Commercial work

[tmon43]

Hello fellow Buckeyes! I am currently a licensed residential appraiser (my Certification is pending) and have been for over 10 years. I apprenticed for a CG and assisted on numerous commercial assignments. The CG has long since retired and moved to Florida. I am considering getting into commercial appraising again and working towards my CG. I was wondering what your opinions are for the future of commercial real estate in Ohio is. Specifically, do you feel this is something that is worth pursuing?

 

[Tony in Ohio]

I am a long time residential cert. so I do not know any specifics, but I would expect the prospects to be as good in Ohio as elsewhere. There are plenty of commercial properties, a fairly old appraiser base, and a much wider base of potential clients. Plus, even if the business as we know it goes away, The skills you gain are much more marketable to the business world, and should help you get a higher paying job outside of the industry.


I have the degree (BS in R.E. and urban analysis, and some institute classes) and a little experience, and sometimes kick myself for not going in that direction from the start. I would love to get more experience in that area, but I am the sole support for my wife and kids so I need to keep my business running and can't afford to take a staff trainee position at this point.

 

[tmon43]

I am a long time residential cert. so I do not know any specifics, but I would expect the prospects to be as good in Ohio as elsewhere. There are plenty of commercial properties, a fairly old appraiser base, and a much wider base of potential clients. Plus, even if the business as we know it goes away, The skills you gain are much more marketable to the business world, and should help you get a higher paying job outside of the industry.


I have the degree (BS in R.E. and urban analysis, and some institute classes) and a little experience, and sometimes kick myself for not going in that direction from the start. I would love to get more experience in that area, but I am the sole support for my wife and kids so I need to keep my business running and can't afford to take a staff trainee position at this point.

I hear you. I am the main support for my family and my daughter starts college next fall. My income has already taken quite a hit and now I need to find someway to expand or I'll need to get out.
I have the degree as well and probably have about 500 hours under mybelt already. I don't know how the past experience will play out as far as the state goes, though because the CG is long retired and not around anymore.
I am hoping that because I have some experience that I might be able to sign on with a CG, who would then be able to take on a little more work, so that it would be a win/win for both of us. But that is assuming alot, I keep hearing about how commercial is the next train wreck, and if it is banks and other investors will want to know what they are holding in order to decide what to do next. I know there are alot of smaller commercial and mixed use properties in the areas that I service, that many CGs might not want to take the time themselves, because the job would be too small. But the need is still there. I'd like to hear from some of the CGs here to see if my thinking is correct.

 

[Tony in Ohio]

Good luck,

Your best bet is probably to join one or more of the societies and start networking hard. The biggest drawback you will probably find from the little I have done is that you will have to convince people that you do not have a too "residential" of a mindset and are willing to still learn.

The most likely people willing to take you on are the semi retired guys, or the really busy in spurts guys, and I can understand why neither of them would want a lot of headaches on basic things that residential guys live by , but are meaningless in the commercial world.

 

[tmon43]

Good luck,

Your best bet is probably to join one or more of the societies and start networking hard. The biggest drawback you will probably find from the little I have done is that you will have to convince people that you do not have a too "residential" of a mindset and are willing to still learn.

The most likely people willing to take you on are the semi retired guys, or the really busy in spurts guys, and I can understand why neither of them would want a lot of headaches on basic things that residential guys live by , but are meaningless in the commercial world.

Tony, thanks for the advice. BTW my name is Tony also.

 

[Tony in Ohio]

No problem,

Glad to help a fellow Tony out.

Hopefully some of the commercial people will be able to confirm/deny on my thoughts or even expand some more. I do not know what part otf the state you are in but I have been to institute meetings in both Central and Northeast Ohio and found that they have some pretty good people. The same is true for some of the other societies I have seen and you may have better luck there, because they may have a lower percentage of "corporate" types.