Work Patterns...One Person...No Clerical Help

[TC]

Blue,

Nice to know that in this computer age the old "clipboard on the wall" filing system is still around. You gotta post a picture of that wall.

TC

 

[David S. Roberson]

Walt Kirk;

I'm the same as you. Orders are stacked in an orderly pile on the desk, using the old FHA FIFO standard (first in, first out). Write one report at night, write another in the morning, do two inspections during the day, & start all over. Works for me, and has for 24 years.

 

[Bemis Pownall]

orders come in and now that my assitant is living it up on the beaches

i place the ordersd in a heep on the desk, good clients on top and bad clients on the bottom(unless I told them NO already)

schedule during dinner time.

inspect 3pm and after

type 5am to 3pm

Day light savings is right around the corner, my schedule will change.

 

[Kathy in FL]

I'm a one woman shop, too. I also have a 10 month old and a 2 year old...and don't do day care. (My sister and I swap--my days to work in the field are Tuesdays and Thursdays...I watch her two on Wednesdays and Fridays, plus my two. We both work, and no kids in day care! Of course, I'm going to have a nervous breakdown, but that's beside the point.)

I do ALL my field work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I cover about a six county area...so those days are mostly driving. Drive...click (photo)...drive...click...dodge cow in road...drive...click again.

When I get a faxed order, I put it in a file and write the borrower's last name on the file and something I can remember about it on the outside...address, town, county, etc. I print out the tax roll entry, select my comps, copy a map and highlight subject and comps and put them in the file to wait for Tue or Thurs. I have a three tier system built into my desk...a "pending" file slot, a "working" file slot and a "finished, needs to go into a filing cabinet" slot. I just move the file from slot to slot as I work on it. I generally leave files in the "finished" slot for a few weeks in case I get calls on them...they're easy to find for answer stupid underwriter questions.

I do most of my typing in the morning or late at night. I'm simply not an afternoon person, and don't concentrate well between around 2pm and 6 pm for some reason. I try not to do too much serious thinking work during that time.

Just the way I do it...
Kathy

 

[Blue1]

 

[The Bob]

I'm a one person shop also. Order flow is very similar to Charlotte. I found it a big help to schedule inspections and field work for one day and write ups for the next. I have a file organizer that is labled, from left to right, New Orders, Appt Set, Inspected, On Hold, and Final Inspection. Once the order is complete it gets filed in a box. I also pull comps once an appt is set. I have pretty good data from public records and MLS, all on line. Some localities even have photos on property card, so that can help. My biggest drags on order flow are unreturned phone calls from borrowers/agents, and having to go back out cause I missed something or the comps I pulled just don't cut it. I can usually complete 6-8 a week this way. I tried to do inspections in the morning and write ups in the afternoon, but by mid afternoon my brain was fried. Much better to do all field work one day, write reports the next.

 

[Richard Carlsen]

Kathy

I am constantly impressed what you single parents can do.

Well done and congratulations.


Richard

 

[Blue1]

 

[Kathy in FL]

<laughing> Nope, I'm not a single parent. Although it sure seems like it most of the time.

Especially when I'm trying to answer the fourth "status" call from an AMC with a nursing baby on one side and typing with one hand!!

Like I once heard someone say, "All mothers are single mothers."

Kathy in FL

 

[Paul Ness MAI]

I get to work between 7:45 and 8:00am, flip on the computer, go pour a cup of coffee, go on-line and check the news, this forum, and other forums, then go to work. I usually go out for field work from late morning through early afternoon, including a stop for lunch or a working lunch appt. At 4:30pm I turn off the computer and my office lights, climb down out of my ivory tower and drive home. :wink: