For Android

Using North Star Appraisal on Android.

A short guide. We try to keep it plain. If anything sounds like jargon, email us — we’ll fix it.

Install the app

North Star Appraisal isn’t in the Google Play store yet. During the alpha, we send you the app as a signed file you install yourself. (People call this “sideloading.”)

We email you a download link. Open the email on your Android phone and tap the link.

  1. Tap the download link.
  2. Your phone may warn you that the file might be harmful. That’s expected for any app installed outside the Google Play store, including this one. Tap Download anyway.
  3. When the download finishes, tap to open it from your notifications.
  4. Your phone may ask: “Allow this source to install apps?” Say yes.
  5. Tap Install.

The app appears with a cream square and a gold “North Star” mark.

Sign in

Use the same email and password you use on the website at appraisal.athenanorthstar.com.

  1. Open the app.
  2. Type your email.
  3. Type your password.
  4. Tap Sign in.

You only need to do this once. The app remembers you on this phone.

If your account has two-factor turned on: the phone app can’t sign you in yet. Two-factor support for the app is on the way. For now, use the website at appraisal.athenanorthstar.com on your computer, where two-factor works.

The five tabs at the bottom

Tap a tab to switch screens.

Assignments
Your open jobs.
Capture
Record what you see at the property. Six kinds: a photo, a voice note, a sketch, an address lookup, an MLS barcode scan, or a quick text note.
Inbox
Stuff you captured that isn’t filed yet.
Reference
Look up a rule.
Settings
Your account. Sign out lives here.

Take a photo

  1. Tap Capture.
  2. Tap Photo.
  3. The first time, the phone asks for camera and location. Tap Allow for both.
  4. Point the camera. Tap the big round button at the bottom.
  5. Take as many as you want.
  6. Tap the X in the top left when you’re done.

A small green “GPS” badge on the photo means the location was saved with it.

Record a voice note

  1. Tap Capture.
  2. Tap Voice note.
  3. The first time, the phone asks for the microphone. Tap Allow.
  4. Tap the big round button to start recording.
  5. Talk.
  6. Tap the button again to stop.

Your voice note saves on the phone first. Once it uploads, we type it out for you — usually within a minute. The typing happens on our servers, not on your phone, so it needs signal. The typed version appears next to the audio when you open the voice note later.

Work without signal

You can use the app in basements, rural areas, anywhere with no signal. Take photos. Record voice notes. Everything saves on the phone.

When you have signal again, the app sends everything up automatically. You don’t have to do anything.

Some Android phones aggressively close apps in the background to save battery. If you find captures aren’t syncing on their own, open the app, tap Settings, then tap Sync now.

File what you captured

Once your photos and voice notes have uploaded, they sit in the Inbox until you decide which assignment they belong to. The usual workflow: walk the property, then sort them out from the truck.

  1. Tap Inbox.
  2. You’ll see each photo or voice note as a row.
  3. Tap File next to a row.
  4. Pick which assignment it goes with.
  5. The row disappears. It’s now attached to that assignment.

If a row is something you don’t want, tap Delete.

Look up a rule

At the property and need to know if something requires a specific form or note? Use the Reference tab.

  1. Tap Reference.
  2. Type a few words in the search box. Try a rule number, a citation, or just a keyword like “FHA lead” or “effective date”.
  3. Tap a result to read it.
  4. Tap the link in the result to see the original source online.

Things that might go wrong

The app says “App not installed.”
You probably have an old version installed. Open Settings › Apps, find North Star Appraisal, and uninstall it. Then try the new download again.
The app says “Couldn’t load assignments.”
Your phone doesn’t have signal right now. Try again when you do.
The photo doesn’t have GPS.
You probably told the phone “Don’t allow” when it asked about location. Open Settings › Apps › North Star Appraisal › Permissions › Location. Choose “Allow only while using the app.”
The voice note has no typed version yet.
The typing happens in the cloud. It usually takes less than a minute. Pull down on the screen to refresh. If it’s been more than five minutes, email us.
Captures aren’t syncing on their own.
Your phone’s battery saver might be closing the app in the background. Open the app and tap Settings › Sync now to upload right away.
I can’t sign in.
If your account has two-factor turned on, the phone app can’t sign you in yet — that support is coming. Use the website at appraisal.athenanorthstar.com on your computer in the meantime. Otherwise, try signing in on the website first; if it works there but not on the phone, email us.
I want to start fresh.
Open Settings in the app. Tap Sign out. Then sign back in.

Get help

Email support@athenadecisionsystems.com. Darin or Justin reads it. We answer within a day.