Staff position vs. Independent Appraiser

[Mr Rex]

I am aware of a fee shop that required 2 per day in rural areas, the subject properties were often over 2 hours apart. +/-$40k. Of course to produce this volume, they had admin help. Some of these admin folks were day labor from a temp service, and according to my sources, often had to have the fee shop send out a taxi to pick them up they had no transpor, and once at work were notorious for stealing others lunches and snacks from the communal fridge. No joke, this is reality, I personally know 2 folks that worked for these frogs, 1 now passed, RIP, and one looking back wondering WTF he was thinking. The original entity is now gone, and has gone through several metamorphosis', but the bullfrogs at the top remain and keep hopping...

 

[Charlie]

I will add this . I was staff at a major player for about 2 yrs .

They essentially wanted you to bill the bank 12,000 a month . That is kind of where the 10/week comes from . (385 fee for an appraisal on the avg full URAR times 9 would be around $3500 ) - so you can see that you could do around 14k a month in billing - if you can do 10 a week .

I was astonished at first because I could not bill even 7000 or 9000 a month and there were guys in my district that were routinely billing 28000 a month !

Yes that translates into $14,000 a month . Net pay. (if you bill so much then you get 50%). With Medical insurance , pension and the works .

I agree that this is a good and honest post. It actually makes sense for high volume staffers to hire assistants. It sounds silly to have to hire an assistant to be able to do your job. But, in this example, the gross is $168K per year. You can hire an assistant for 35K+ per year and still have a good salary plus bennies. Also makes sense for a husband/wife combo team. Of course the company will use this person as the example of why staffers should be able to do 10 a week with their eyes closed and consider raising quotas.

 

[AnonApprsr]

I chose to take another staff position with another large bank . So far it has NOT been as good (wish i had the other job back ).

I am convinced that alot of the staff guys have additional help . Maybe a wife that does secretarial stuff ... or an asst ... etc ... because I do admit at times today I have problems doing 2 a day (with the lack of comparables, the MC form and all the other things that go on ).

I have worked for other appraisers (as fee split) and they usually all had secretarial workers to do some of the mundane stuff ...

How does the current staff job work? Jobs per week, availability of choosing jobs (please go in details of "cherry picking"), weekly quota and quota per month for bonus, what is the pay per job based on minimum quota, and what benefits are included?

Thank you very much Jack, I am looking forward to your response... you're the best. I really do appreciate you taking the time to answer all of my questions. It's very helpful.

 

[JackG]

I forgot to say another "bonus" of being staff , in my book . In addition to the income , you also got to include "expenses " in the mix so - you would get a monthly expense check which normally would be about $1000 (depending on miles logged etc ).

Currently - as far as numbers go ... the quota is about the same as I described however I have to say that ... in general ... I have not been "Threatened" with 'you are not meeting your quota' ... I have just felt it in my wallet ...

oh ... and because in general the banks are NOT making the money they used to ... they seem to want to give you alot less in expenses ...

as far as cherry picking ... with the old job you really seemed to be able to do that better ... the ole adage is "hey if i am busy , why take the tough ones" altho they SPECIFICALLY TELL YOU NOT TO DO THAT ... you soon realize just like if you are in business for yourself ... you gotta take the easy ones sometimes MORE than the tough ones ...

with the old company I described - you could pretty much name your price ... if it was a tough one ... i would ask for more money ... or get "rush" fees etc ... with the new one - I have NOT seen anything like that (big sigh).

as a "relatively speaking" younger appraiser - i find being staff is more stable to my family etc - no major health insurance issues , dental .. vision .. 401k etc .... HOWEVER - I would look forward to getting back on the "fee " appraiser roll .... I have learned alot on the staff side (you get to know the review appraisers and you learn alot from them) - - - but another "down" side of staff is that "they tell you what to do " of course .... if you have plans to see A , B and C today (inspections ) and all of a suddent they need a "rush" inspection or a final .... you pretty much are expected to drop everything and do it ... and also .... they require classes to be taken online etc (like classes the tellers take in your local bank about public security etc that you say to yourself this has NOTHING to do with appraising !!! sorry venting) lol

The thing that killed me when i was out on my own was health insurance. I saw an ex boss who made a choice - he was making 125k or so a year and he was buying his kids dvd movies and electronic games ... getting health insurance for them ... but MADE THE CHOICE to not have health insurance etc on himself ! I said i would never do that . WHen i was fee - I started making decent money and my wife quit her job - we got health insurance as we were having kids etc .... well the health insurance rates just kept goin UP UP AND UP .. and around 2006 - 2007 they were around 14K a yr - just for my health insurance . Couple that with a child with special needs - now I have a preexisting condition etc and ... I saw it NEVER going down ....

 

[J Grant]

Jack G, if present health insurance reform stays in place, starting in 2014, insurers will have to accept people with pre existing conditions and there will be more options then are avail then now. I totally understand keeping a job for health insurance in special situations a most valid reason for being on staff .

 

[DTB]

I would look forward to getting back on the "fee " appraiser roll .... I have learned alot on the staff side (you get to know the review appraisers and you learn alot from them) - - -

What specifically have you learned? How to be a better appraiser or how to get reports through underwriting?

No flames, serious question IMO.

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

My wife still works full time for Sam's Club (Walmart). Our health insurance just went up 45% and the HR people tell her when Obama Care fully kicks in look for the monthly premium to double. Right now she pays $127 a month for the two of us and that includes prescriptions and dental.

Both of us are now eligible for Medicare. Part A & B for the two of us would cost $199.80 for basic coverage. A supplement would be almost $200 to have the same coverage we now get from her employer. Easy choice...she works til she drops! LOL.

 

[JackG]

J Grant - I generally agree with you . Not to get political , because I know we all have our opinions R or Left etc , but Health insurance is a topic I feel I can go on and on about - and I do not think I know 25% of what I should know . I just think to "keep goin the way we were" was just silly ... we pay the most of any country - yet we do not have the best healthcare system . People say "just wait til you have to wait to see a doctor" - hell we do that now . I have heard horror stories of people who are self employed - have health insurance and then come down with cancer and ... get thrown off their health insurance plan etc ... the preexisting condition alone is a biggie to me ... it is personal of course too .

DTB - yes I agree - I have become a better appraiser and also know more what they are looking for ... NOT that i agree with all the lil things that they are concerned with ... to be clear - I am not the best appraiser - but I can strive for something ...

 

[J Grant]

Jack, you sound like a great guy and any company would be lucky to have you!

 

[Non Sequitur]

The thing that killed me when i was out on my own was health insurance. I saw an ex boss who made a choice - he was making 125k or so a year and he was buying his kids dvd movies and electronic games ... getting health insurance for them ... but MADE THE CHOICE to not have health insurance etc on himself ! I said i would never do that . WHen i was fee - I started making decent money and my wife quit her job - we got health insurance as we were having kids etc .... well the health insurance rates just kept goin UP UP AND UP .. and around 2006 - 2007 they were around 14K a yr - just for my health insurance . Couple that with a child with special needs - now I have a preexisting condition etc and ... I saw it NEVER going down ....

I do understand this, and know a good friend who is staff for this exact reason.

People who don't have to buy health insurance on their own do not understand what a mess the system is. I've always had insurance for my family as a self employed, never a lapse. I just changed companies and found out we lost pre-existing coverage for my son's asthma (pre-existing for everything but that's the only real issue now). After many phone calls and letters, we found out that the coverage we had wasn't "credible", which means the company wasn't rated with the state insurance commission. So, even though we were paying a boatload of money a month, the policy doesn't count as coverage. What a mess.