresses of my chosen comparables into the Sales Comparison grid, and SmartAddress instantly and automatically finds every prior use! I can quickly review all prior uses in side-by-side format and import the preferred version right into my report. No need to even open the Comparables Database.
Additional options allow me to only view comps with the most recent date of sale, only UAD-formatted comparables, or open prior reports where the comparables were previously used. Comparables are now automatically imported into the Comparables Database when I sign the report. No more worrying about whether I have imported comparables from every report."
— Clinton Cook, Cook Appraisals, Inc.
However, it was taking too long for properties to be pulled into SmartAddress, so we’re optimizing that. Even if you haven’t been using our Comps Database, we want SmartAddress to pull in as many records as possible, in as little time as possible. When you fire it up, it will check for properties in signed reports and import them. Unlike competitor products, there aren't any manual imports to deal with. And every time that you sign a report, the subject and comps will show up in the checks for future.
We built those import tools, but they were running too slow for our liking and caused performance issues on older machines. We’re working to make that much faster. Once that’s done, we’re going to send it back to our beta testers for another round of real-world testing. Then, we’ll release it to you as a free TOTAL update.
So, be on the lookout for SmartAddress in mid-April. Hopefully it will be even better than you’re expecting.