Checking the Rearview..

[Terrel L. Shields]

Should have kept the college degree requirement for residential.

Early on no requirement and no evidence that during the time it was required it did anything to improve the profession. And you can get a degree in anything, and it means nothing towards improving your skill set.

 

[djd09]

they should require appraisers to get a home inspection license...and the state should require classes in math and public relations not valuation bias

 

[Mark K]

Or - Just RETIRE.

Already did. LOL!

The only appraising I do is for the local Circuit and Superior Courts.

 

[Mark K]

Should have kept the college degree requirement for residential.

The old requirement (in this state) was that you had to have a Broker's license to appraise. And that meant that you had to be a salesperson for at least a year before you could sit for the Broker classes and test. IMO, having experience in the real estate business before being allowed to appraise was a more important requirement than a generic degree. I have an engineering degree and I know a lot of engineers that would make terrible appraisers. And I know a few long-time Brokers with no degree that can value property better than some appraisers.

They should make the appraiser education much more thorough and more rigorous. 500 hours of class time at a minimum with a focus on practical appraisal experience with twice as many experience hours, closely reviewed by an independent committee, and a state test that is not multiple choice/guess. I took extra hours of commercial classes before I sat for my CR test. I didn't think any of the classes were overly difficult.

 

[J Grant]

Early on no requirement and no evidence that during the time it was required it did anything to improve the profession. And you can get a degree in anything, and it means nothing towards improving your skill set.

There must be a reason that most professions require a college degree BEFORE specialzing ing in the skill set, and in addiotn, Militay service rewuires a college degree (or officer candidate school to achieve rank above E-5.

College courses, including the humanities, teach cricial thinking which is different than just the skill set. It also levels the playing field and acts as a screener. The appraiser profession on the residential slide slid ever lower toward circling the drain after the college requirement was removed.

 

[J Grant]

If I were driving a highway and in the rear view mirror was a line of accidents and wrecks going back 15 years, with hazardous warning signs posted about worsening conditions, I might head for the nearest exit and take a different road. Just saying.

Those of us in the tail end of the profession had no idea what was ahead after the regulations in 2010 went all wrong. Each time another regulation got corrupted or the stakeholder profiteering increased or yet another alternative product or influx of non-appraisers entered into the work, many assumed it would end there, and it did not.

The reality is the vast majority of work for a residential license is in mortgage lending, and most of that is GSE-related. If that were not true, then res licensed appraisers would have lots of options and the segment that caved to low AMC fees would not have had to do so to get orders.

Those urging res licenses to diversify practice are mainly those who hold a Cert GEn license ( or are. frankly, selling a pipe dream). There is a limited amount of non-mortgage work available with the specilized/high-end favoring an SRA or a commercial license (who of course, can do residential as well. )

There is some private and RE listing work to supplement, but not enough for a full-time income. Imo, there will remain a need for appraisers in the res mortgage end, but what that will look like or how well or poorly it will pay is unknown- but the pressure is for low fees and high speed, with some exceptions. The low fee/high speed will be AMC staff or panel churning out volume and then a smaller segment of appraisers who do high value /and or complex work or are fortunate enough to work for any lending clients that are left in the future who order direct.

 

[Tom D]

The old requirement (in this state) was that you had to have a Broker's license to appraise.

That for sure, 3 years here before i became a broker.
Should have made the original certification harder to get, they dumbed down the original process, it flooded the market in the coming years.
The merger of the SRA with the MAI into 1 organization turned out to be a big mistake. The appraisal institute did nothing for the residential. Did nothing to stop HVCC & the AMC machine from eating the appraiser's ability to affect their own finances. Didn't do anything to make USPAP for the appraiser benefit, not the whomever to nail you.

To the poster, you have come in at the end of this profession. Well, at one time it was a valuable profession to be in, but going into the trash can now with the new faster uad 3.6 not appraiser friendly nail in your coffin.

 

[DWiley]

If you could have shaped where the profession was going in your time in it (if given the power), what would you have done to effect a different outcome then where you think things are wrong currently? Are there things that could have been done along the way that would have changed the trajectory of our profession?

They should make the appraiser education much more thorough and more rigorous.

I have given much thought to what I could have done better over the last 40+ years. I wish I could have done a better job of getting more appraisers to understand and focus on the thing that makes an appraisal valuable.

The value of the appraisal profession comes from the trust that the appraiser will act like a trained and disinterested third party, and appraisal results will be based on objective date and analysis. Twenty to thirty years ago, many appraisers unwisely focused on the value of "their data" - even fighting a "copyright war" over that topic. Today there is similar focus with regard to personal inspection .

It is the analysis that is key, and unfortunately the testing process has allowed some (some would suggest it is "many") appraisers to gain state issued credentials without having the requisite analytical skills. This is evidenced by the many posts on social media asking very basic questions about how to support the most fundamental adjustments. That's like a licensed doctor going on line and asking for guidance on treating the common cold.

Is it time to split the appraiser test into modules, like some other professional exams, where passing each individual module is required? Or, alternatively, should there be a requirement for submission of a demo report showing support for multiple adjustments? However it is approached, it should be literally impossible to become a certified residential appraiser without knowing how to support adjustments using recognized methods and techniques.

 

[alebrewer]

While not a huge fan of the AI, I nonetheless think the AI SRA demo class should be required QE (or something equally rigorous).

 

[DWiley]

While not a huge fan of the AI, I nonetheless think the AI SRA demo class should be required QE (or something equally rigorous).

For me, it was the procedures class. The demo class focused on report writing. It was the procedure class that tested adjustment extraction. The final exam was essentially taking a pile of data on a mythical property and writing a mini demo, including showing support for site value, market rent, all adjustments, effective age, etc.

Of course, that kind of testing is harder to do using a multiple choice format.