Certified General Appraisers Pay Range

[Skeletor]

There's a lot of variables there. Experience is a big one, and bringing in business has an effect on that split too.

I don't disagree. As a business owner I figure I'm probably spending about 25% of my time managing the company which includes quoting, and as you probably know, quoting can be time consuming depending on the complexity of the property. Plus, if there is an office and staff the expenses add up quickly and I realize that fee splits account for this.

BUT!!

We have entirely too much turnover in this industry and there is an unacceptably high number of bad appraisers. Fees are lower and so are those fee splits and that is part of the problem. We are having difficulty bringing in new talent because the economic incentive is challenging. So these big appraisal firms with high overhead and low fee splits are turning into dinosaurs real fast. Perhaps change the business model to a decentralized concept in an effort to lower overhead and raise the fee split. Just an idea I suppose...

 

[RCA]

There's a lot of variables there. Experience is a big one, and bringing in business has an effect on that split too. Benefits are massive reason for variance, as paying 35% and full benefits to one appraiser might not really differ from 50% to another appraiser where the "benefits" are MLS access and an office to type reports, if that. Maybe those %s could be disputed, but just throwing that out as an example. I made a salary that averaged in the low 20%s (and full benefits) for the first +/- 7 years of my career, which includes four years as a CG. That sounds like highway robbery and I certainly thought it was low at the time. But, I didn't bring in any of the business myself during that time and all of my appraisals were co-signed since I didn't have an MAI. I now get 50%, but have an MAI and basically operate a separate office where I bring in 95%+ of the appraisals that come across my desk.

Yes one justification of Appraisal Management is that they are needed to make sure clients get routed to responsible and competent appraisers.

It's as if licensing and designation were not sufficient for that purpose. So, another big contradiction in the appraisal system: You get an AG license and an SRA or MAI designation. Yet somehow large companies can't trust that and have to rely on AMCs or equivalent to get routed to competent appraisers.

The truth is, it's a large complex system and certain opportunistic people and organizations are continually trying to inject themselves into the system wherever they find opportunity to cash-in. Big fish, small fish, back-stabbing, fake news, lying, cheating, and keeping a straight face at the same time. Mostly people looking out for their own careers, and all the ripple effects that entails. It's actually very interesting, when you think about it.

What you see is not what you necessarily get.

 

[Deleted member 152047]

Everything varies so much, this almost isn't even worth talking about. You may have a 50% split and only be able to bill $100k at one shop, but you go to another shop and have a 35% split and bill $250k. The variance in appraiser pay just in my city alone is staggering (for those with similar experience levels). Those at the nationals will have greater opportunities to make more money, unless a local shop is extremely specialized. It all comes down to experience, competence, willingness to work, and tackling assignments that not all appraisers can do. Those that set themselves apart in quality, timeliness, and assignment complexity will be compensated accordingly.

 

[TRESinc]

Yes one justification of Appraisal Management is that they are needed to make sure clients get routed to responsible and competent appraisers.

It's as if licensing and designation were not sufficient for that purpose.

AMCs aside having a license does not guarantee anything other than someone passed a test. how many idiot drivers do you encounter every day who passed a test and got their license?

So, another big contradiction in the appraisal system: You get an AG license and an SRA or MAI designation. Yet somehow large companies can't trust that and have to rely on AMCs or equivalent to get routed to competent appraisers.

no, they OUTSOURCE the panel management to another company, it has nothing to do with trust. they no longer have to pay people's salaries, sick time, benefits, 401k, vacations and all the other things associated with being an employee to manage the panel of independent appraisers. all those costs are now converted instantly into profits when it is outsourced.

 

[bnmappraisal]

It all comes down to experience, competence, willingness to work, and tackling assignments that not all appraisers can do. Those that set themselves apart in quality, timeliness, and assignment complexity will be compensated accordingly.

...And it's the same for RES or COMM (my bold)

 

[RCA]

AMCs aside having a license does not guarantee anything other than someone passed a test. how many idiot drivers do you encounter every day who passed a test and got their license?



no, they OUTSOURCE the panel management to another company, it has nothing to do with trust. they no longer have to pay people's salaries, sick time, benefits, 401k, vacations and all the other things associated with being an employee to manage the panel of independent appraisers. all those costs are now converted instantly into profits when it is outsourced.

Well ... I think getting the SRA or MAI is a little more involved than that.

 

[TRESinc]

Well ... I think getting the SRA or MAI is a little more involved than that.

and where did i say they were not?

 

[RCA]

and where did i say they were not?

Well, I stated "... AG license AND an SRA or MAI designation" . Countering that with the argument that a "license is little more than guaranteeing someone has passed a test" is meaningless unless you also are considering a designation a license, which in effect it is. Anyway, you can't get a license without a background check, so a license is in fact more than a test. And getting through a USPAP test requires knowledge and a certain degree of intelligence, so it is clearly not just taking a test. End result, you haven't even supplied a weak counter argument. .... I'm wasting my time again. Wait, didn't I say I wasn't going to respond to your posts. Ooops. - Forgot.

 

[TRESinc]

Well, I stated "... AG license AND an SRA or MAI designation" . Countering that with the argument that a "license is little more than guaranteeing someone has passed a test" is meaningless unless you also are considering a designation a license, which in effect it is. Anyway, you can't get a license without a background check, so a license is in fact more than a test. And getting through a USPAP test requires knowledge and a certain degree of intelligence, so it is clearly not just taking a test. End result, you haven't even supplied a weak counter argument. .... I'm wasting my time again. Wait, didn't I say I wasn't going to respond to your posts. Ooops. - Forgot.

and i stated license, not a designation (designation is another topic entirely and once licensing came about their provenance was greatly diminished and never fully recovered, a point you can see today by the number of appraisers with designations vs those without). you can't take the test without completing a lot of things. we all know that. the test is the final step of the process and i thought you would be intelligent enough to realize that but i now see i was wrong, so from now on i will spell out every step of every process when correcting your comments. my point still stands - having a license does not mean anything other than someone was able to complete a few steps in a process (apply to be a trainee, take some classes, get experience hours, take more classes, submit to the state, take the test) and passed a test at the end of it. it does not indicate any level of intelligence past basic reading and comprehension.

 

[RCA]

I don't have time to correct your mistakes.