Do you foresee the bachelor degree requirement ever going away

[Terrel L. Shields]

I don't think he's going to be living rich going forward.

Yes, making a house payment and then paying rent on top of that...not a good future.

 

[George Hatch]

We have had this discussion many times before.

Your whole argument is Desaix became a good appraiser and he didn't have a degree. You are looking at it at an individual person level and not looking at it at the level of the profession. It's just not a serious profession without a degree requirement.

Just the fact that half of the appraisers think appraisal is a trade rather than financial services is absurd.

It should be the same as accounting. Degree which includes about a year of related coursework, licensing exam, an no experience requirements.

DeSaix is just one example who everyone here knows and respects. That's the only reason why I cite him. It wouldn't resonate with anyone for me to cite the (literally) dozens of others I have known over the years. Which BTW has also included several of our regulars, both past and present. Not to mention the others who I've read reports from over the years without knowing what their academic educations were. Heck, the Chief Appraiser at the commercial bank I worked for never completed a 2yr or 4yr degree, and their did my supervisor when I first relocated to their San Diego office. That doesn't mean they were incapable of competently appraising the properties that lender was doing mortgages on; which on average were far more complex appraisal problems than the tract homes being sent through the GSEs.

If you think the purpose of [state regulation of licensees] is to elevate the social status of the profession then that's an opinion a lot of people share. OTOH if the purpose of establishing the minimum criteria @ the govt level is to identify the minimum level of intellectual performance it takes to competently perform an SR1/SR2 appraisal report to the minimum specs then the answer to that question might be a little different.

I don't even want to get into the rent-seeking aspect of using the levers of govt to protect the incumbents which also appears in many of these conversations (albeit not this one, so far). Reasonable people disagree, but I personally don't consider that a legitimate function of govt.

I'm not anti-college by any means, just like I'm not anti-designation from the AI or other professional orgs. And sure, I have personally benefitted greatly over the years as a result of holding and using my education (in general) and my CG (specifically). Which I earned after spending several years specializing in SFR appraising.

My accountant has a Masters degree in Accounting. His rates are the same as every other accountant in town and so is his performance on my returns. He might be more qualified than others on certain types of assignments, but there's plenty of the less complicated work out there for the others to service. Heck, a lot of people get by with TurboTax instead of using an EA or CPA. .

 

[Joe Flacco]

Meaning what?

Meaning people in Arkansas don't tend to have bachelors degrees.

 

[George Hatch]

If the discussion is about licensing appraisers the role of the govt should be to identify how much education it takes to SR1/SR2 to specs. The business interests and career prospects of appraisers lies outside the domain of govt. That's on the individuals. That includes the extent to which appraisers choose to add to the supply of appraisers via taking in trainees. Or not taking in trainees.

If the newspapers get written - and used by those readers - at the 11th grade level then how much more abstract or complicated than that is a typical SFR appraisal report? They train cops to write reports at the 9th/10th grade reading level, and those reports are intended to be used in the courts. Even the lawyers are writing at a Junior College reading level.

In context and by comparison, appraisal reports are not particularly demanding. My own writing on this forum is probably at the 10th grade level (more/less) and that seems sufficient to purpose just about all the time.

 

[Joe Flacco]

It's ridiculous. What you are saying is the same thing as saying requirements for an accounting license should be based on what it takes to walk people through turbo tax.

 

[George Hatch]

I'm saying that the minimum academic criteria required @ govt regulation should be aimed at what it takes to learn how to perform the typical SFR assignment competently. The market demand will either incentivize or not incentivize the individual's pursuit of more qualifications after that.

You have surely heard about how many SRAs drop their designation because having it doesn't necessarily make them more money, right? I dunno about you but my interpretation of that is that - for some people - the point of diminishing returns for appraiser-specific qualifications might be somewhere lower than possessing the entirety of those qualifications.

Speaking of the pursuit of excellence, what's your interest level in earning the additional occupation-specific credentials?

 

[Joe Flacco]

I would get the SRA if I had a favorable opinion of the organization. But I don't. I've completed all of the requirements except the exam.

 

[Mejappz]

It's ridiculous. What you are saying is the same thing as saying requirements for an accounting license should be based on what it takes to walk people through turbo tax.

Complete the form, sign it at the bottom, and watch as unethical stakeholders complain that appraisers can't adjust for market conditions. All the while, you assume full liability for the product. Quite the system.

 

[cpursley]

The degree requirement is just old-fashioned gate keeping. Everyone has to pass the same exam and get their hours in.

 

[djd09]

appraisers should be taking math, history, and propaganda classes...