Appraising is like a minimum wage job.

[Raven59]

Many appraisers succumbed to the pressure from clients who didn't respect their time or profession. Unfortunately, it's too late—the system is already in place, and vendors have found a way to bypass the need for appraisers. Appraisers in this situation need to acknowledge their share of the responsibility for creating the current environment. Simply refusing to accept the status quo won't be enough to reverse things at this point. It will require stepping into uncharted territory by specializing or seeking a different career. I apologize for being so direct, but this situation didn't develop overnight.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

When accepting those $185 assignments just to keep food on your table, you actually took food from the mouths of your fellow appraisers. You set the C & R for everyone else. So you all end up in the same boat. Had fees kept up with housing inflation the average fee would be over $1,000.

 

[ucbruin]

When accepting those $185 assignments just to keep food on your table, you actually took food from the mouths of your fellow appraisers. You set the C & R for everyone else. So you all end up in the same boat. Had fees kept up with housing inflation the average fee would be over $1,000.

Or it could be people like you that contribute to inflation....
Just kidding....

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Or it could be people like you that contribute to inflation....
Just kidding....

Or could be media hype and Blackrock et al are jacking up prices by their very presence. I'd be perfectly fine with no change in property values nationwide. I mean as long as you are living there, the value of a property is not important. It's only when you sell that it matters. My farm has been in the family since 1854. Do you think I want to sell?

 

[ucbruin]

I thought we were talking appraisal fees....
Not property values....

 

[Non Sequitur]

The state of the industry is depressing. I ran across an appraisal of my home completed in 2004, fee was $350. Here we are 20 years later and AMCs are getting well over and paying appraisers well under. And it isn't getting any better with VC and hedge fund money backing AMCs who are hiring staff appraisers and developing products and tech to replace us. Once again, I'm so thankful I told my son no when he wanted to team up with me. One of the hardest decisions I ever made, but he's out fishing all this weekend while I'm typing reports with fees from the 1990s.

 

[Elliott]

I remember reading a book, probably Emotional Intelligence, but it made a point about what professionals do during 'slow times' or 'hard times' and it said they invest in themselves. The example was that good attorneys will take acting classes, so they'd be better in front of a jury when business picked up. I remember in 2009 or so, volume and income dropped 60%. I thought about what to do next, and having been in the fee business for 25-years, I figured I was too old to do anything else, so decided to just stick it out, which was the right decision. Usually during slow times I'd end up traveling and taking more appraisal classes.

 

[Non Sequitur]

I remember reading a book, probably Emotional Intelligence, but it made a point about what professionals do during 'slow times' or 'hard times' and it said they invest in themselves.

Great advice.

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

I'm glad I saw the writing on the wall 2 years ago and bailed out.
To paraphrase Hetfield,

The tired man you see no longer cares.I dub FNMA unforgiven.

I miss it not one bit, and now only look here when I am bored.
Highly recommended. Especially since this place is more maga s h i t than appraisal these days.

 

[Tom4value]

Been reading a lot of these posts. Many of them saying, “the business is dead”. I have been hearing that the entire 33 years I have been in this dog and pony show. I have learned 3 things.
1. There is a reason why it is called a “job” and not a “hobby”.
2. Your attitude about your job is entirely on you.
3. Appraising real estate is one of the few careers where you can control your destiny. I have worked in sales for a lot of my professional career, where “you make your own path”. That only pertains when you work for another company. When I broke off and did my own appraisal company is when I truly controlled my destiny.