Does anyone...?(job related)

[Michelle Cobb]

I currently work for an appraiser that wants me to find most of my own work. Tried and not getting much. I am now looking for another appraiser. I called a nat'l company and they are supposed to call me later today. My question is should I try to find a local appraiser or work under a national company? Are there any questions I should ask them? I really appreciate any input you can give. Thanks!!
Oh, I am registered and must work under an appraiser until Licensed.
Shelly

 

[Ted Martin]

What do you mean "work under a national company"?

 

[Michelle Cobb]

Oh sorry! I meant that it is a company that gets appraisal orders throughout the US. They then send them out to their appraisers in those areas. Hope that helps.

 

[larryhaskell]

Michelle:

Are you licensed or an intern?

 

[Randy Beigh]

Michelle

You have successfully written a confusing post. :lol:

I assume you are a trainee. Some states have a trainees license and it sounds like that is what you have.

It also sounds the "national company" you are talking about are appraisal management companies(AMC's).

You can work for anyone you want, however, if the above is true, you need a licensed/certified appraiser to sign off on your work. Your trainer that is requiring you to find your own work has done so by tying your hands behind your back. You are unable to sign off on your work, therefore, most companies are not going to be inclined to hire you. Although, it is apparent from other posts that some companies either don't pay attention to this or don't care.

It doesn't sound like the trainer has enough work for both of you. If true, you should see about trying to find someone else in your area to train you. Even worse than what I wrote above, it sounds like you are, effectively, on your own and training yourself, while giving the employer a portion of the fee.

 

[George Hatch]

Michelle,

It sounds like you have found an appraisal managment company who might accept your reports, and maybe even sign off for you so that you can get your experience hours. It also sounds like you might have a supervisor who will sign off on work that you either do for them or bring in. I assume you don't have a permanent license/certification yet and you need the experience hours.

Here's what I would do in your situation. I would maintain the relationship with your supervisor, and see if there is some way the AMC would accept your work with his/her signature as a supervisor. They probably will. That way, you get the work and you get your hours. Legally and ethically. No one gets hurt. The only downside is that you'll have to split an already reduced fee with your supervisor. But it's only for a while, untill you earn your permanent license/certification.

Having two sources of work will also help stabilize your income, even if the one doesn't pay as well as the other. There are some who would argue that working for half is better than not working, especially when you are just starting out. The most important thing is to do the very best work you can, regardless of the fee.

$.02

George Hatch

 

[PatriciaBerles]

I'm in the same situation--working for a supervisor who wants me to bring in own clients. So far, I've had a couple of orders from new clients, but not as much as I want. I too have decided to work for an AMC--I would rather work than sit around doing nothing. I'm not going to be making a lot of money by the time I have to split an already reduced fee with my supervisor, but at least I'll be out working and learning. I really enjoy this profession and I want to stick with it. I'm positive that eventually I'll get enough clients that I can drop the AMC's. Good luck!!

 

[Ross (CO)]

Michelle, I too had to read your posting a few times....but it appears to me that your present supervisor just may be saying that he wants you to help HIM find new clients. As you know that your work requires co-signing then offering yourself as a fully independant appraiser is just "not there yet". Is this a two-person shop you work with ? Are there more ? Maybe you need to approach potential clients by touting any particular expertise and experiences the OTHER members of the group have and back it up with the obvious basic and general appraisal assignments that the group does. Clearly, as any new client is obtained then you are available to assist and co-write the report. Don't be put off however if you find you are doing and writing up 95%+ of the report and NOT getting the same % of the fee ! Do you work out of your home ? From your workdesk are you free to work on reports from any cooperative arrangement, i.e., can you also complete a report for another supervising appraiser ? Some of your limitations may be an unwillingness of the present supervisor to have you doing assignments from "another" supervisor yet do them in his or her office, on their PC, etc. It would be good to set yourself up with the home office and develop more then one supervisor. As for AMC's, there are some good ones, and there are some major duds out there. Many will allow a Registered to inspect and write up a report......and some will REQUIRE the supervisor to accompany. So be it. Just be sure you mark the boxes appropriately on the form page ! It may only take a few of your reports passing through their scrutiny for that client to waive some of those req's and you can then simply have the supervisor read and review your finished product before also co-signing. Getting a supervisor to accompany you and take the field time with you is the major (time) commitment which probably they are not willing to make. Hours with you in field are hours they can not do other assignments they already have. It is a real balancing act. Best wishes.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I encourage my subs to find work on their own, but I hired them to take the load off me. Someone who expects the trainee to scour work for them probably is not got that much work to start with. They are either trying to do you a favor with a few jobs for experience hours, or they are trying to make a little money with you without investing anything.