Is real estate appraisal work still a good career?
July 18, 2010 by MrAuthor
Filed under Real Estate
I want to get my license to do commercial and residential real estate apprasials, but I am worried about the current real estate market. Is this still a good career to pursue, or is the market really ending for this type of business? How much money do appraisal workers make annually? Thanks for any info!
Currently, I am a General Appraiser in NY. For commercial appraisals we charge between 3k-5k per job (average). We charge $600+ for residential work. The trick is to avoid finance appraisals. We do appraisals for attorneys, municipalities, accountants, insurance companies (divorce, litigation and condemnation, estates, gifts). This kind of work is recession proof and you can charge more because the appraisal is going to court. Also, people will always be getting divorced and die. If you rely strictly on mortgage appraisals you will not be able to survive right now. Getting a license now is very difficult. Effective 1/2008 the standards of becoming an appraiser has just increased. You will need 300 classroom hours and past each test (Around 10 classes), 4 year college degree and pass a new state test plus work for a General Appraiser for 2.5 years or 30 months. Go to the appraisalinstitute.com for classes and networking opportunity. The give the best education and are highly regarded in the industry. The classes are very difficult there. Once you find a mentor (took me 2 years) you will get a small percentage typically 10%-15% (you will make about 30-40k during your 1st year, 50k+ 2nd year, 75k+ third year). Take into account though I am in NY.