Contractor in the truest sense

[sputnam]

The only thing that would prevent it would be the policies of the firms. Fellow I was partners with used to say that a part timer was someone who wasn't there when you needed him.

 

[Tom D]

my experience, only residential, was when i wanted some new client i would become a phone salesperson. i would make 10 phone calls, and most of the time i would get 1-2 new clients. in sales you are paid in direct proportion to the amount of rejection you can eat. in your field you need to find a niche that your can become an expert and give good fast service. and yes, you will lose your current employer if it conflicts with their business, or he thinks you may try to steal their business. so you first need to have everything set up as if you are going to be on your own.

 

[RichMahagony]

To me it takes about 3 years to build a commercial appraisal practice if you are fully qualified to do business. One needs to market themselves and secure data sources. One needs for formulate a marketing plan. One needs to execute it. One can't expect orders to come to them due to their licensing and location. One needs to generate the interest in selecting your firm to do business with. One can be employee/subcontractor or the owner but not both.

Since you are posting your question. I don't think you are a candidate to be an owner of a commercial appraisal firm in the near future. To me you are at the mercy of your mentor. If you look for business at appraisal organization meetings it will get back to your mentor. I assume your mentor controls the commercial data sources. If you contact other CG appraisers it will also get back to your mentor. I feel you are not ready for a true split/divorce from your mentor.

Right now I don't feel you are in a good position to get more business from your mentor or new business going on your own. The down cycle in commercial appraising to me will extend for 2 more years. If I were you I would privately look a the public sector for work. There are a few GS type positions available in most areas as well a state or county positions. It may be time for you to search for a greener pasture.

Your honesty and advice is much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[ItDepends]

The only thing that would prevent it would be the policies of the firms. Fellow I was partners with used to say that a part timer was someone who wasn't there when you needed him.

Appraisal is kind of a weird business in that firms are able to get away with telling a 1099 that they can't work with other firms. I get why they don't want their internal data to be to shared with competitors. However, I suspect if they put in writing that if you work with them, you can ONLY work with them, the IRS would classify you as an employee. It seems at most places, the relationship resembles an employer/employee model in every respect except hours and benefits.

I also suspect if you told your supervisor this, you'd no longer be getting a paycheck.

 

[George Hatch]

I think it takes 4-5 years to build the competency it takes to go solo on the SFR side and probably closer to 5-6 years to go solo on the non-res side. I worked for other people for the first 7 years of my career and I didn't stop asking my peers for 2nd opinions until I was 10 years in. In my opinion a 3yr CR or CG is an advanced trainee. They don't need constant supervision but unless they have specialized in a specific niche they will still be running into new-to-them appraisal problems on the regular.

 

[Zephyr999]

Appraisal is kind of a weird business in that firms are able to get away with telling a 1099 that they can't work with other firms. I get why they don't want their internal data to be to shared with competitors. However, I suspect if they put in writing that if you work with them, you can ONLY work with them, the IRS would classify you as an employee. It seems at most places, the relationship resembles an employer/employee model in every respect except hours and benefits.

I also suspect if you told your supervisor this, you'd no longer be getting a paycheck.

It's not a 1099 position when all resources are supplied by the owner. California cleared that up...should be W-2 unless YOU supply everything, including software. Peter Christianson wrote an article about this.

 

[glenn walker]

I’m CG as a 1099 and work with an MAI who does all the bidding and therefore essentially “work for” him. Do you think this hinders me? Should I do as he, and you yourself do, and go out on my own? That’s a big question and I know there are multiple things to consider. I just wonder what others think.

Dont quit your day job LMAO

 

[ItDepends]

It's not a 1099 position when all resources are supplied by the owner. California cleared that up...should be W-2 unless YOU supply everything, including software. Peter Christianson wrote an article about this.

Outside of the big firms, and review positions at banks, I don't know of any firm in my state with appraisers as W-2 employees. It's all 1099. I'd be happy to learn that I'm wrong though.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Data source must be more expensive for commercial.

Much requires personal interaction with brokers and even owners/sellers which is time consuming. In the case of poultry farms, I go directly to the poultry integrator and their flock managers for more information. Since Tyson's et al recruit new growers, they have info packets for prospective growers that estimate the cost of buildings, the specs, the contract terms and anticipated expenses and income. Those income figures are based upon the average the growers actually get (and the company actually calculates) so the income number is the average income and the expenses are the average cost of gas and utilities and an estimate of the insurance costs.

I suspect they are in lot more hurt than residential appraisers

I suspect that most commercial appraisers are down less than residential players.

I've seen a large number of sales in my area lately, and prices are sky high. I checked on some sales where the prices were 500% above those very buildings and businesses in the early 2000s. And I have seen C stores sell for double the price paid for them only 10 years ago. Despite good prices for cattle, I cannot see how it is economic to buy land for more than about $5,000 an acre and reasonably expect it to pay for itself. It won't even pay the interest on the purchase with cattle alone. You are banking on land prices to increase in the future and sell then. And I foresee a serious low coming in the economy in 2024. I cannot see how it sustains itself.

A small restaurant I know sold out - it was a rented building. After buying the business, the new owner paid $450,000 to buy the building. That's nuts. I know the previous business owner and he went to work for Lowe's because it was more profitable. He run it with only himself and one helper. It is rare to see more than 4 cars there. There is no way it is servicing $450k in debt plus on $10 sandwiches and mugs of beer.

 

[Mark K]

Outside of the big firms, and review positions at banks, I don't know of any firm in my state with appraisers as W-2 employees. It's all 1099. I'd be happy to learn that I'm wrong though.

See the following list. If you answer yes to any of the 20 questions, the IRS can consider you an employee and not a 1099 contractor. My guess is that most 1099 contractors working in an appraisal office are actually employees, not contractors as defined by the IRS.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiJm56I3MqAAxXkMn0KHWuFCEwQFnoECBUQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.frostburg.edu%2F_files%2Fpdfs%2Fabout%2Fadministrative-offices%2Faccounts-payable%2Findependentcontractorirs.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0ha2ajXjftwLrtwOi0zoQ2&opi=89978449