Licensed vs Certified route.

[np2fast]

Hey all!

WA state trainee here. Just about 1 year into my appraisal journey.

Originally I started appraisal training with becoming a Certified residential appraiser in mind.
Since then I have completed all the required appraisal education course and knocked out about 1500 hours of training.

To become licensed I need:
Another 500 hours of training
Licensed test

To become certified:
Another 1000 hours of training over the next 12 months
I need to take 6 college courses/CLEP tests
Certified test

So my question is this, is it worth all the extra work to become certified?
- The college courses will take some time to study for and take the CLEP tests.
- I have to wait for another year to be able to take the certified test.
- Money as a trainee is not very good.

For those of you that are licensed, are you getting enough work?

In WA a licensed appraiser can only appraiser properties up to 1 million dollars. With how things are going, most normal houses might be 1 million on average. I know the appraisal industry is very slow to adapt, anyone know of any changes that are coming in relation to this?

Thanks in advance for the replies!

 

[Michigan CG]

Are you wanting to leave your mentor and hang out your own shingle after one or two years in this business?

 

[sputnam]

You know that you can get your License and then continue to work toward being Certified... right?

BTW, if want you want to do is hang out your own shingle... and you want to be good... you need to spend 5 years, more or less, with your mentor. And even after that, you need to be on good terms with a good appraiser who smarter and has more experience than you. Someone you can call when you overthink something (and you will) or when you encounter something you've never seen before (and you will).

 

[The Warrior Monk]

Personally I would recommend getting the licensed credential as soon as you meet the requirements, for the following reasons.

• Test Prep - Taking the test for the licensed credential will give you some idea of what the certified residential test will be like, and give you an idea of where your weak spots are.
• Job Security - If something unexpected happens to your current situation, you will at least be able to accept some assignments on your own.

However, I am of the opinion that you should not go out on your own with only a licensed credential and a minimal amount of experience. Work with others on increasingly complex assignments to gain experience. That provide more opportunities and more job security in the future.

 

[George Hatch]

"Experience" hours are what the licensing requires.

When executed appropriately, the appraisal process itself will "train" you how to handle the various problems you run into. You will be running into new-to-you situations on the regular for many years to come. In each of those situations you will have to work your way through your problem, usually on your own. You can solicit input and suggestions from other appraisers but that's not actually training. You will still have to work the program and the outcome which ensues will be the result of your competency, not someone else's.

The primary difference between the 30+ year veteran and the rookie isn't so much that the veteran knows it all, (which, we don't) but that they've had more practice working the program to solve their problems. In the end, it makes no difference to the outcome if you spent 20 hours on working the question or 2 hours. Competency is about what you ended up with, not what you started with. And competency is all self-motivated; nobody can give it to you.

Now, it will be easier to get those outside opinions and suggestions if you're working alongside someone who both has that experience and is also willing to share it. But time in grade isn't proof of either. There are a lot of supervisors out there whose expertise amounts to 3 years of experience repeated several times. So the big trick is to find associates who can actually contribute to your progression rather than simply being able to generate work for you in exchange for half the fee.

 

[J Grant]

Hey all!

WA state trainee here. Just about 1 year into my appraisal journey.

Originally I started appraisal training with becoming a Certified residential appraiser in mind.
Since then I have completed all the required appraisal education course and knocked out about 1500 hours of training.

To become licensed I need:
Another 500 hours of training
Licensed test

To become certified:
Another 1000 hours of training over the next 12 months
I need to take 6 college courses/CLEP tests
Certified test

So my question is this, is it worth all the extra work to become certified?
- The college courses will take some time to study for and take the CLEP tests.
- I have to wait for another year to be able to take the certified test.
- Money as a trainee is not very good.

For those of you that are licensed, are you getting enough work?

In WA a licensed appraiser can only appraiser properties up to 1 million dollars. With how things are going, most normal houses might be 1 million on average. I know the appraisal industry is very slow to adapt, anyone know of any changes that are coming in relation to this?

Thanks in advance for the replies!

yes worth it to become certified. These days, a million plus for a house is becoming more common. Lenders like to have appraisers they can send many types of assignments too.

 

[KHS445]

Some people climb the ladder and others go from trainee directly to their final license level. My recommendation to you would be to work towards becoming licensed as soon as possible and talk with your mentor about improving the split. Then over the next several years build your hours and work towards completing the college education requirements. Despite you license level and education you will continue to learn about becoming a better appraiser everyday. I have been involved in lending, real estate and appraising for 45 years and I am still learning.

 

[Zsmithz]

Which side of the state are you in? I'm on the east side and still doing my certification but on the west side it seems like it would be more important to be certified. I found the last 500 hours came a whole lot faster than the first at least as far as the allowable hours go.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Take the first license you can and keep on logging your experience and classes. And try to get commercial hours as well.
The CG does not hurt even if you only do residential - can do apartments, etc. without limits.

 

[Dublin ohio]

I am only licensed. But $1M properties make up a relatively small part of my areas. Approx 350 $1M sales out of 31,000 total sales in past year. Since my state goes by transaction amount. I do get some refis where the value is over $1M but the loan amount is less than $1M. Up until the recent downturn. There was more work available than I could possible handle. There were months where I turned down more than I took. Now that is my area. YMMV. Plus I know that my almost 30 years of experience also has something to do with it. But as others have said. I would get my license as soon as I could and work towards your CR.