"will Sombody Help Me" " Should I Continue Appraising As A Career"?

[devin]

Yep. $77k/year won't get it done in Southern California with the cost of living there.

Exactly more like

Yep. $77k/year won't get it done in Southern California with the cost of living there.[/QU

 

[J Grant]

77k a year is a respectable professional salary but Cali is expensive....depends on one's wants and needs how much $ is "enough". If it's 77k plus benefits value that comes to 90k, and add on any part time appraisal work as gravy. If you give up your job to go full time into appraisal you might not make 90k or 77k in Cali right now ...might be lucky to earn 45-60k with a regular res license there due to competition exploited by low fees from AMC's...if you could get good clients you could escape that but without contacts or a plan such as getting an SRA it might not be realistic to expect getting good clients since in 10 years it has not happened.... you need to offer something...such as able to do complex work, or conversely work in a sh**t area nobody else will go to. When I first started I took on the dirty REO jobs nobody else wanted but it got me in the door with lenders who from there gave me better work. Of course that was pre AMC days and it's twice as hard now but lenders still need niche work or appraisers willing to work in under served areas. ...

Why do you have to stay in Cali? It is a beautiful place to live but for res appraisers seems one of the worst areas right now. Maybe reconcile the fact that for you part time appraisal work is gravy(nice), and cut back a bit on it to instead take some classes or tag along on complex work to improve a skill set with view that full time appraising might be more appropriate down the road..

How old is your mentor, what is their plan would he be interested in working with you on orders with view f you buying him out late r if he retires or expanding territory to take on work as a partner?

 

[devin]

77k a year is a respectable professional salary but Cali is expensive....depends on one's wants and needs how much $ is "enough". If it's 77k plus benefits value that comes to 90k, and add on any part time appraisal work as gravy. If you give up your job to go full time into appraisal you might not make 90k or 77k in Cali right now ...might be lucky to earn 45-60k with a regular res license there due to competition exploited by low fees from AMC's...if you could get good clients you could escape that but without contacts or a plan such as getting an SRA it might not be realistic to expect getting good clients since in 10 years it has not happened.... you need to offer something...such as able to do complex work, or conversely work in a sh**t area nobody else will go to. When I first started I took on the dirty REO jobs nobody else wanted but it got me in the door with lenders who from there gave me better work. Of course that was pre AMC days and it's twice as hard now but lenders still need niche work or appraisers willing to work in under served areas. ...

Why do you have to stay in Cali? It is a beautiful place to live but for res appraisers seems one of the worst areas right now. Maybe reconcile the fact that for you part time appraisal work is gravy(nice), and cut back a bit on it to instead take some classes or tag along on complex work to improve a skill set with view that full time appraising might be more appropriate down the road..

How old is your mentor, what is their plan would he be interested in working with you on orders with view f you buying him out late r if he retires or expanding territory to take on work as a partner?

My Mentor is the same age as me, 42 he plans on retiring at 50.

 

[devin]

77k a year is a respectable professional salary but Cali is expensive....depends on one's wants and needs how much $ is "enough". If it's 77k plus benefits value that comes to 90k, and add on any part time appraisal work as gravy. If you give up your job to go full time into appraisal you might not make 90k or 77k in Cali right now ...might be lucky to earn 45-60k with a regular res license there due to competition exploited by low fees from AMC's...if you could get good clients you could escape that but without contacts or a plan such as getting an SRA it might not be realistic to expect getting good clients since in 10 years it has not happened.... you need to offer something...such as able to do complex work, or conversely work in a sh**t area nobody else will go to. When I first started I took on the dirty REO jobs nobody else wanted but it got me in the door with lenders who from there gave me better work. Of course that was pre AMC days and it's twice as hard now but lenders still need niche work or appraisers willing to work in under served areas. ...

Why do you have to stay in Cali? It is a beautiful place to live but for res appraisers seems one of the worst areas right now. Maybe reconcile the fact that for you part time appraisal work is gravy(nice), and cut back a bit on it to instead take some classes or tag along on complex work to improve a skill set with view that full time appraising might be more appropriate down the road..

How old is your mentor, what is their plan would he be interested in working with you on orders with view f you buying him out late r if he retires or expanding territory to take on work as a partner?

What's states have an appraiser shortage right now?

 

[Deleted member 134708]

@devin

Regarding your pay query.

I took heed in this forum. I only take C&R fees which this forum states and got the best clients. I got rid of all bad clients Jan 1. I made ~$12k the 1st 6 months of this year.

