To be a CG or not be

[Fernando]

I don't have a CG but I referred them given opportunity.
Those I refer to with CG do mostly residential appraisals.
I suspect the overhead in having commercial sources would make it unprofitable.
However for small commercials, MLS has some data they can work with.
So having CG does help in getting some commercial work but most of their work are 1-4 unit residentials.

 

[Joe Flacco]

Some people are just good at taking tests and some people are bad.

I had to take licensing tests three times and passed each one without any prep. What I noticed about the exams is that half of the questions are not relevant to what we do on a day to day basis or are things that are covered in any kind of detail in QE. But if you are not bad at taking tests then you can figure it out.

 

[Tiffany Gibbons]

Some people are just good at taking tests and some people are bad.

I had to take licensing tests three times and passed each one without any prep. What I noticed about the exams is that half of the questions are not relevant to what we do on a day to day basis or are things that are covered in any kind of detail in QE. But if you are not bad at taking tests then you can figure it out.

I'm terrible at test taking. There were so many formulas to remember at once, and lots of red herrings to get you off track. I hate trick questions. The good news is you'll never actually in real life have to "solve" for "X" with missing parts. You get all that information and have real data from your comparable sales, rentals, costs, etc. I love researching and writing, that's the part AI will take away, sadly, not the math.

 

[Joe Flacco]

I think the CR and CG exams probably overlap at least 50% of the questions. Maybe as high as 75% overlap.

 

[Joe Flacco]

Maybe even higher than that.

 

[Ricky LaFleur]

The modern CG exam shouldn't scare someone away from trying, but it isn't easy either. I passed first attempt, although I used the full allotted time to continue reviewing my answers. After spending 6 hours in a mind-numbing exam, the last thing I wanted to do was to try that again, along with the 4hr drive.

 

[George Hatch]

I learned out to do 10yr cash flow DCFs by hand. and using an HP12c to build my discount rates and sinking fund factors and such. I've never done one by hand in a live assignment, but knowing how to do it enables me to build that analysis or other variations on a spreadsheet. Knowing how to do one helps me to better visualize all the assumptions that are loaded into an overall rate. Same with several variations of the mortgage/equity buildups. I almost never do one these days but understanding it helps me to better understand what I'm doing with an overall rate.

So it's not all wasted time/effort to learn or get to testing proficiency with these applications.

 

[sputnam]

Do you see what the man or woman is bringing in a year? FYI, Hello?

No... And I don't care how much anyone else is earning. Whatever it is, becoming better... more skilled, more knowledgeable, more professional is a good way to earn more.

 

[RichMahagony]

I’m a CG and if I made a fraction of what you’re making I would be ecstatic. Run from commercial, no money in it unless you work for yourself. Right now the bidding activity is slow and fees are bottom of the barrel. Now… this is my experience. I know others differ.