Dublin ohio
Elite Member
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2008
- Professional Status
- Licensed Appraiser
- State
- Ohio
The Premier Online Community for Real Estate Appraisers!
-
Welcome to AppraisersForum.com, the premier online
community for the discussion of real estate appraisal. Register a free account to be able to post and unlock additional forums and features.
What might you do in my situation?
- Thread starter eskayenterprises47
- Start date
George Hatch
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2002
- Professional Status
- Certified General Appraiser
- State
- California
To answer the OPs question a little more directly, if you're asking whether appraising as a supplemental income can work going forward the answer might be yes, except that you can expect the average degree of difficulty in the assignments is going to increase.
So
Appraisers who only operate in drone mode are going to get squeezed harder than the appraisers who are orienting toward the increasing degree of difficulty. And even if you operate in the upper quartile of appraisers you'll probably still struggle. On a long enough timeline the human appraisers will probably get rendered economically obsolete. It's not certain that will happen, but it sure looks that way to a lot of appraisers.
Sorry
So
Appraisers who only operate in drone mode are going to get squeezed harder than the appraisers who are orienting toward the increasing degree of difficulty. And even if you operate in the upper quartile of appraisers you'll probably still struggle. On a long enough timeline the human appraisers will probably get rendered economically obsolete. It's not certain that will happen, but it sure looks that way to a lot of appraisers.
Sorry
J Grant
Elite Member
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2003
- Professional Status
- Certified Residential Appraiser
- State
- Florida
I think if one is looking ahead 10 years, we will not be obsolete. Beyond that, IDK - but the field will see some attrition, and the appraisers who do better are the competent who can prove they can solve. and do a wide variety of assignment types.
If one is keeping busy from a client or firm doing rote work and wants retirement supplemental income, sticking with that probably makes sense - the higher income of a solo act looks tempting, but the stress and uneven income/work flow might not be worth the change.
If one is keeping busy from a client or firm doing rote work and wants retirement supplemental income, sticking with that probably makes sense - the higher income of a solo act looks tempting, but the stress and uneven income/work flow might not be worth the change.
RCA
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2017
- Professional Status
- Certified General Appraiser
- State
- California
Most likely, the appraisers who survive long term will be those who can handle "real" appraisal, i.e., MARS (Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines), and other advanced AI statistical methods and data mining.
Real appraisal - means being able to deal with a large number of variables, complex relationships, -- real valuations - not just flying by the seat of your pants "guessing" what a stained glass window in a master bathroom is worth ( as TA suggests in a recent article of his).
HOWEVER, please note, you can nowadays ask ChatGPT, something like: "What is a stained glass window in a Master Bathroom worth?" -- and it may very well come back with all kinds of surveys and support for such a value, or at least some indications of such a value.
i.e., only 15% - 35% of potential buyers would have any interest at all. What does that convert in contribution to market value? Guess again? I bet you don't know how to handle it except to guess.
It's not rocket science? Maybe it is.
Mark K
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2004
- Professional Status
- Certified Residential Appraiser
- State
- Indiana
missed that part.
J Grant
Elite Member
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2003
- Professional Status
- Certified Residential Appraiser
- State
- Florida
A good way to keep up with market trends is to stop by or look online at builder models in different price ranges in your area. The builders work with designers and architects and are on point wrt the latest trends and which trends are popular and desired by buyers to offer as options.
Pools are popular here. Extra garage bays if the model allows it. Extended patios. Upgrades to kitchen and baths ( the materials and price points are appropriate to the home price and community ) Etc. What builders do not offer are weird or highly custom features or (relatively ) low-demand items or complex energy items like solar panels, generators etc. Builders are slow to adopt cutting-edge tech, but as things progress, they offer smart house technology as an option., Storm impact windows are standard in higher price ranges or as an option. That was not the case ten years ago.
An owner can add individual features after they purchase and close of course. But the builder options and finishes are a good guide to what is most popular and expected in a price range and property type in an area.
Pools are popular here. Extra garage bays if the model allows it. Extended patios. Upgrades to kitchen and baths ( the materials and price points are appropriate to the home price and community ) Etc. What builders do not offer are weird or highly custom features or (relatively ) low-demand items or complex energy items like solar panels, generators etc. Builders are slow to adopt cutting-edge tech, but as things progress, they offer smart house technology as an option., Storm impact windows are standard in higher price ranges or as an option. That was not the case ten years ago.
An owner can add individual features after they purchase and close of course. But the builder options and finishes are a good guide to what is most popular and expected in a price range and property type in an area.
eskayenterprises47
Sophomore Member
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2019
- Professional Status
- Appraiser Trainee
- State
- New Jersey
All of your replies have been so great and informative. I’m definitely going to copy and paste and print them out for future reference. To address some points made/inquired about….
- yes I’m fully certified
- yes I have E &O insurance
- no I do not have MLS (I realize I’ll have to get this if I want to go out on my own)
- yes I do have Wintotal software and understand/use it fully
- my split of the fee currently is approximately 35%
- And yes it is a good question…why he’s kept a certified individual around without giving me full assignments
- potential answer- he has mentioned bringing me on as some sort of partner when I retire. What that really means in his eyes I’m not so sure. Time will tell. Or possibly he doesn’t want to fully “train his competition” to have me up and leave.
- I’ve had some spells of running the back office in his absence over the years (reviewing and revising reports, interacting with lenders, homeowners (of course lol)
The good thing is that I’m looking to retire in two years so I have a little time to get my ducks in a row if I truly want to entertain being independent. An interesting point was made earlier about the headaches that come with the full fee collection vs. simply continuing doing what I’m doing but just with more volume upon retiring and seeing whet my earnings look like.
- yes I’m fully certified
- yes I have E &O insurance
- no I do not have MLS (I realize I’ll have to get this if I want to go out on my own)
- yes I do have Wintotal software and understand/use it fully
- my split of the fee currently is approximately 35%
- And yes it is a good question…why he’s kept a certified individual around without giving me full assignments
- potential answer- he has mentioned bringing me on as some sort of partner when I retire. What that really means in his eyes I’m not so sure. Time will tell. Or possibly he doesn’t want to fully “train his competition” to have me up and leave.
- I’ve had some spells of running the back office in his absence over the years (reviewing and revising reports, interacting with lenders, homeowners (of course lol)
The good thing is that I’m looking to retire in two years so I have a little time to get my ducks in a row if I truly want to entertain being independent. An interesting point was made earlier about the headaches that come with the full fee collection vs. simply continuing doing what I’m doing but just with more volume upon retiring and seeing whet my earnings look like.
eskayenterprises47
Sophomore Member
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2019
- Professional Status
- Appraiser Trainee
- State
- New Jersey
Based on the divide in work/responsibility what do you think would be a fair split? 50/50? 45/55?
George Hatch
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2002
- Professional Status
- Certified General Appraiser
- State
- California
If you're not already there you should be working your way into performing 100% of the assignment yourself and without any help from anyone. Then you're worth 50% so long as they're paying for the data.
No matter where you're at now, you will run into new-to-you situations on a regular basis. It's how persistent and how good you are at working the appraisal process itself that will enable you to work on your own, solicit your own clients and roll around in the mud of self employment like the rest of us catfish types.
No matter where you're at now, you will run into new-to-you situations on a regular basis. It's how persistent and how good you are at working the appraisal process itself that will enable you to work on your own, solicit your own clients and roll around in the mud of self employment like the rest of us catfish types.