If you are looking to use your experience as an appraiser working as a home inspector makes far more sense.  I was a broker and appraiser for 20 years before getting out of both “professions”.  From my experience there are few similarities between the two job descriptions; namely because few appraisers make good Realtors.  Appraisers enter into their profession because they are detail oriented while Realtors (who become brokers) are people oriented.

If you aren’t opposed to getting out of the real estate industry I recommend using periscope with a 360 degree field of vision.  There are far greater opportunities out there but you will never see them until you open your mind to the possibility of getting away from real estate.  Convince yourself that you’re not a one trick pony.  If you can visualize it you can achieve it.

. . . and if that lateral move from real estate appraiser to managing broker doesnt work out for you, you could also try moving laterally from appraiser to garbage collector, used car sales or Amway.

they are all regarded about the same, arent they?

LOL

the bleeding continues . . . . .

Your comment about ethics being the supposed cornerstone of the appraisal industry is true, yet if it were possible to legislate good behavior, the entire military and law enforcement fields would have no reason to exist. Stiil it sure is lovely to imagine a world where everyone understands what the right thing to do is, and acts accordingly.

Some of the people that I have met with a degree that recently graduated were not too impressive to me. I hope they don’t think that will solve the problem, if you askk me thats part of the problem. Think about it, who in their right mind would go through 4 years of college to become a trainee for an additional 2+ years? And then get less pay than a High school drop out.

Shortgage of Appraisers? Of course. If you are not the cheapest,fastest appraiser that can give a report, you are on the third tier or off the panel.Apprasers never fall of the “Do Not Us List”. Of course they are running out. Beware of those asking for E&O docs but never ordered one appraisal.

You got that right.

Do you remember what they did when the FHA needed thousands of more appraisers around 2009?  They dropped the test requirements…not only opening the door but blowing out two walls so incompetent appraisers could start doing FHA work.

The great thing about our government is they have no problem rewriting the rules every time they screw up something.  The bad news is that they’ve managed to screw the appraisal profession up so badly over the past six years that flipping burgers and collecting trash have become far more profitable (and respectable).

Now you got the banks aren’t going to pay more they will relax the standards

Michelle your lucky not to be in my area, because there is a time limit on getting hours. If you do not hit your hours in that time frame you have to take the classes all over again. Which I think is wrong. Good luck with getting your hours.

I appraised urban and suburban, it takes time wise, just as long to get to a property as it does for me to drive 45 -55 miles to a property for rural.

The difference is, I am no longer sitting in traffic for 45-60 minutes being stressed out…like I was for 18 years before moving to Gods county.

As to rural, you Urban guys would be amazed how “rural” has been “built” up since the housing boom.

The larger MC’s are having a hard time now. I am paid $400 for what you Urban guys are being offered for $200-$275. Simple….supply and demand. Just don’t accept them for anything lower than $350-400. In a few months, things will be back to normal again if appraisers just stuck to their guns. Call each other, talk to each other. The banks broke up the big mom and pop appraisal offices for a reason. Divide and conquer.

Like I said, hurry up guys and retire and thing will be righted again. Our profession has been cleaned up over the past 10 years from all those appraisers that Mommy and Daddy tried to teach.

i was starting to see that too. as the appraiser population continues to dwindle, appraisers will soon be able to pick and choose all their assignments more. rural customers will only be able to get an appraisal in the winter months when work is very slow and appraisers take what they can get. when things are busy, appraisers will decide to work only urban areas, easy assignments, or areas nearest them.

appraisers will be able to choose to work for $275 or $500. given a choice – would anyone want to work for $10/hr, or would anyone rather work for $20/hr? its not a hard choice. greedy banks and AMC’s who dont increase their fees will have a hard time finding appraisers to do their assignments.

appraising rural properties takes a lot of time. most everything else is about the same, but add in the additional time it takes to get there, and the additional time it takes to drive by all the rural comps, and suddenly it isnt worth appraising rural properties or long distance properties anymore. again, $10/hr, or $20/hr? DUH.

we are just starting to see the results of all the bad decision that have been made in the last 5-10 years by the states, the feds, AMC’s, banks, whoever, and its starting to bite those people in the asp. the bad things is, things or so badly gooned up, i dont see any way to fix it all. there is going to be an UGLY train wreck, and its going to happen very soon.

the implosion and bleeding continues . . . . .

Like I said, hurry up and retire my fellow appraisers. Only when the system is completely broken, does anyone care to fix anything.

That is not going to happen like you think it will.

Hurry up and retire my fellow appraisers. The more appraisers that leave the business the faster and better we will be in a position to rectify our profession.

precisely, and that is the main issue i have with this article. i hope the author of this article doesnt think that this implosion is just an “education requirement” problem, because it is NOT.

the ridiculous education requirement is just one piece of the puzzle. if the goal is to make appraisers in “the image of CPA’s and lawyers”, then someone had better darn well allow appraisers to get paid similarly to a CPA and lawyer, and not slightly above minimum wage like it is now. add in the fact that appraisers have way more liability nowadays than any CPA or lawyer will ever have, and suddenly we have an even bigger wage problem for appraisers.

to Michelle – there are PLENTY of opportunities out there that dont carry all the baggage appraising does. how good are you at taking pictures? a friend of mine charges $900 for a senior picture session. does two a day. nobody will ask him later to explain in detail why he didnt take his pictures in front of those other 10 trees. the senior wont be filing a complaint with the state board because he disagrees with the tree the photographer chose for him to stand next to, and no state board will be calling my friend later with the immediate assumption that the photographer is guilty. no USCRAP to deal with, and he is free to determine his fees based on his expenses. no working late evenings and weekends, and no more getting just a few hours of sleep every night. take a clue Michelle, and RUN while you are still young and have your sanity.

these are just a FEW more examples of all the stupid nonsense that is driving appraisers away. you are right Herb, about 30 things will need to CHANGE for that graph to change course, not just one. and until ALL those things are addressed . . . . .

the bleeding continues . . . . .

Michelle. I understand your frustration. I had to let all 11 appraisers go over a period of a year once Dodd Frank kicked in. The appraisal fees are pre circa 1970’st . There are one too many hands in the pie now,and my trainees who were with me up to 5 years all became my local competition. It’s almost a babysitting job which had no benefit to me especally monetarily.Depending on the city or area where you work, ther may be a shortage but there is no shortage here. I started my trainees on research and typing and then inspections with a State Cert. My suggestion is maybe you could look to be hired by a company or lender that has an appraisal dep’t and staff appraisers. They are more likely to afford hiring you at this time.Things change. Don’t give up. Good Luck

Kudos to the 74%!  You appear to be far more wise than appraisers who continue to toil away in the septic tank.