Licensed vs Certified route.

[redfish]

Get licensed as soon as you can but don't stop there. Get certified as soon as possible.

 

[Deleted member 157170]

I would wait until you are certified to be honest. When you start out, you will be getting a lot of AMC work, since that's easier to get. Most AMCs that I am paneled with do not accept licensed appraisers and have minimum certified requirement.

But I suppose it might depend on where you live. If its the Seattle area you are SOL because no one will hire an appraiser that can't appraiser more than 1 million, but on the east side of the state such as the Tri Cities, Spokane, or Yakima you might since prices are much lower?

Things are also very very slow with appraisal in Washington right now. If you are licensed, you may be on the bottom of your clients lists to contact for appraisal work because of the license level, and may not make enough money to live off of versus what you are doing now with your current employer, even certified appraisers are finding it hard to get work with the slowdown right now.

Another factor to consider is that those extra 500 hours with a mentor might really help you. Despite other states lowering their experience requirements, I do think that extra amount of appraisal experience is necessary to understand enough to go out on your own, especially on the west side of the state where things are more complicated.

There are not going to be any licensing changes for a long while. Washington State just amended their appraisal requirements last year and are sticking to them. Those education requirements you have are part of the final changes. Basically Washington decided to keep all experience hours requirements, but elected to modify some of their education requirements.

Someone mentioned job security, stating what if something happened with your current employer. If you have your licensed requirements and all your logs signed and in order, and you are let go from your current job, you could always apply for licensed level as a last resort anyway.

I think you may be in the position I was in about a year in where it seems to be taking a lifetime to get through the experience. I remember feeling very impatient and wondering when it was going to end.

 

[shrubberyvaluation]

I went straight to certified only because my state had the a minimum 2 year requirement for licensed or certified. Some states I think you can get licensed first after a year.

 

[np2fast]

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.

Western. Things have been slower lately and there is far less work available for trainees. Didn't want to spend another few months just trying to get my final 500 hours and then all the wait time associated with the DOL.
Submitted all my info to the state 2 months back and will be taking the national test in a few weeks.

 

[Deleted member 157170]

Western. Things have been slower lately and there is far less work available for trainees. Didn't want to spend another few months just trying to get my final 500 hours and then all the wait time associated with the DOL.
Submitted all my info to the state 2 months back and will be taking the national test in a few weeks.

Ah. Well that will be fun taking 2 full certification exams to get to certified

 

[Jacob Coleman]

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!

Although you can become a LR first, eventually, you should consider pursuing to at least the CR license. The reason is not just about the property value limitation, but frankly, I've heard that many lenders would only give out assignments to a "Certified" appraiser.

If possible, you may even consider going for the CG license. Since the scope of work has no limitation, it could open doors to other real estate types such as commercial properties, industrial, farmland.

If your work requires higher credential, (i.e. expert witness), you may even consider getting the MAI designation.

The bottom line is it's okay to be a LR appraiser as a stepping stone. But I would aim for the Certified in the long run.

On a side note, here's an interview I had with a Certified Residential Appraiser in Ohio. In there, he shared his journey in this profession and what he thinks about this career path.

Hope it helps.

 

[sputnam]

If you want to be a professional appraiser, your goal should be Certified. Depending on your situation, there may be some advantages to getting Licensed on the way to certification. For one, you may be able to do work for Clients that won't accept trainee appraisals without the supervisor inspecting the property.