BBG - a good place to start as a commercial appraisal trainee?

[gabramovich]

Nice to see you are giving yourself off 4 weeks a year.

4 years for experience, sure, its possible in a controlled environment with consistent non-stop work. What about those 250 hours of classroom training? Maybe replace one of those 4 weeks of vacation a year and squeeze in those class hours over 4 years. Be sure to ask the wife-to-be if she is OK with your 'modest' salary for the next 4+ years. hahahaha

Check with your state, but PA allows 50% of experience hours to be residential when going for CG, or when upgrading from CR to CG they require 1,500 hours of commercial experience.

During my training, I sold real estate and insurance (property and casualty) to pay the bills while squeezing in appraisals. From day one till I passed the CR state test was 4.5 years. Mom scenario is more tempting, unfortunate she is 6 hours away.

Your answer will come after you figure out if the numbers are realistic and your potential employer can support your expectations, both training opportunities and assumed financial compensation fee splits.

I default back to -NewHavenMAI's reality check of "think about where you will be at 50"-. And remember too, just because you pass the state test and get your certification from the state doesn't mean the 'gravy train' of clients will be beating down your independent door. It's like getting a drivers license; you won't get to drive the Corvette just because you passed your drivers test. You get to drive the Civic for a couple years first. Clients want a 'seasoned' certification for their golf course/skyscraper/eminent domain appraisals, not a CG cert fresh off the printer.

Not trying to be a downer, just letting you know if it was that easy then way more people would be doing it.

Got it, and this makes sense. Thank you JTip!

 

[gabramovich]

All that said, while Argus certification is helpful, I wouldn't hire someone unless they had taken the Appraisal Institute classes up through the advanced income approach class. Investing the time and money into the designation shows commitment, and unless you have a solid finance/economics background, it's the easiest way short of some kind of masters degree to ensure you have a basic level of understanding. Residential appraisal is probably not a bad idea either, though I've not personally seen that transition often.

Whatever you do though, you absolutely can get your MAI designation in 4 and half or 5 years. You will be sick of the grind by 50 guaranteed, and the designation is the ticket to an easier, though probably not lucrative, salaried position at a bank or for the government.

Very good - I’m going to be implementing everything you outline here!

 

[Dale Smalley]

My son is an MAI at the Coral Gables office for BBG. Well run from my perspective. But alot of work if you are ready for it.

 

[TheGrind]

NewHavenMAI and JTip - I agree with both of you. If I had my way, I’d rather start at a smaller (8-12) appraiser shop with MAI’s directly supervising me. But those sorts of trainee positions are rare and difficult to get.

During the last month, I cold called 25 MAI’a in my area looking to get hired, and have applied to a bunch of mid-size firms that had trainee positions. Often the small shops don’t even want trainees, and mid-size firms haven’t responded. I was able to get one small shop to interview me after a bunch of cold calls led to my CV being shared with their leadership, and although the interview went well, they told me they didn’t have capacity to train somebody right now. They even said “go get experience elsewhere, even in residential appraisal (since my mother is a Certified Residential Appraiser), and then come back to us and we will bring you on the team.”

I’ve enrolled in REFM and Argus Certification Programs hoping they they would strengthen my resume, but without a path to gain experience I’m sort of stuck. I’m even offering commercial appraisers to work for free (or to even pay them a substantial lump sum down payment in cash) for a period of time just to gain experience.

So from my perspective starting somewhere is better than nowhere, and if I manage to get an offer from an national firm, even with some of its disadvantages, I should jump on it.

gabramovich,
I think this is the right mindset. Clearly, you have worked to find a place to take you on and at some point with limited options, you just have to go with who is hiring. I was told when I was just starting my career that an appraiser (they didn't have "trainees" back then, but that is what I was) wasn't worth a damn until they had been in the industry for around 3 years. I have found that to be relatively true. Only negative thing that I have heard about BBG (from BBG employees, both current and former) is that their model isn't very good, when compared to other firms their size. If this is the career path you want, I say take it, get your hours and your certified general, then you will have the leverage to be more choosy. I know that if a CG came to our office wanting a job, we would definitely listen. Good luck!

 

[DanBuck]

Hi Y’all,

I am making a transition to appraisal from an unrelated industry and work background. I’m in my late 30s and want to become a commercial appraiser, and want to know if BBG or a similar firm is a good place to start as an analyst (which is basically their commercial appraisal trainee position)

Has anybody had experience working at this company and can you give me some insights on what’s it’s like to work as a trainee there with the goal of getting certification hours, learning the skill of commercial appraisal, and being exposed to a variety of work?

