Next step on getting a job

[Michigander]

Good idea J Grant. I do go to most AI functions locally and most of the old guard know me because I have been around for quite some time. Yes, LeasedFee was very generous. I will be taking him up on some advice and asking him more questions. Good to have input from them. There are others here who are pretty generous too (MichiganCG and Kali come to mind) but just haven't weighed in because they have done so on others most likely. This thread is actually specific as to how to get my foot in the door with someone, but not just anyone.

 

[J Grant]

Best of luck, you sound very classy and committed and will make it!

 

[JTip]

Thanks JTip. Actually already on the MDOT approved list but have yet to even bid

I'm not talking about doing fee work, I'm saying join the DOT as a staff apprasier.

Sure you won't make six figures but do some residential fee work on the side and you will get pretty darn close. Did I mention the benefits? Hollidays, personal days, sick days (ever get paid for being sick while fee workin'?), you will get RAISES (ever give yourself a raise?).

They should be honored to have your resume working for the service.

 

[Michigander]

I'm not talking about doing fee work, I'm saying join the DOT as a staff apprasier.

Sure you won't make six figures but do some residential fee work on the side and you will get pretty darn close. Did I mention the benefits? Hollidays, personal days, sick days (ever get paid for being sick while fee workin'?), you will get RAISES (ever give yourself a raise?).

They should be honored to have your resume working for the service.

Oh, good idea. Thanks, but there are no job openings. I will see if my contact there can think of me if they do open one. Most of this work requires a CG though, and getting that CG may prove quite difficult.

Thank you J Grant, you are kind.

 

[Michigan CG]

It is all about fish in a pond and what type of fish do you want to be and how big of a pond do you want to swim in.

Times change and professions adapt. I never thought I would see the day when government workers sometimes worked from home but it is more and more common when it is practical.

The number of residential appraisers working from home has to be close to 95% by now. The number of CG appraisers working from home is growing significantly. Appraisers working in offices is becoming a thing of the past except for the big players in the industry.

A lot of appraisers choose to be a small fish in a big pond meaning they will work a large geographic area sometimes specializing in certain property types. Many CG appraisers will choose to work a small geographic area without really specializing and having a diverse number of properties they appraise.

In my county there are 6 CG appraisers that I know of who actually live in the county. Two, I think, don't do any commercial work at all; four work from home. I don't aspire to work an area much larger than my county and wading into the neighboring counties a little and therefore ROW and Condemnation in Michigan is not going to put any food on the table.

Complex residential it seems has been redefined for most clients as who can do it fastest and cheapest; almost all residential is going through the AMCs. Typically a local bank will have their "normal" guys they go to for the run-of-the-mill residential work and then they will have the couple people who they call for complex residential. Those people are already in place so for complex residential you would be competing with them.

For small commercial work there are more than enough people who can do this work.

If you want to do ROW and condemnation in Michigan you will need to hook up with the people who do that work which tend to be the fish that swim in the big pond at least regionally.

If you want to do complex residential then your competition is already in place and the same with small commercial work.

It still all comes down to billing and working with a firm with a couple MAIs you are going to be doing a split fee of 50%-70%. You can't spend 30-40 hours on a complex residential assignment; the fee isn't there. Complex residential in your area will generally top out at $1,000. 70% split of $1,000 = $700 which means you need to have it done in 14 hours to realize $50/hour. Small commercial work is going to top out at about $4,000. 50% split means you need to have it done in less than 30 hours figuring a goal of making $75/hour.

 

[JTip]

Thanks, but there are no job openings.

Looks like there is an opening in LARA:

edit: nevermind, it just shows the job is there but not available..

 

[Michigander]

Anyone topping at $1,000 is selling themselves short. I have charged more than that for years and received it... PIA work though, and I should say some of the work I have done nearing double that fee should have been billed out even higher. I already do complex residential, but have to turn some down due to competency (thinking that one I approached you about last year).

That said, I think your information about regional versus local is good, and since I am interested in ROW work will look into some of the bigger fish pool with help on the residential work, perhaps seguing into commercial if they like my analysis. Thank you for that suggestion!

 

[Michigan CG]

Anyone topping at $1,000 is selling themselves short. I have charged more than that for years and received it... ..............

I was speaking in generalities. The once a year assignment at $2,000 for residential is not something that will buy many treats or groomings for your ankle biter dogs. It is uncommon for many residential assignments to top $1,000. Last year I had one, maybe two (I think) residential over $1,000 but more than I can count at $700-$1,000.

Right now I have three over $700.

 

[Michigander]

Agreed. The clients who accept it know they have something particularly odd to appraise and are willing to pay for the expertise to do it. I had someone begging me to "name my price" but it was really something verging on a CG requirement that I turned it down even though I could have probably billed close to 10K and received the order. I would have needed a CG to step in with me and help, and I have found it pretty difficult to find someone to help with those one-offs. As such, I think actually just going to work as part of a team makes good sense, in particular as I really don't like working by myself all the time and enjoy collaboration.

 

[Mary Tiernan]

Ah - at the interview is the place to extoll your virtues as mature, timely, committed, exhuberant, and experienced.

I recently changed careers - had to do some schooling to get back into the office field. Landed an internship at a law firm (my goal was paralegal through schooling). At the end of the semester, all the companies that had brought in an intern met and most of them had horrible experiences: always late, using personal phone, not willing/able to learn. My boss came back from that meeting and said she had been singing my praises all day - whenever the other bosses said something negative, she said not our intern. Age. Age was my benefactor. I had to prove it. I sweated through the interview (and I mean literally rolling down my back). But I was prepared and got the internship. I am now a paid employee, with on the job training for paralegal - much better than paying for school, eh?

Don't let age scare you. They might think they want fresh blood, when they really need experience. Hiding your dates of employment, years on the job, etc. only opens the door. Then you have to sell your wares.

Again, I wish you good luck and good hunting.