The Paperless Appraisal Office - A Small Firm's Approach - Dual Monitors

The appraisal desk at the World HQ of Brian J. Davis and Associates includes a 4-in-1 printer-scanner, a framed picture of my wife, a MINI, two flat-panel computer monitors, a VoIP phone, and my PDA. Conspicuously missing from my desk are papers. You know, the piles of appraisal files, cost manuals, plat and census maps, MLS books and other documents you would expect to find in an appraisal office. Not there. You're also not going to see rows and rows of file cabinets storing the last five years of appraisal files and related workfiles, a requirement by state and USPAP. Instead, I store all of the documents related to my clients' appraisals, in a place where I know I can easily find, retrieve, copy and send those reports. That place is my computer and on an off-site Internet file storage server. The first part of this series discussed Ten Steps To Getting Started. If you’ve moved on to the "Implementation" stage you may be wondering . . . "What Do I Do FIRST?" My recommendation would be to get a second monitor.

When you have a single monitor you are usually opening up windows, resizing them, minimizing/ maximizing them, scrolling and clicking, etc. to get to the part you need to edit. This takes time and we all know what our "workaround" is . . .we make a printout of the data and work from the paper copy. Right? Consider what it would be like if you were to keep certain data windows always open for quick and easy reference. You will be amazed at how much more easier things will be to do AND how much less PRINTING you'll do! With your forms software open on one display, you can have your cost software, MLS, data provider, map, or even Outlook running on the second display. No more constant minimizing and maximizing. Simply cut and paste between the two screens.

The prices on flat panel display monitors have been steadily dropping but you don't HAVE to wait to buy a new monitor. I'm betting that you probably have an old CRT style monitor lying around the office. Click here for a link to Microsoft's multiple monitor set-up page. If you’re ready to buy an additional flat-panel display (or maybe a pair) here are a few things to consider:

• Can the monitor can be rotated. That feature may be enough to justify an increase in price, regardless of brand and other factors. A wide-aspect computer monitor is almost perfect for legal forms when rotated to portrait mode.
• Consider a wide-aspect and regular dual-monitor combination. One display rotated to “portrait” for forms work, and the standard display in “landscape” for other Internet and desktop application viewing.
• Looking for display suggestions? The Dell 2005FPW is one of the least expensive wide aspect monitors available suitable for appraisal work, and the 1905FP is certainly adequate for regular work. IF you are considering a dual monitor set-up, starting with something like the 2005FPW makes sense. You can always selecting a "matching" monitor later for a professional/finished look on your desktop.
• Some displays do not come with the software necessary to maximize their utility. You can download a free taskbar application called Multi-Monitor by clicking here. An application that I’ve used and can recommend is UltraMon. You can load the free demo and give it a try by clicking here.