0 for 2 now on Licensed Appraisal Exam

[oldguard]

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The questions that I studied in Champions Prep Class, McKissock Classes and Champions were not near the same on the test imo. Just signed up for Compucram and hope that this will get me over the line!!

 

[Alsie35]

Hondros Learning. Do their Compucram *BUT* you must also get their "Appraisal Review Crammer" book for $249. It is what helped me pass the Certification Test (It is designed for BOTH tests). Go here: https://online.hondros.com/catalog/appraisal-exam-prep

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

We used to have pre-test (no credit) prep classes. I don't know of anyone offering them. Too few students I suppose. I would opt for Hondros and study 1 and 2 of USPAP a lot. Then a good basic text over and over until you get sick of it...then read it again.

 

[Kenora]

I just took the Licensed exam last week and passed on the first try. Took McKissock QE and also their test prep stuff which was around $100 I believe. My experience with the test was to take the time to understand the question being asked. Many times I’d read a question and an answer would come to me, but after retreading the question I found I was interpreting what was being asked incorrectly and adjust my answer. Know how long to keep your work files in the case of litigation, that came up a couple times with the answers being date ranges from the closure of the litigation case. I read USPAP cover to cover which really helped. Know your HPC12, I don’t know how one would pass without it. I took all practice tests and worked through every question I go wrong until I understood the material. My weakness is income approach which is understandable as my market is mostly single family residential and that is what I work in. But IA is only 9% of the test.

Exam outline is:
RE Market 20%
Property description 12%
land site valuation 4%
Sales comparison approach 22%
cost approach 15%
income approach 9%
reconciliation 2%
USPAP 16%

best of luck on the next try!

 

[Tru Red]

Not trying to be mean or upsetting or anything else but honest. Maybe being an appraiser is not for you? Or......are you simply not good at taking tests? I've known both types of people throughout my life. Some people know everyone and cannot pass a simple exam. Others are book smart beyond belief and have no common sense to do the actual work.

You all can laugh.....but I have always found eating a bunch of bananas the day before and the morning of a test helps me.

 

[spittman]

Man I f***g hate taking tests! Always top 10% in my school years, but those tests always messed with my head. Not sure if it was because I studied too much or because I got nervous watching the time or hearing other's breeze through the testing faster than me. I mean am I the only one that hates ASMR or "white noise"... the clock ticking, the keyboards and mouse clicking, the pencil scribbling - all drove me CRAZY! And why are people finishing already and I'm still on question 10??? Seriously though. I always had a problem focusing when it came to test time. Could it be that you know the material, but you just don't do so well with tests? Best advice I can give you is to clear you're schedule for the next couple of week's, one before the test and one after ... that way you are not worried about what need's to be done right before or soon after the test. You just need to relax and be able to get a good night's rest.

As far as what material you need to focus on to pass the test, sometimes these questions are worded poorly (or tricky) that even if you know the material, the answer can be quite confusing. Double-negative true-false questions, two multiple choice questions that look like the same answer, etc. need I say more. In these situations, a good strategy is process of elimination. Read the question slowly and if you can eliminate the wrong answers then you have increased your chances by 75-100% at getting the right answer.

Because I am terrible at taking exams, I found Compucram's practice sessions helped me out a lot. It's not that it taught me anything new, but I guess it just helped me with dealing with the actual pressure of taking the test itself. I don't know anybody that passed the first time. Second time was also not uncommon for some of my peers. One thing here in Texas though, after failing the third time you will be required to take classes again so if that happens (and I don't want to discourage you) you may want to reconsider if this is the right career path for you or if it is even worth it to invest more time and money into this profession. Maybe stay in the real estate industry but try again later after gaining more experience.

Good luck and I hope you do pass!

 

[Zoe]

yeah, you have to know what they are asking and the recognized method for getting there. They will throw stuff in the question that has nothing to do with solving the question. You have to iron through that stuff.

 

[Sid Holderly]

License law State, acronyms, convert word sentences to math probloems (algebra) Be able to convert quontities,lengths, areas between different units.

 

[DARREN GODFREY]

I remember sitting down for my Cert exam...the real estate agents were there for about 45 minutes. Me 4.5 hours of answering the same questions in different formats over and over and over. I had my first suicidal thought that day if I didn't pass.
Passed the first time..whew!

 

[factsandtruth]

Learn the material....you have to put the long study days in.