Need Some Helpful Advice

[MrT]

This may be better suited for the newbie section but it doesn't appear to get much traffic. I'm anticipating taking my certified test (god willing) in 4 - 6 months, pending on work production over the holidays. Is there someone that has within the last few years gone through the licensing/certification process? I'm in Texas but all input would be useful. Specifically advice on submitting logs to the state and subsequently them auditing certain files. What was your average for hours logged for a given file? And generally just how they were to deal with? Also, the overall difficulty of the test. All advice appreciated.

 

[bnmappraisal]

I'm in FL and took my Cert Res test in 2009; right after the last round of changes...so maybe take what I say with a grain of salt, but hopefully may shed some light.

State by State logs may vary, but I had to send in a "random" sample of files from each quarter that I worked as an appraiser. This was roughly 8 files.

As far as your log and the "avg hours" ... I will say, this should be the ACTUAL number of hours you worked on each assignment! Not an average. In FL the Trainee and Supervisor both have to keep a log and hopefully this information is the same; worst case VERY similar!

Finally, regarding the test: I was among the first round to take the national test since between 2008-2009 that was changing. I'm assuming the test is somewhat similar. To be frank? It sucked! 6 hours, broken up into two 3 hr parts. Once you completed the first 3 hr part, you could not go back to change any answers. I'm a pretty good test taker, but it took me a nice chunk of the whole 6 hours to complete the whole exam. It definitely makes sure you know your stuff inside & out (at least that test did!) The failure rate (definitely at that time, but I don't think it has changed much) was around 70% for first time takers! (Thankfully, I was one of the 30%)

Best of luck! My advice, make sure you're logging everything the way the state wants you to do it. I know that was a big issue; using the state issued log form and not just "some random" log. They were very particular about that (at least here in FL)

 

[apt20]

I'm in Illinois and took and passed my certified res test early this year.

DON"T wait til the last minute to work on the log. I started working on my log in October and it took forever. There were benefits to that, but I do not suggest it. The state requested three files at random from my log to review. That process was not difficult.

As to the test, I found compucram well worth the money as a study aid. Using that and the course books worked really well. The questions on the test were quite different than compucram questions, but the line of thinking was the same. It seemed to me the test questions combined two or three compucram questions into one. They give you a TON of information, most not relevant to the question they are asking. Be very careful in reading the question so that you know exactly what they are asking. The test was split into two, three hour sessions. The first I found quite difficult and it left me discouraged and took almost all of the time. The second portion I found to be significantly easier and took less than half the time. Overall, it was difficult, but not tremendously so. I passed on the first try, and was pleasantly surprised. Much of the stuff on the test I do/did not deal with on an everyday basis in the office.

Any questions, feel free to message me. Good luck on the exam!

 

[MrT]

Thank you both for the advice. Based on researching different forums it doesn't appear guidelines/requirements differ much state to state, so your info is definitely relevant. One area that's always been gray for me is the hours logged. I can't imagine its unusual to finish a report in more than one sitting for most folks. Subsequently I've estimated at the end of each report the amount of time a report required, but its just not as easy as following the company line of "60 minutes equals one hour." I guess a more specific question is how many appraisals did it take you to reach 2,500 hours? Assuming 75% of your workload was SFR, and throw in some condo/mulit units, and exterior only.

 

[TD Morgan]

I paid someone to take my test for me. The same person took all my courses for me, too!

I spent all my experience on one appraisal that took 2,500 hours (or whatever was needed at the time.)

The entire process was very simple...




Seriously, though, GOOD LUCK! I didn't find the process too difficult back "in the day" but there were a lot of questions and a lot of extraneous information included that needs to be discarded. People who are not good test takers probably have difficulty, given the amount of questions and the time constraints.

 

[TD Morgan]

While you are "training" I am sure that the expectation is that you are using more time to dot all your I's and crossing all your T's. (I know the apostrophes are probably grammatically incorrect..)

Based on my poll in another thread, it seems as if seasoned residential appraisers can take six to 10 hours or even longer per report. I can't imagine that you are going to find them question your hourly data as long as they fall in a reasonable range. (Government employees are likely just going to make sure the file is complete and their review didn't miss anything.)

I remember (as a commercial appraiser) putting down flat figures, such as 40 hours or 60 hours, etc. The licensing boards might require more precision today, but I was not questioned. I could take two or three days just researching and verifying new sales, so it was impossible to be more precise. We aren't billing like attorneys, after all..

Thank you both for the advice. Based on researching different forums it doesn't appear guidelines/requirements differ much state to state, so your info is definitely relevant. One area that's always been gray for me is the hours logged. I can't imagine its unusual to finish a report in more than one sitting for most folks. Subsequently I've estimated at the end of each report the amount of time a report required, but its just not as easy as following the company line of "60 minutes equals one hour." I guess a more specific question is how many appraisals did it take you to reach 2,500 hours? Assuming 75% of your workload was SFR, and throw in some condo/mulit units, and exterior only.

 

[bnmappraisal]

I guess a more specific question is how many appraisals did it take you to reach 2,500 hours?

Simple answer is well over 300. But in 2006-the end of 2008 while I was a trainee, it was a lot quicker to type a report.
The state basically said (and I'm assuming it holds true to this day - and I paraphrase) basically it's the time from you accept an order to the time an order is complete. You (as a trainee) get to count the time/hrs you put into that report.
i.e. so if you help from start to finish and it takes 8 hrs, you count 8 hrs in your log. If you start it, do some of the research and inspection, but none of the typing, you count that time (I'm 99% sure driving to/from a property counts in that, but double check with your state)

Assuming 75% of your workload was SFR, and throw in some condo/mulit units, and exterior only.

From what you're asking, I'm assuming you're going for CR. If that's the case, SFR, condo's, multi's (2-4 fam) and exterior only all count toward your hours (unless your state is different)

Again, as you'll most likely find out and if you do a little searching on this forum, you'll see that this profession is not a "9-5" typically. So don't worry about the "hours." Just because you work on a report for 1 hr one day, 4 hrs the next, and 3 hrs the 3rd day ... that's 8hrs on that report that you can log! It's not a log of how many consecutive hrs, but how many TOTAL hours!

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

I'd be reluctant to claim 8 hours of log keeping as part of my 2,500 hours. But what do I know?

 

[TD Morgan]

Keeping proper track of your workfile and experience is part of the business. Why wouldn't you think it is legitimate to include in your experience log?

I'd be reluctant to claim 8 hours of log keeping as part of my 2,500 hours. But what do I know?

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

I'd probably just log it as part of each job. Not a separate item is all.