Sitting The Certified General Exam

[Orlando Tragic]

I forget the year licensing was initially required....
But leading up to the date, the owner of a commercial fee shop that I worked with for a year to get commercial experience held training sessions for us.....
Told us to purchase a training manual specifically written for the test....

To this day I remember 2 pieces of advice he gave us....

1. Don't argue with the answers in the book because that will be the answer on the test....

And as we were grumbling about having to take a test.....

2. Be glad we were the first to take the test because the state needed appraisers and didn't want to fail us, so this version of the test will be easy compared to future tests once enough appraisers we're licensed.

After reading about the current test questions he was correct....

We basically have ten years worth the hardest questions retained and easiest questions thrown out. This is on purpose, so yes, you were lucky

 

[ucbruin]

We basically have ten years worth the hardest questions retained and easiest questions thrown out. This is on purpose, so yes, you were lucky

Looking back I am definitely grateful....
Good luck to all...

 

[ICT RE]

My buddy just took a live CE class here in Orlando and was told from instructors the pass rate for CG in Florida was 20% in October (I was one of the 80%). According to him, only 12 appraisers have been certified for both CR and CG for the year. Those stats made me feel better for not passing. My $0.02 from personal mistakes: don't stress the test, we have a year to pass and can reschedule within 24hrs, pass questions that are too confusing at first, and don't take a test an hour away from your house (I am super eager to get certified (too eager.))

The statistical disconnect between what you've heard and what the AF has compiled nation-wide over a the prior five years is really strange.

I'm not that stressed about the test itself, because like you said you have a long window to get over the hump, if you personally find a hump. If you fail, they let you know your performance in the various subsections as well, correct? That's a huge help. It's the $190 down the toilet each time to a government-sponsored racket that stresses me out.

 

[cpalub01]

I took the exam in 2014 but I distinctly remember an inordinate amount of cash flow questions and HP 12-C usage. Know your formulas and be comfortable with a calculator. All I used for study materials was my old AI coursebooks. The last course I took live before the exam was Advanced Income Capitalization, and I think I probably timed that well given the material. And don't get flustered. I had to sit in a Pearson testing center with a bunch of people just getting their real estate salesperson licenses and it feels a bit daunting when you're the only one in a testing room after a couple hours. Deep breaths. If you work a problem and can't make an educated guess, move along and circle back around. You'll be fine.

 

[Orlando Tragic]

The statistical disconnect between what you've heard and what the AF has compiled nation-wide over a the prior five years is really strange.

I'm not that stressed about the test itself, because like you said you have a long window to get over the hump, if you personally find a hump. If you fail, they let you know your performance in the various subsections as well, correct? That's a huge help. It's the $190 down the toilet each time to a government-sponsored racket that stresses me out.

Yes they let you know where your weak areas are. $65 per test here in Florida. I do back you on the government-sponsored racket comment though but we gotta pay to play

 

[Deleted member 152047]

http://www.appraisalfoundation.org/...spx?hkey=50cf1d9e-6430-4e5d-ac6e-2fe92352cbdf

 

[Deleted member 152047]

 

[Orlando Tragic]

I'm just saying, this is what I was told. I have seen the statistics several times over the past two years.

 

[Whtwhale]

I should mention that I will be getting certified in the state of Pennsylvania. I currently live in Montana. I requested an out of state testing accomodation but the closest they could do was 6 hours driving to Utah. I will be flying to Pennsylvania to take the test. If I don't pass it here I will have to wait until spring so I can drive down to Utah. The fact that this is an AQB test but the states get to pick and choose vendors is a shame. There is nothing more than I'd like to see all the state boards elimitated and transition to national licensure. But thats a discussion for another thread.

 

[Orlando Tragic]

I should mention that I will be getting certified in the state of Pennsylvania. I currently live in Montana. I requested an out of state testing accomodation but the closest they could do was 6 hours driving to Utah. I will be flying to Pennsylvania to take the test. If I don't pass it here I will have to wait until spring so I can drive down to Utah. The fact that this is an AQB test but the states get to pick and choose vendors is a shame. There is nothing more than I'd like to see all the state boards elimitated and transition to national licensure. But thats a discussion for another thread.

I am all for less hoops to jump through. You wouldn't believe the amount of BS I had to go through with our state department just to get approved to take the damn test. But here we are. 22 hours away. And hopefully this will all be a thing of the past.