Any Honest Thought on CRE Appraisal as a Career???
Does anyone have an experience as an appraiser? Im mainly going for acquisitions analyst positions but was just offered a job in an appraisal position coming out of college. Im curious to know if anyone has any experience in this career or just any general thoughts about the job in general. Please be brutally honest and open.
[{"id": "i9re1mr", "text": "Those shmucks are charging whatever they want these days and seem busy as hell. I wait 10 weeks and pay them $6k just for them to visit the site once, glance at my PSA, spread comps, and slap a cap rate on the property.", "replies": [{"id": "i9u3wh0", "text": "Ouch.... Is it really that simple?\n\nIf so, this sounds like a gatekeeper role that could easily be made redundant with one part web app, and one part lobbying. \n\nAre you exaggerating slightly? Or is this your day by day experience?\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nThanks", "replies": [{"id": "i9uev0p", "text": "I\u2019m just being a reductive jerk. There\u2019s relatively high barriers to entry to become a fully licensed appraiser and they have strong pricing power at the moment. \n\nI think banks put too much stock in their opinions, but I understand why the position is necessary.", "replies": [{"id": "ia03m2g", "text": "It's really just the need for an independent, unbiased 3rd party to give it a value. \n\nBut the fact that this role is safeguarded so much makes it very expensive", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "i9urigi", "text": "This made me chuckle. Sometimes it does feel that easy haha. Sometimes it definitely does not!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i9sgfrd", "text": "Been a CRE appraiser for one of the big national companies for about 15 years OP. Obviously I\u2019m partial but I think it\u2019s a great way to learn real estate. The interesting thing about it is you get more \u201cat bats\u201d in a smaller timeframe as an appraiser than many other areas of CRE. We tend to work on a project for a few days and then complete it and move on to the next one. I do about 100 a year and the apprentices who work under me do about 70+/- a year. That\u2019s a lot of properties with a lot of unique characteristics to learn about. Skill is relatively transferable to other areas of CRE (identifying value is a skill needed in most CRE). I know appraisers who have moved to development companies, banks, and corporate positions in real estate. AMA - happy to answer any questions OP.", "replies": [{"id": "i9u3k4e", "text": "How much of a pain is it to get your foot in the door? (to become a trainee, for example)\n\nI always wanted to work in an advisory role, rather than in sales. \n\nIs age a factor? Is the MAI a must?\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nThanks for the info", "replies": [{"id": "i9u7d48", "text": "The hard part about getting your foot in the door is finding someone to train you. Effectively, you enter an apprentice program. You will get a trainee/apprentice license with the state but you have to find someone who will train you. That\u2019s difficult as there are fewer appraisers willing to train people. If you can find someone to train you, all you have to do to get an apprentice license is take a few classes (about 10 days worth of them - and if you go to the big national firms they will typically pay all or part of the cost) and apply. The apprentice program then will include hours of actual work (supervised by mentor/licensed appraiser) more classes and an exam. Most states won\u2019t let you sit for the exam for at least 2.5-3 years and in practice it takes most people longer than the minimum to get your license. It took me about 4 years to get my license.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "i9u8ccr", "text": "It absolutely is an advisory role but there is an entrepreneurial spirit to it like sales. Most appraisers are not salaried and get paid on production as a split of the job fee so there is a similarity to a sales role in that regard.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "i9u8t48", "text": "Age isn\u2019t a factor. Ultimately anyone can become an apprentice\u2026 you just have to find someone willing to train you. No one gets into appraisal with an MAI. I think, but this is more of an unofficial survey of my market, most state licensed appraisers do not go on to get an MAI after their license. So I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s a must. You typically get a better split from the national companies if you have it and obviously it opens doors that wouldn\u2019t be there without it but I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s a \u201cmust\u201d. It\u2019s also quite a bit more challenging to pull off than a state license, so if you\u2019d want to move onto it then I would recommend going into that process ready to work. Good luck!", "replies": [{"id": "i9yvqo4", "text": "great reply man, thanks a lot \n\nI'\\[m wondering,  can appraisers be more honest than brokers, or is it sit still a sales type gig serving hopium?\n\nTo be more clear: does your success or failure depend on your ability to bullshit people, or is it more analytical and based in \"facts\"?", "replies": [{"id": "ia1r9mg", "text": "When I said there was a sales or entrepreneurial type spirit, I just meant in compensation. The Hope and the dream is appraisers don\u2019t bullshit anyone. Make no mistake our job is an opinion of value, but it\u2019s based on data points from the market and facts. We have to make fair and unbiased opinions. Most of the time, properties appraise out for what people hope for. The reality is at times the data leads up to an opinion less than the hopeful outcome of other parties. It\u2019s the tough part of the job but it\u2019s the check and balance of why this job exists.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i9uq5ru", "text": "I left management consulting to be an appraiser through a personal connection. I think if you are smart and motivated, it can be extremely lucrative, especially if you run your own shop. It\u2019s good exposure to a a wide breadth of real estate product - I plan to do some small developing on my own with what I know from appraising.\n\nIn my experience, a lot of commercial appraisers are old and retiring, and a good appraiser with decent turn times is worth their weight in gold. \n\nMy shop has some unique advantages, but we have been extremely busy. I made more than $100k my first year as a trainee and now expect to make between $350k to $450k annually. Happy to answer any questions you might have", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]