Real estate appraiser as a side job or not worth it?

[JJA]

Wow lots of good feedback here, thank you. The biggest thing I learned is don’t trust internet articles haha, they all made it sound a lot easier to get into. I honestly figured with the current real estate boom and amount of people refinancing that it would be a career with heavy job growth and in high demand. Someone mentioned the winter season being slower for appraisals which makes sense, especially during our cold long winters here in MN. It doesn’t sound like it would make sense to attempt it part time, plus doing both careers all year would also probably get tricky considering I put in long hours April-October with Catering. Thanks again, I learned a lot of valuable information.

 

[CGinMN]

I live in MN so the winter season is always a lot slower when it comes to catering because people just aren’t planning as many events, so I figured an appraiser job would help keep me busy during the slower time.

Minnesota is a very seasonal market and appraisal work can drop 30-50% from Thanksgiving to March. This is going to be your biggest obstacle. If there are firms looking to at PT appraisers, it won’t be during the winter months.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

The classes cost thousands and are all online.

Qualifying ed here runs about $340 for a 15 hr. class. That beats the heck out of most professional classes non-collegiate. I have paid $1800 for geology classes. Even 1 day seminars will run $500. I took a related class in Tulsa for a lot less, but 2 days, not 5.

 

[ramrcdk]

The sky has been falling and appraisers will soon be replaced was talked about 20 years ago when I started and still comes up today..

YEP and ...it IS shifting && once the "Theys" figure out a way it will happen. For now though, just dealing with low fees, AMCs, Hy & Bi's, the new forms in about 3-4 years is enough to contend with.

 

[ramrcdk]

I’m looking for some honest advice and opinions to see if this would be the right profession for me to get into. I work in a family catering business and enjoy it but I was looking at maybe venturing into becoming a real estate appraiser as well. I live in MN so the winter season is always a lot slower when it comes to catering because people just aren’t planning as many events, so I figured an appraiser job would help keep me busy during the slower time. From what I’ve read it’s a profession that can be done part time. I like to keep busy so I wouldn’t mind balancing both careers if that’s possible to do. I’ve always had an interest in real estate so I think I would find it fun and interesting. Is this something worse pursuing? I’m aware of the coursework and training needed. A licensed residential appraiser is the highest level I’d shoot for. A few questions I have:

Once you complete the coursework and become a trainee how hard is it to find a certified appraiser to work under to complete the 2,000 training hours?

Is the training all done physically with the appraiser at an office or is a lot of it done at home on my own time?

Would it be pretty easy to get hired on as a licensed residential appraiser at a company?

Are most of you driving into an office everyday or can a lot of the reports be completed at home?

When working for someone can I truly treat it as a part time job or isn’t that possible? Online makes it sound like that but I don’t know what to believe.

Thanks for the help, I figured this would be a good place for honest info. I know the main goal people have for this profession is to work independently but I’m more interested in working for a company as a side job to keep me busy. On the other hand I’m wondering if it would be worth it to go that route.

POSTs 1-24 Good Advise

"worse pursuing"
Simply: NO. or maybe wors'est to pursue for a Part Time career.
Licensed appraiser and not a "Certified" app' ": not around here. Check your State.
and to the rest: "NO"

Interest in RE = use others money : to flip houses.
Good Luck !!!!

 

[Fernando]

Qualifying ed here runs about $340 for a 15 hr. class. That beats the heck out of most professional classes non-collegiate. I have paid $1800 for geology classes. Even 1 day seminars will run $500. I took a related class in Tulsa for a lot less, but 2 days, not 5. View attachment 50603

And my Realtor and MLS fees run me over $2,200 last year and $1,000 for data sources. And California must have the highest 2 year license fee at $925. You could do part time but there are overhead to meet to break even. At the peak in 2007 there were 20,000 appraisers. November 2019 has less than 10,000 appraisers which was about the amount back in 1993. A lot of California appraisers retiring or getting out of appraising.

 

[KYLECODY]

YEP and ...it IS shifting && once the "Theys" figure out a way it will happen. For now though, just dealing with low fees, AMCs, Hy & Bi's, the new forms in about 3-4 years is enough to contend with.

Maybe, same/similar arguments have been around forever..Until then we all trudge on and most of us do very well for easy work...shh, appraiser secret.

 

[KYLECODY]

Wow lots of good feedback here, thank you. The biggest thing I learned is don’t trust internet articles haha, they all made it sound a lot easier to get into. I honestly figured with the current real estate boom and amount of people refinancing that it would be a career with heavy job growth and in high demand. Someone mentioned the winter season being slower for appraisals which makes sense, especially during our cold long winters here in MN. It doesn’t sound like it would make sense to attempt it part time, plus doing both careers all year would also probably get tricky considering I put in long hours April-October with Catering. Thanks again, I learned a lot of valuable information.

Here's a pro tip since you seem to have stop signed appraising, which probably is smart..Look into your real estate license! Super easy to get, super cheap to maintain. The first time you buy a home of your own you save 3% on commission. 300k average sale price? You just saved 9k, it paid for itself right there...If even ONE friend/family member a year knows you have your license and wants to buy/sell add another 3% of purchase price to your yearly income. If you are personable and know lots of people or have a large family a deal or two should fall into your lap every so often..Talk about part time. You could do as much or as little with it as you want. As long as its active you have that money printing press available at your disposal. When a deal falls into your lap its like free money. In my State you can even keep your license on the sidelines so to speak and not hang it at a brokers office. That means you pay no monthly fees or don't have to pay MLS fees and it just sits there. If you are ready to buy a house you make a couple calls/emails and get active again. At my real estate "office" I pay $25/month to be active and $500 a year for E&O that they pull from your first deal of the year. Doing quick math I have saved somewhere around 200k in commissions on the random flips/purchases I do...Well worth the minimal time/expense I put into it.

Many on here will tell you its much more involved and add whatever negativity they want to throw out to discourage you but if you want the opportunity for a large payout with minimal work, or at least a shot, get your RE license. Good luck.

 

[Fernando]

Here's a pro tip since you seem to have stop signed appraising, which probably is smart..Look into your real estate license! Super easy to get, super cheap to maintain. The first time you buy a home of your own you save 3% on commission. 300k average sale price? You just saved 9k, it paid for itself right there...If even ONE friend/family member a year knows you have your license and wants to buy/sell add another 3% of purchase price to your yearly income. If you are personable and know lots of people or have a large family a deal or two should fall into your lap every so often..Talk about part time. You could do as much or as little with it as you want. As long as its active you have that money printing press available at your disposal. When a deal falls into your lap its like free money. In my State you can even keep your license on the sidelines so to speak and not hang it at a brokers office. That means you pay no monthly fees or don't have to pay MLS fees and it just sits there. If you are ready to buy a house you make a couple calls/emails and get active again. At my real estate "office" I pay $25/month to be active and $500 a year for E&O that they pull from your first deal of the year. Doing quick math I have saved somewhere around 200k in commissions on the random flips/purchases I do...Well worth the minimal time/expense I put into it.

Many on here will tell you its much more involved and add whatever negativity they want to throw out to discourage you but if you want the opportunity for a large payout with minimal work, or at least a shot, get your RE license. Good luck.

Good advice. The agent's fees are cheaper and joining a broker will lessen the MLS fees. The experience will give you how you like working in real estate. However, there will be a point when your broker will expect you to make a sale. If not, broker will let you go and you can find another broker. The hurdle to be an independent appraiser is higher and harder than being an agent. With appraising, you get paid with each assignment done. With real estate sales, it's a sales job but the real estate commission can be equivalent to 40 completed SFR appraisals.