Remember when....?

[George Hatch]

Gary,

I'm hoping you didn't get the impression that I'm talking down to you. The only reason I gave my unsolicited bio is so that you would be able to put my opinion regarding competency into some perspective.

Now to answer your question..... You probably won't like this, but you might have to move. There are appraisers who will take on a trainee and do right by them, but those opportunities are limited. They always have been. Getting your first job in this field has always been the hardest part. It is not uncommon for professionals to seek their first jobs far from home, attain the neccesary chops and return (or not) as the opportunity arises. Worst case scenario for you is that you might have to move elsewhere in your state or region to find a trainee slot and log enough hours to make you an attractive prospect for a fee shop more proximate to your home. If you check out the jobs board on this forum, you'll occasionally spot a trainee slot for somewhere out of town. I know that if I were running a fee shop, the out-of-town applicant willing to relocate is demonstrating the kind of committment that it takes for them to succeed. This is a business where self-motivation is perhaps the single most common personality trait that we share.

Look, your main goal is to make yourself the logical choice for any openings you do apply for. This is war; approach it that way. The main thing you can do right now is to take more education that will put you above the herd. Right now, if I were just entering and I wanted to get the advantage over my competition, I'd be taking every basic appraisal course, advanced residential appraisal course, and Continuing Education course I could find. Other courses relating to appraisal include home inspection, construction technology, report writing, real estate and economics. You should especially be checking out the real estate licensing courses and home inspection courses, even if you don't intend to seek licensing or certificates in those areas. Heed me when I tell you that the day of the one-trick pony (appraise SFRs [only] for banks and make tons of money in your spare time) are rapidly drawing to a close.

Check out the professional oragnizations, like the Appraisal Institute, NAIFA, ASA and whoever else is active on your area. Maybe even join the local realty board. Network. You know the drill, it's not what you know, it's who you know.

Sooner or later, such persistence will pay off. I'd wish you luck in this, but if you approach it right, luck won't be an issue. Ahhh, what the heck. Good Luck


George Hatch

 

[Gary Leduc]

George,
Thanks again for your advice. Unfortunately, moving is not an option to us.
Hopefully, some appraiser is out there in my surrounding territory that
will be able and willing to be a mentor to me.
Best regards,
Gary Leduc

 

[George W Dodd]

Gary,

A very good place to learn aspects of this profession is with the local assessor's office. The pay usually is not as high as a fee appraiser, but you will gain "experience". And the hours will count towards you license requirements.

After a few years, you will find it easier to join an appraisal firm or go it on your own.

George Hatch

I am usually in complete agreement with your posts, but this one:

I'll have to spend so much time in developing the necessary knowledge and experience to comply with competency requirements that the fee will turn out to be a loser for me. I'll always make more money by sticking to those assignments wherein I have some competency.

How do you acquire new skills? No offense, but I always look foward to learning something new and have found that often new knowledge opens other door. IMHO if you are only interested in money there are many other jobs that pay better. If everyone employed this method of only staying with what you know, very soon there will not be anyone who can "appraise the tough ones"

 

[George Hatch]

George Dodd,

You are, of course, quite right. While I do indeed decline assignments on a regular basis, I am not able to weasel out of every unprofittable (not the same thing as competency) assignment that comes my way. However, it's not for the lack of trying. i might get out of as many as 2/3 of them. And quite right again that the specific fee involved is not always the deciding factor. Sometimes I take assignments that I know are losers as a service to my clients; my motivation for doing so lies in eventually making more money as a result of maintaining a long term relationship. On occasion, I take assignments because (and this sounds really arrogant) I know their No.2 goto appraiser will mess it up. Then there is the 'stretching the boundaries' philosophy, also a very valid motivation for taking on new types of assignments. But as for the specific fee, these assignments still turn out to be losers. No big deal, you take the good with the bad and hope it all evens out.

By way of explanation, my operation is set up to service community-oriented lending in my county, with some estate work thrown in when time permits. I decline SFR appraisals for lenders and mortgage brokers all the time, not because of a competency issue, but because it's a time and workflow issue. However, I will take on rehabs, construction or problematic SFR properties. Likewise, if I get a major commercial property like a resort hotel, a shopping mall, a golf course, or even a mega-apartment or big office property, I pass those along to appraisers who do that kind of thing all the time. I also have a value limitation beyond which I refer business to other appraisers. Megabucks are not my thing.

These assignments can provide great fees, but they are very disruptive to my normal workflow and backlog. Not to mention being losers because of being outside my normal appraisal practice. Like the conforming tract SFR assignment, these properties just don't fit my business model, my client mix (which is admittedly pretty small) or my interests. I leave trophy properties to appraisers who want those trophies in their resume. Go forth and prosper.

It's like Clint Eastwood said: "A man has got to know his limitations"**. I am comforatble with mine, at least at this point.

**Best said with a scowl :twisted: .

George Hatch

 

[George W Dodd]

George Hatch,

I can not disagree when explained so well.

 

[Karl]

Of course the other thing U can do is ignore the advice given here go for it on your own & be a poster boy for the Appraisers BY getting JAIL TIME before U get to 2,000 hours. We have one here that left to be on his own 30 days after licensing. HE DID NOT MAKE 1 YEAR. Me personally everything I haver learned in life of ANY value I've learned from older & more experienced people.

 

[ken gentle]

Gary, you are absolutely correct you can get out there and go to work!!! I too live in Georgia and the law is as you stated it! Most every state has different requirements (some people don't understand that apparently). While a mentor would be great... they are not too easy to find...most do not want to train their competition? Find your niche and "go do it"! Good Luck....

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

I am a card carrying Republican.....think I can run for president next year?

I know how to fly single engine airplanes...do you suppose United would let me have a crack at a 747?

I salute your ambition....but I am sitting here shaking my head at how uninformed you are about this business.

You have nothing but a learners permit at this time!

 

[BenLuby]

Mike,
Just remember, not all of us in Georgia learn to crawl and decide it's time for the olympics. Both our young friends need to realize that they do not yet know anything about appraising, other than having four little sheets of paper.
Any lender who would accept work from a registered appraiser is asking for it, and you can bank on the fact that, within a short time, they would be out of work or a guest of the state. Appraising is hard enough with experience. Do it without, and an underwriter is going to go ballistic.
Besides, federal law won't accept a registered appraiser, and I don't know of too many places that don't use federal money.
I hope they both find a mentor, but it is their call. And if they take divorce work, all it will take is one case and a good defense attorney with his own appraisal, and then things will really get lively.

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

Please teach me to say "NO".