Just throwing this out there as I'm searching for leads. I completed my 75hr pre-license courses and have been seeking a mentor/work for a year now. I'm a middle aged college graduate (BS in OSHA '98) that has owned two small retail businesses and I am now seeking appraising as a career since I want to get away from retail. As a businessman I understand the "return on investment" concept and ethics of business which is part of what I would bring to the table. To be honest this has been an extremely frustrating and disappointing path and I don't want all my time, hard work and money to be wasted. Any help would be much appreciated.
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Looking For Mentor In Grand Rapids, Mi Area
- Thread starter Ryan16
- Start date
- Status
Michigander
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2003
- Professional Status
- Certified Residential Appraiser
- State
- Michigan
Highly recommend listening to this podcast related to how to break into the business. Could be a game changer for you
https://realvaluecast.com/so-you-wanna-be-an-appraiser-top-tips-for-new-appraisers/
Bring a smile and network:
Michigan Economy 2019
CALL Date: May 2, 2019 Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Local Area Topics
Category Electives [E]
Attendance Hours 2.0
Location
Name Crowne Plaza Grand Rapids Airport
Sponsor / Contact
Chapter Great Lakes
Website www.glcai.com
Michigan Economy 2019
CALL Date: May 2, 2019 Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Local Area Topics
Category Electives [E]
Attendance Hours 2.0
Location
Name Crowne Plaza Grand Rapids Airport
Sponsor / Contact
Chapter Great Lakes
Website www.glcai.com
Michigander
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2003
- Professional Status
- Certified Residential Appraiser
- State
- Michigan
totally forgot about that. Good suggestion.
KHS445
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2011
- Professional Status
- Certified General Appraiser
- State
- Michigan
Based on your approximate age, education and work experience I would strongly suggested you look at the small commercial, multi-family, unusual residential market. It is kind of a niche area, but it allows you to avoid competing with the appraisers who want to concentrate on single family, non-complex form type work and the appraisers/appraisal companies that work the larger and more complex projects. Specializing in this sort of in between work may even open up your employment opportunities with an appraisal office that doesn't currently seek this type of work. Fee wise you are probably looking in the $750 to $2,500 range, with reports that are too involved and time consuming for the typical residential appraiser and to small for the larger shops, experienced General Appraisers and MAI's to chase.
Most appraisers/appraisal companies don't want to spend time and money training their future competition. You might look for an older appraiser who is looking to retire and/or slow down in a couple of years and may not mind taking the time to assist you in gaining experience. Another thought would be due to the size of your market is to look for a mentor that doesn't cover your area, providing them with expansion possibilities. Someone may cover the area north of I-96 and you know and can cover the area south of M-6. Both areas seeing significant growth, but still very different.
Obviously I have no idea what financial institution you use, but you may contact one of the lenders and see who they order their appraisals from and ask if they are aware of anyone who either is busy and could use some help, is slowing down and getting close to retirement, looking to expand their coverage area, etc. I would also check with any real estate agents you know to see if they have any contacts they are willing to share with you. Like so many things word of mouth and networking are going to provide your best results. Chances are pretty good that you will be surprised where some of the opportunities come from.
Most appraisers/appraisal companies don't want to spend time and money training their future competition. You might look for an older appraiser who is looking to retire and/or slow down in a couple of years and may not mind taking the time to assist you in gaining experience. Another thought would be due to the size of your market is to look for a mentor that doesn't cover your area, providing them with expansion possibilities. Someone may cover the area north of I-96 and you know and can cover the area south of M-6. Both areas seeing significant growth, but still very different.
Obviously I have no idea what financial institution you use, but you may contact one of the lenders and see who they order their appraisals from and ask if they are aware of anyone who either is busy and could use some help, is slowing down and getting close to retirement, looking to expand their coverage area, etc. I would also check with any real estate agents you know to see if they have any contacts they are willing to share with you. Like so many things word of mouth and networking are going to provide your best results. Chances are pretty good that you will be surprised where some of the opportunities come from.
Thank you for all the replies, I really appreciate taking your time to do so. The podcast was excellent and gives me a new approach to my situation. I actually contacted Joan with the GL Chapter a couple weeks ago and got signed up for the upcoming meeting. KHS445, I really don't want to get into the commercial side, just yet anyway. Yes I've asked all my realtor contacts, gone to banks, contacted assessors offices and pretty much anywhere I could find a lead. I've even posted on Facebook that I'm looking, which I had several of my friends reply with their contacts (so that person could see my post) and not one of those people reached out to me. I did contact the TAF and the only suggestion they made was to attend local appraisal events. I was also told that apparently the AQB is in process of developing an alternative method to obtain experience, even though it's a "top priority", it won't be an option for a year or more.
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