Career Change, Corporate Life to Residential Appraiser ???

[9452772]

Question to those that appraise homes in Texas. I am thinking of leaving the high stress Cooperate life and do something a little more laid back. I like the idea of becoming a home appraiser. It looks like there are three levels:

Licensed Residential - no college
Certified Residential - some college
Certified General -BS or higher

I do not have a college degree which only allows me to get the Licensed Residential. I can work on college hours to get Certified Residential but it is going to take a fair amount of time. Does anyone on the green screen have a feel on how easy it is to get work as Licensed Residential vs Certified Residential? My fear is if I get the Licensed Residential it may be hard to find work if everyone wants a Certified Residential.

Thanks and feel free to IM me I would love to talk with someone in the industry.

[ctom87]

Saw this yesterday in an article on the internet, so tagging along.

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[GA Bowhunter]

Wait until an appraisal comes in low and you will see a lot of stress.

You'll get calls from the buyer, seller, both agents and the closing attorney.

[jshouse]

i am sure someone with experience will speak up but i looked into this a few years ago and was told that you have to be an apprentice to an appraiser for what i thought was a long time before you can work on your own. whatever the time frame was was going to be longer than i could have gone without a job.

home inspections are easier to get into, my dad owns a company and tshelly on here does as well.

[Buffalo1]

I am retired and spent my life in the personnel arena. I'm afraid those "stress free" positions passed by when I was seeking to fill job openings. I wish you well.

[dgilbert]

Good luck no telling what we are in for now!

[bigmike585]

Wait until an appraisal comes in low and you will see a lot of stress.

You'll get calls from the buyer, seller, both agents and the closing attorney.

What he said, run another direction!

[r_u_sharp_2]

My wife works for an appraisal company.

She has worked for three over the last 8 years or so. 2 in Dallas and 1 in the Austin area.

She said go to https://www.talcb.texas.gov and poke around.

You do need to be an apprentice for a year or two under a licensed appraiser.



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[9452772]

Thanks all for the replies. I have done all the research online I can. Biggest question is how much work I would get with the basic residential license vs the next step up that requires a certain amount of college classes.


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[famousunknown]

I would recommend pursuing the certified route rather than licensed. Unless the TALCB changed some things there are some limitations on what you can appraise if you are only licensed. Certified will allow you to appraise any residential property without limitation.

[ken800]

I would investigate this career very carefully. The last two homes that I have purchased were appraised under a different format. An "appraiser" is locked up somewhere in an office doing bulk work. They sent a low-paid "photographer" to take pictures and then do the appraisal. The photographers were everyday joes with a mobile phone and just walked around and took a bunch of pictures. They sent me a questionnaire about build grade of interior stuff, age, etc. Then some person in a black hole sent out an appraisal. I'm quite certain the last year of covid has accelerated the move toward this type of process.

[Preacher Man]

Even though the license would enable you to appraise property up to 1 mil, a lot of lenders still require a certified appraiser. So it will limit you a bit. A certification becomes more important when times are lean. Right now it may not affect you much.

But your biggest hurdle will be finding a sponsor. There’s a ton of liability for the sponsor while you’re a trainee.

[BobbyOrtiz]

I too own a Home Inspection business. I am a full-time firefighter and do about 4 Inspections a week here in central Texas. If you are interested, pm me. My company is called Off Duty Pro Home Inspections. I have heard too that the appraisal route is difficult.

[CaptainDave]

I've heard the toughest hurdle is finding a licensed appraiser that will allow you to work as an apprentice. It's almost like you need to know one personally as there is some liability associated with it.

There's also a lot of regulation in the industry itself.

I've also heard there is a shortage of licensed appraisers in most high demand markets; i.e. TX, CO, WA, CA, etc. However, it's my understanding that shortage is primarily due to the barriers to entry (i.e. apprenticeship) and regulation in the industry. In other words, it's difficult to break through and actually get in as there's a lot more involved than what most people think.

Honestly, if you can break through and can handle a bit of stress, it doesn't seem like a bad gig. A ton of these people work for themselves and pick and choose how much work they want to have. Depending on the type of property, an average appraisal feel is around $500. In a high demand market, it would not be difficult to make decent money.

[Ruark]

I looked into this one time, too - for sure, check out being an inspector as opposed to an appraiser.

A lot of it depends on where you work, too. Like, we live in a furnace-hot real estate area, houses and sales going up like crazy. That would mean a business (income) than some place where nothing's moving. Of course, that could mean packing up and living somewhere else.