Am I suppose to Solicit, as an Appraiser Trainee

[Travis McGee]

Hello,

I am a licensed appraiser trainee. I have some experience writing appraisals. I have a college degree, have been in the RE field for 4 years, and have computer knowledge.

I am working under a licensed appraiser. My problem is that I only have done 3 appraisals in 2 months. He wants me to market and get my own clients. I have to keep my real estate sales job to pay the bills. I don't have time to solicit. I bought Apprisal ToolBox , a new computer, a cable modem, other tools. I don't think this is really how it is suppose to be.

When you get an appraiser trainee position, are you suppose to get your own clients too. Did you have to when you started??

Do you have any suggestions.

Thanks,

Jennifer :?

 

[Em Tee]

Instead of wasting time marketing, I'd be looking for a new supervising appraiser to work under. I doubt that as a trainee you'd be able to find any clients. Dump your so-called mentor fast!

P.S. Good luck in finding someone who really wants to take on a trainee. I wish you the best!

 

[wyecoyote]

Jennifer,

I agree somewhat with Mary on this you will have an incredibly tough time finding clients as a trainiee. You should be looking to learn from someone that is good as a mentor and is busy enough to give you work.

Now playing devil's advocate :twisted: . Your mentor may want you to get your own clients knowing from past experince that trainee's eventually go out on their own and steal away a portion of his own buisness. Because, in esence what he is doing is training the future competion. So if you have your own clientell when you leave and open your own buisiness it will not hurt him that bad some may go with you and some may not. :twisted: This is the nature of the beast.

Ryan

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

I did a lot of marketing as a trainee. Had my supervisors put on many new approved lists. You cannot really market yourself until you are certified (or licensed), you'll have to market your supervisor.

 

[Randy Beigh]

Jennifer

Pamela is correct. You can do some of your own marketing. I also tend to agree with some of the other resposes in one sense and that is that the supervisor doesn't appear to be very busy and maybe, bit off more that he can chew with hiring you. Three appraisals in 2 months. This guy sees you so seldom, does he remember your name.

Asking you to buy all the supplies as well as get your own customers is, to me, a little strange, as we supply everything. If you are in a small town, this may be your only option, but if you are in a larger community, I would look for another supervisor/trainer.

Your post did make me think back to my fee appraiser trainer. He had a lot of work, but only gave me an assignment when his plate was to full. When I went into business, I went the other way. I give all my work to the employees and the only time, I do an appraisal is when their plates are full. For me, that has been more successful.

My obeservations are that most appraisers are not very business oriented. That is to say they back into business and are primarily appraisers first, with business way down at the bottom. Sounds like your supervisor is in that category. I have always felt that appraisers should be businesspeople first.

Good luck

 

[Ross (CO)]

Jennifer, I can appreciate the frustrations you are experiencing. Doing 3 appraisals in 2 months is not an activity level to boast about. No wonder you are being asked to go out and market...because not much business is coming in to the group from which an assignment is going to be handed to you. Your supervisor wants as many new orders as possible to make that fax go off, so one can only expect that he or she is actively marketing too. There may be a misconception though that upon one becoming Cert. Res. the phone never stops ringing and everytime you come back to the office the fax tray has 5 new orders laying in it. For some of us in the trade that is perhaps a reality, and the feeling would have to be wonderful. It was mentioned in this posting thread something about the "stealing" of clients when a trainee acquires the higher license level and decides to move on. Clients order from whom they like, who does the better report and obviously from whom a lesser fee might be charged. The under-cutting of fees by appraisers is a sad reality that shows we are too many in number chasing too few total assignments in an environment where our clients do not really want our opinion or have not been able to get a computer program to tell them the minimal of what they need to have to close the deal with more residual profit. We, that's you and I, are being price-shopped all the time. Who charges the lower fee ? I just got off the phone with a client from the past, with whom I had done quite a few assignments from June '01 through early March '02. You might notice that time frame is NOT more than 1 year. Since winter of this year their new operating procedure is to call with a "possible" order (carrot on the stick) , tell you the report type they need (this time, drive-by 2055, in the mountains west of me), and then ask my fee. They already know my fee ! (Perhaps I might have an entirely new discount bargain fee schedule). I quote it again, and I knew the words to then come out of her mouth..."o.k., well I'll have to check with our client". Well, let me know if you want me to do it. She coud not tell me anything about the house, its age, its size or what makes it special. I was talking to a long-time appr. acquaintance a while ago who made a stark comment about the appraiser-client relationship. The words that I remember most were....if you are still working for a client a year later (after starting with them) then look closely, as you might be doing something wrong ! There are those among us who can say they have had clients staying with them for 3 years, 7 years, 11 years and wow, that sure is admirable. I'd settle for one staying 3 years, that would be nice. Hang in there, Jennifer.

 

[Travis McGee]

Thank you for your input. Getting that foot in the door is hard. I am looking for another position.

Thanks again!!!

 

[Dale Smalley]

Smile and dial Baby

I still remember going through 358 calls to get my first appraisal job.
You are going to have to make it happen for yourself. Take some sales classes or get tapes to listen to in the car. Zig Ziegler and Tom Hopkins are some of the older guys but sales is sales and nothing happens untill somebody sells something.

Good Luck

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Some appraisers apparently want a trainee to bring in work for them (i.e.-the appraiser does not like to do sales) Others, like myself, took on trainees to handle the overload.

One trainee I inherited. For several years I had a partner who suffered from melanoma cancer. She took on her step daughter as trainee simply because she was so weak and tired easily. She asked me shortly before she died in 2000 to try and help the step dau. get her license. Last month that wish was fulfilled. After taking the test 4 times, her step dau. is now certified residential in Oklahoma and Arkansas.

The other trainee I took on simply because he had a poultry background. Unfortunately he has been a disappointment in that he only wants to do residential property. He will take his test in OCT.

The third is an old friend who has lupus and cannot work full time. She did not intend to ever license, but I am encouraging her. Due to the pills she takes from happy valley to Steroids, I doubt she will ever be able to pass the test except during times when the lupus is dormant, which is not often. I tried to get her to simply work as my secretary, but she likes to appraise and is not interested.

I may take on my nephew as a trainee with the understanding he will concentrate on commercial work. This is the area I am far behind. I have just started on a new price list with the intention of jacking the prices high enough to discourage the bottom feeders. I have to cut the practice down or die. I cannot continue 7 days, 12 hr or more each day much longer.

 

[Terry Russell]

My thoughts are if a possible mentor goes to great length in explaining about non-compete clauses and you need to get your own clients.
That individual needs a mentor themselves.
Terry