Is it realistic to aim to get a Certified General License through BBG or another national firm in an efficient manner? It seems like they have more experience with bringing trainees up through the certification process than many of the smaller firms (who sometimes don’t even hire trainees).

Appreciate any advice.

They have a big name-go for it.

 

[Zephyr999]

JTip - Can I ask you why you think it would take me a decade to get the CG cert. I guess you’re saying if I work for a national firm the certification process will go super slow?

Truth is, it will take TIME to become both proficient and have competence...regardless of where elect to work. Be patient Grasshopper and enjoy the ride.

 

[PL1957]

Truth is, it will take TIME to become both proficient and have competence...regardless of where elect to work. Be patient Grasshopper and enjoy the ride.

Being proficient and having competence has little to do with getting certified. That process requires seat time, proficiency in exam taking and an experience log. Competence comes much much later …

 

[gabramovich]

Hi Y’all - Wanted to thank everyone for their invaluable advice so far.

I’m happy to report that BBG has made me an offer for an analyst position at their office at the large city where I am located.

It would be a salary for the first year, plus 401k and benefits, they would cover my McKissock classes, etc. (I’m already completing trainee classes with AI - so I’m going to see if they’ll cover the advanced classes instead).

The local large city office is small and hasn’t been ramped up yet, so I would be working as a trainee directly with the main senior appraiser who is in charge of growing that particular office. They have larger offices throughout California, and work is distributed from managers down to the offices.

After 1 year he says I would be able to write more reports under his supervision and my income would grow substantially beyond the base salary. Beyond that he says the only real ceiling is how much work I would want to put in/bill any particular period.

Their timeline is to go up for certification within 2 years. There is no competition for work internally, they have more than plenty of work to go around, and a second year analyst can bill as much as one can handle (at least for now - who knows what happens if interest rates skyrocket).

They have an internal priority on continuing education, and want me to become a MAI candidate and then go up for designation when that becomes possible.

I would get a head start during the next two months before starting on the job by wrapping up the trainee courses and exams (which are slated for next month), and then by taking the advanced income capitalization and other more advanced classes.

The analyst position starting salary is a little bit more generous than I expected - I’m assuming due to cost of living adjustment since I live in an expensive area of the country.

As far as I can tell this is the most efficient route for me to achieve to career transition I’m trying to make happen, and to get certification hours and to learn the skills and business of commercial appraisal. The company appears committed to growth and to developing strong up and coming appraisers. It seems like doing this route would put me in a strong position in 2-3 years, and seems especially attractive given the absence of other viable options at this time.

 

[PL1957]

Hi Y’all - Wanted to thank everyone for their invaluable advice so far.

I’m happy to report that BBG has made me an offer for an analyst position at their office at the large city where I am located.

It would be a salary for the first year, plus 401k and benefits, they would cover my McKissock classes, etc. (I’m already completing trainee classes with AI - so I’m going to see if they’ll cover the advanced classes instead).

The local large city office is small and hasn’t been ramped up yet, so I would be working as a trainee directly with the main senior appraiser who is in charge of growing that particular office. They have larger offices throughout California, and work is distributed from managers down to the offices.

After 1 year he says I would be able to write more reports under his supervision and my income would grow substantially beyond the base salary. Beyond that he says the only real ceiling is how much work I would want to put in/bill any particular period.

Their timeline is to go up for certification within 2 years. There is no competition for work internally, they have more than plenty of work to go around, and can bill as much as one can handle (at least for now - who knows what happens if interest rates skyrocket).

They have an internal priority on continuing education, and want me to become a MAI candidate and then go up for designation when that becomes possible.

I would get a head start during the next two months before starting on the job by wrapping up the trainee courses and exams (which are slated for next month), and then by taking the advanced income capitalization and other more advanced classes.

The analyst position starting salary is a little bit more generous than I expected - I’m assuming due to cost of living adjustment since I live in an expensive area of the country.

As far as I can tell this is the most efficient route for me to achieve to career transition I’m trying to make happen, and to get certification hours and to learn the skills and business of commercial appraisal. The company appears committed to growth and to developing strong up and coming appraisers. It seems like doing this route would put me in a strong position in 2-3 years, and seems especially attractive given the absence of other viable options at this time.

Congrats and good luck

 

[Zephyr999]

Being proficient and having competence has little to do with getting certified. That process requires seat time, proficiency in exam taking and an experience log. Competence comes much much later …

Sure, if that's your belief.