West Coast Appraisal Fees

[Whtwhale]

$96k doesn't sound bad on the face of it but that is revenue and not income. It includes no benefits and is before costs, self employment tax, and health insurance. $96k revenue is equivalent to a $50k-$60k job.

And the powers that be wonder why there isn't a groundswell of interest in becoming an appraiser. Between the cost of college being 3x what it was just 20 years ago, homes 3x vs 30 years ago, not to mention health insurance, you'd have to 3x appraisal compensation to build interest to the level of replacement.

 

[Fernando]

My big lender pays more for calif appraisals. But that is just a part of the fee structure. They pay more for properties over $1,00,000. I'm assuming for whatever reason it takes more time to do it.
Well, in the old days a $1,000,000 house was usually bigger. My understanding that in calif you either live in a $1,000,000+ home, or a tent on the sidewalk.
Can i get comment from the wealthy fernando on that thought.

True, my favorite AMC used to give me a premium when the property was over $1,000,000. It was nice since all my appraisals except condos were usually over million dollars.
A million dollar can't buy you homes in poor areas of Silicon Valley but you can buy a condo or townhome.

 

[RCA]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: The Living Dead

"Someone" once advised me in Spring 2007 to buy Fannie Mae stock. I thought he was crazy, so I didn't. Seems about 3 months later he had to put the brakes on all of his plans. Said person survived, but there was blood to pay. ... ... ...

 

[ZZGAMAZZ]

That is what I have been saying. Appraisal fees are subsidized by social security and medicare.

I wouldn't say that they don't need the money. They are working because they need the money. They just don't need as much money.

One scenario that is rarely discussed: Each incremental change/decrease in the rate of inflation, up until Q3 of the year, significantly affected the potential annual change in SS wages/income effective the following calendar year.

 

[RCA]

One scenario that is rarely discussed: Each incremental change/decrease in the rate of inflation, up until Q3 of the year, significantly affected the potential annual change in SS wages/income effective the following calendar year.

Well there is the annual CPI increase. You can argue that that is deficient, but people on Social Security (I am one of them) can learn to tighten their belt and be thankful they have what they have.

 

[ZZGAMAZZ]

Well there is the annual CPI increase. You can argue that that is deficient, but people on Social Security (I am one of them) can learn to tighten their belt and be thankful they have what they have.

Me too. My point was that policy/protocol implemented to fight inflation has a critical impact on SS income because annual SS increases are tied to inflation, i.e., the government saves a hella lot of $$$$$ potentially owed to retired individuals by lowering the inflation rate.

 

[ZZGAMAZZ]

60,000? Wow. And divorce, to me, is a high-risk appraisal. in the early 2000s I was getting $500 just to testify plus the cost of the appraisal, which I usually did as a narrative and charged a premium over a bank appraisal.

Yea and he also makes bank charging like $150/hour min of 3 hours to testify as an expert witness, specially since more than 50% of the court dates are cancelled....and his typical turn time is more than 6 weeks for a cookie cutter--which I don't understand at all, perhaps the lawyers are making addition income by extending the court dates while waiting for the appraisal--with a caveat that he appears to be the predominant marital dissolution appraiser throughout a 20 sq mi, densely-populated area.