California - Requirements

[vargasteve]

:?: Friend of mine wants to be an appraiser in California. Anyone recently been through the process?, wondering if it is possible to take all the classes online & meet all qualifications. Any suggestions?
Thanks - please email snq5@hotmail.com or reply to this post

 

[wyecoyote]

You might want to check with the california state appraisal board. See exactly what they require. Here in WA the requirements are two years working under another appraiser as a trainiee, getting 2,000 to 2,500 hours experince, and 90-125 hours of classess. You can not take these classess online except for continuing education classess after your licensed or certified. It is a long and thankless process. These are the minimal requirements that the Fed has and each state does differ slightly.

Ryan

 

[George Hatch]

Taking the basic pre-licensing courses online, via remote TV, or by correspondence is allowed by the state, but I wouldn't recommend it unless your friend is planning to follow it up live classes. There is no substitute for getting the feedback, the non-documented course materials, and the experiences that can only be conveyed by a live instructor.

Allied Schools has a correspondence course for pre-licensing that is accepted by California's OREA, and I'm sure there are others.

George Hatch

 

[Kevin]

I live in Southern Ca and just finished the Allied Appraisal Course on-line (90 hours, including 15 hours USPAP). The course is pretty good. It teaches the basics and gives enough info to pass the state exam [The state exam wasn't too hard]. Once you pass the state exam, you get a Trainee License. Once you get this, you must work under a licensed appraiser and have him sign your appraisals for 2000 hours. I've found that you learn 99 percent of what you need from the appraiser you are working under. It's a pretty fun job.

For state requirements, look at OREA.gov.
For Allied courses, look at alliedschool.com

 

[Kevin]

I forgot to mention the hard part: Finding an appraiser to work under.

 

[Brian Bonham]

Kevin,

That's great to hear.
I'm in the process of taking my final through Allied then I have to schedule my state exam.
Anyway, do you recommend studying anything else besides the books Allied supplies.
Some people say the test isn't that hard and some say it is really hard and to study other sources.
Any surprises on the test that you weren't prepared for?

Thanks for the help,
Brian

 

[Joshua Fookes]

Read Tosh's Question and answer book. I took Allieds Class, I would say it qualifies you to take the test, but extra study is required to pass the test. the test is pretty easy though, if you know the basics. But thats how all tests are, they are easy if you know the right answer


I will say the tests from Allied were a joke. and the final is just a selection of the questions you've already answered. Just learn the right answers to the tests you've already taken and you've got yourself an easy 90+%

Good luck

And oh yeah, get a supervisor, that is the hard part. I've been very blessed in this whole endevor.

And oh oh yeah, it's a lot of fun doing this appraisal stuff.

 

[ocvillas1]

Steve,

In California, from OREA’s point of view it makes no difference whether you are taking the classes online, by correspondence or through classroom education. The only requirement is to take the classes with an approved course provider.
You can get a list of the OREA approved providers at http://www.orea.ca.gov/forms/CourseProvApr03.pdf

I took the course online with the Allied Real Estate School ( see www.appraiserlicense.com ), which I would highly recommend to anyone who prefers self-study, at a faster pace than one would get in the classroom. Depending on the provider, one may be able to learn more real life type of knowledge in the classroom. But so does one on this forum, or even more so!

Best of luck to your friend,
Roxana

 

[Anthony Blackburn]

Lets not forget a good way for someone to get a taste of the appraisal experience is to work as a gopher in an apprasial office. I have one and I teach him the basics and take the time to point out interestng and helpful items in different reports. He is workling toward getting his traineee license and I think his experience with me will help.