Is anyone an appraiser... or have a job in real estate?

Question

I am interested in a job within the real estate field and was wanting to know if anyone was an appraiser? I was wondering on average how much your salary is, if you dont mind sharing...also if you are an agent, if you want to share your average salary that would be helpful, if not thats fine I was just wondering if it was worth it in the long run, I want a job that I will love but I want to be financialy stable too.

Answer 1

First thing DakB does not know what she is talking about or have a clue about appraisals. NO Appraiser can do 4 appraisals in 8 hours and thats a fact. One a day is doing good. You first have to pull county data on the subject and then you have to do a MLS comp search and pick 4-6 comparables (about 1 hour). Then you have to drive to the subject home and measure it and sketch it and do a floor plan layout, Photo exterior and interior, then question the homeowner (about 1 hour). Then you have to drive to all the comparables you picked and photo and make notes about all (about 1). Then drive back to your office, down load all the photos and lable them (about 1/2 hour). Draw the subject on a cad program (1/2 hour) Then you start to fill out a report and research and get legal description, parcel # and all past sales for the last 3 years. Pull public records on deeds of trust to see if it was a FHA, VA or conv loan. Pull all MLS info on comparables and county information on comparables for past sales history. Pull plat maps, location maps and flood maps and insert into report. Make all the adjustment to the comparables. Insert all the photos into the report. And it the lender wants the cost approach done add 1/2-1 hour for that. So there is no way you can do 2 a day and do a good job. Every one thinks all we do is drive around and take pictures of home and bang the appraisal is done. Lender want to sue us when the home goes into forclosure. The Feds and States are checking our reports to make sure we are following USPAP. The list goes on. If SakB thinks anyone can do a appraisal in 2 hours she is a fool. As a trainee you will not make enough to live on.

Answer 2

My oldest daughter just expressed interest in this as well. Not a great time to become a REALTOR just yet.
Appraisers at least in Florida require a 2 year degree and about 1200 for just the classes. Then you have to apprentice for two years which means you split the profits for that time. If you can get a 50/50 that means 150.00 approximately per appraisal. Each one may take a couple of hours until you get good at them so if you work 8 hours a day that means 4 a day. Assuming there is that much work. The work comes from the lenders for the most part. So 150. times 4= 600.times 5=3000. maximum per week. Maximum until you can do an appraisal in less than 2 hours or you get to a point where you are no longer an apprentice. One more hidden cost. When you do go out on your own you will need to buy the "appraisal books" about $400.00 and they will probably change every year so you may want to look at an online subscription that automatically updates. Appraisals require photos and calculations so that means gas charges too (we figure 50cents per mile to cover the maintenance and gas etc for the car.) and I'll bet that's going to be on your side of the profits to deduct! So hopefully this gives you some ideas. If I personally was going to do it, I would go with the biggest appraisal company in your area so that I could get to that 1-3K per week point. Good Luck.
p.s. my daughter decided to hold off on this for awhile-she's moving right now.

Answer 3

If you're considering real estate as a 'financially stable job', skip it. It can go from feast to famine and the reverse, depending on the condition of the economy. There is a handsome financial reward to be had in real estate work, but you surely need some financial worth ahead of time in order to 'weather out the storms' which may arise. Additionally, it requires sensible budgeting of earned commissions.

I've seen far too many agents make good money right away, and then get themselves into debt thinking that their incomes will always remain as they are.