I have have since scraped this forums model as they turned out to not be looking after me but looking after themselves.

I now do appraisals for $200-250 and make ~$50k per annum.

Careful who you listen too. You came here due to real concern about Devins livelyhood. So what's best for you?

I dont know you. What I do know is California's free market prices for appraisals. You can have all the appraisals you want at $200. Maybe even 1004/216/1007 for $200. So if you want to make a living, you need to A) lower lifestyle (I recommended this) B) rip out 2 appraisals a day, run them thru CU to get flagged and shortly get popped by xyz entity.

Caveat: the 1 nice thing about getting popped. It's worth it from what I've personally seen. Big deal. $1k fine for doing $10k worth appraisals. (This isn't you nor any of us, but it is 60%).

So...In CA. all the good clients are taken. We already have lawyers, divorce, tax etc. we scooped them up. These clients will be passed down.

I'm from CA. You came here. I'm telling you the absolute truth. Don't listen to anyone not from CA who didn't do it on their own. Essentially anyone under 40.

 

[Deleted member 134708]

I'm not gonna blast them out as they are good people. But i know 70 year old appraiser with 35 year old kid taking over.

All the lawyers, all the government, all the everything is being passed down. How the industry works.

Why would they take you or I on? Would you? Hell no. You have history. You can comp check.

Why would you ever take on outsiders? No comp check? Turned in? Who, why, what?

Too much risk.

 

[devin]

@devin

Regarding your pay query.

I took heed in this forum. I only take C&R fees which this forum states and got the best clients. I got rid of all bad clients Jan 1. I made ~$12k the 1st 6 months of this year.

I have have since scraped this forums model as they turned out to not be looking after me but looking after themselves.

I now do appraisals for $200-250 and make ~$50k per annum.

Careful who you listen too. You came here due to real concern about Devins livelyhood. So what's best for you?

I dont know you. What I do know is California's free market prices for appraisals. You can have all the appraisals you want at $200. Maybe even 1004/216/1007 for $200. So if you want to make a living, you need to A) lower lifestyle (I recommended this) B) rip out 2 appraisals a day, run them thru CU to get flagged and shortly get popped by xyz entity.

Caveat: the 1 nice thing about getting popped. It's worth it from what I've personally seen. Big deal. $1k fine for doing $10k worth appraisals. (This isn't you nor any of us, but it is 60%).

So...In CA. all the good clients are taken. We already have lawyers, divorce, tax etc. we scooped them up. These clients will be passed down.

I'm from CA. You came here. I'm telling you the absolute truth. Don't listen to anyone not from CA who didn't do it on their own. Essentially anyone under 40.

Yeah, I'm born in raised in So Cal as well.

 

[devin]

I'm not gonna blast them out as they are good people. But i know 70 year old appraiser with 35 year old kid taking over.

All the lawyers, all the government, all the everything is being passed down. How the industry works.

Why would they take you or I on? Would you? Hell no. You have history. You can comp check.

Why would you ever take on outsiders? No comp check? Turned in? Who, why, what?

Too much risk.

Please don't really feel like dealing with , I guess the millennials refer to them as trolls,.

 

[devin]

I'm not gonna blast them out as they are good people. But i know 70 year old appraiser with 35 year old kid taking over.

All the lawyers, all the government, all the everything is being passed down. How the industry works.

Why would they take you or I on? Would you? Hell no. You have history. You can comp check.

Why would you ever take on outsiders? No comp check? Turned in? Who, why, what?

Too much risk.

That's no always the case you have guys that build from the ground up, My mentor has done it.

 

[J Grant]

What's states have an appraiser shortage right now?

From numerous posts on the board, Colorado, Oregon, Wyoming Some areas particularity rural or outlying areas are under served all across the USA, but you'd need to research them, (do you want to live there. Best way to find out where the need is? Contact lenders, and AMC' and ask where they have a shortage of appraisers/they have a need, that you might be willing to relocate. When enough of them answer with the same locations, that's a strong indicator.

For example, aprox an hour from me is far west Palm Beach County rural areas aka across the sugar cane fields. Belle Glade ( one of the poorest cities in America), Pahokee, and a few towns dot it. Every so often, i get calls from lenders to do an appraisal there. I tell them I don't cover the area (I did one appraisal there years ago, off my territory now) The lenders are desperate to find someone to do the appraisal and beg me for a recommendation, This is an example of an area that is under served, I'd imagine there are many throughout the USA.