Commercial real estate appraisal - Is it worth it what’s the pay like any insight is helpful
Would love to know what people think about this career path. Also what other career options are there in commercial real estate?
[{"id": "hmv8w4h", "text": "Good career path. There are no other options in CRE, and google will confirm that", "replies": [{"id": "hmv94lj", "text": "Thank you I was searching for work in real estate that included valuation/finance but did not want to do mortgages. This looked to be the prime job for me", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "hmvhw82", "text": "It is a great career path but there are lots of options in commercial real estate. Some include acquisitions, market research, property and asset management, development, investment 3rd party inspections and vendors of which appraisal is an example. Not to mention private equity, and a ton of other roles.", "replies": [{"id": "hmw5109", "text": "Would love to work my way into private equity. Hopefully several years or appraisal work and an MAI designation will get me there!", "replies": [{"id": "hmw57q5", "text": "That\u2019s not the usual path for Real Estate Private Equity, but wishing you all the luck.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hmvaxs5", "text": "It is tough if you have to source your own deals with lenders but if you get fed work, it is a lot of work for an $800 appraisal. \n\nYou work really hard for the money in appraisal, but it generally attracts good people.", "replies": [{"id": "hmvbdj1", "text": "Thank you, I started an internship at a commercial appraisal and valuation firm and from the work load I\u2019m seeing it can get overwhelming but some of the jobs pay a fee from $2,000-$12,000 and was told typical commission has a cap at around 50%", "replies": [{"id": "hmvchpd", "text": "It is a lot of work and if you don\u2019t want to do sales, good honest pay. Get your mai designation if you are going to do this long term.", "replies": [{"id": "hmvcnkz", "text": "What exactly is an MAI Designation? Someone just received one In The office last month", "replies": [{"id": "hmvd5y4", "text": "It is a member of the appraisal institute, it is like passing the bar exam for appraisers. It separates the professionals and will be required if you want to make the big bucks", "replies": [{"id": "hmw59wi", "text": "Wow very impressive thank you", "replies": [], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "hmvfcef", "text": "CRE appraisal for $800?  That is awfully low, but may be regional.", "replies": [{"id": "hmvn10y", "text": "fees start in my region (Cincinnati) around 2k", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hmve4it", "text": "It\u2019s an excellent career choice if you have the inherent skills and passion to do it, and can find a good place to learn the trade. If you have a creative side to you, or the desire to work creativity/art into your career/life, that\u2019s a bonus for both you and the end users. Trainees usually seem to get 30-35% fee split, which goes up to 40-45% when licensed and doing good work relatively independently. MAI designation and being a major contributor to the company can get you 50%+ in time. If you\u2019re executing the work well and working 40 hours a week relatively efficiently, you can make $75k-$120k a year as a trainee (high end being if you\u2019re a workhorse like I was). Some markets/companies opt to pay $40k-$50k plus benefits instead of a fee split during trainee period - try to not go that route. Once licensed, $100k-$150k again with high end being efficient and working 50-60 hours a week (it\u2019s up to you if you want to do that obviously). Five years in if you\u2019re well suited for the trade and working at company that respects you, $200k+ becomes an achievable goal. Note, big firms typically do not pay as well across the board. Small firms can pay higher splits but may not have the volume to get you to these price points. Midsize is my personal sweet spot. Feel free to DM me. Hope this helps.", "replies": [{"id": "hmw640k", "text": "This is incredible information thank you so much for sharing, truly! I intern at a mid sized firm actually in Michigan and the splits are relatively exactly how you described I was told MAI designation is what makes the most typically around 50%. I was also told that $100k is achievable and I\u2019m starting to believe so based on your information and the fees being roughly $2,000k-$12,000k (highest I\u2019ve seen so far). \n\nThanks again for sharing your thoughts!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hmvegfs", "text": "70% of appraisers are over 50.  Total number of appraisers has been declining like 3% per year for a while. Some think that will lead to higher fees (and earnings potential) in the future.  Others think lenders/investors will just use less appraisal services.  Anecdotally, the trend in institutional real estate has been towards more frequent appraisals and shorter reports for lower fees per report, but higher overall fees per year.  Due to the structure of many funds, they need to update values regularly in order to have accurate valuations when investors buy in or cash out.  While they could do it themselves, best practice is 100% 3rd party valuation.  Working at a commercial appraisal firm is a great intro to the industry.  It gives you a solid foundation and the skills you develop (Argus, financial statement analysis, cold calling, research, etc.) are transferable to other parts of the industry.  Lots of people transition from appraisal to asset management, acquisitions, or brokerage.", "replies": [{"id": "hmw6spj", "text": "Thank you for your input on this really interesting statistics to consider. Ultimately my goal is to work my butt off and collect/save all my commissions to start my own commercial investment from the knowledge I\u2019ll learn. It would be really nice also to transition into asset management or some type of path along private equity. As that will also equip me with great knowledge for personal investments. \n\nThank you again", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hmvfeg9", "text": "You may want to repost in r/appraisal", "replies": [{"id": "hmvj7tq", "text": "Don\u2019t need to post there. Just scroll until you see the recent post asking this.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "hmw4vaj", "text": "Thanks for sharing that I tried looking for one but I couldn\u2019t find it for some reason. Really appreciate it!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hmvpen5", "text": "I was a commercial appraiser for 5 years. I recently left the business to become a residential mortgage lender. Appraisal work is great and you will learn more than most in the industry. However, working in an appraisal shop becomes all about churning out appraisals to generate more income. \n\nI left to do something a little more people focused as sitting behind a desk and writing 100 page reports got old. I really appreciate the training and knowledge I gained though.", "replies": [{"id": "hmw5dba", "text": "Thank you for the helpful insight", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "irj12dw", "text": "What were the top producers earning at your shop? How was the fee split?", "replies": [{"id": "ivwpk32", "text": "Fee split was maxed out at 50% and 55% for MAI. \nTop producer earned 140k last year.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hmw19sq", "text": "After more than 5 years as a commercial fee appraiser that involved riding some crazy CRE cycles, I took a commercial appraiser job with the government for better stability and benefits. That was 10 years ago and while I enjoyed fee appraisal, this role has been much more enjoyable. No more long hours or giving up weekends and forgoing vacations to keep your billings up or meeting quick turnarounds. I work a 4 day week, leave my work at the office, have more paid vacation than I can use, great medical, good retirement, etc. I initially had to take a pay cut when I made the switch but it\u2019s six figures now and I enjoy the work I do and the people I work with.", "replies": [{"id": "hmw4r00", "text": "Thank you for the insight this might be a good route for me after I grind out the fee appraising field first since I\u2019m still so green. But I\u2019m sure those long hours do take a tool, glad to know there\u2019s a route like this one.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hmy3moq", "text": "A real estate appraisal is a good Career path. When I worked at the bank, I was a junior appraiser and learned a lot. If you are the type that likes to make reports or analyze reports and are detail-oriented, then the career is for you. Another career options are Commercial Asset management. This is where you manage a portfolio of assets for a bank, credit union or company.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]