I. Appraiser Independence Safeguards
A. An “appraiser” must be, at a minimum, licensed or certified by the state in which the property to be appraised is located.
B. No employee, director, officer, or agent of the lender, or any other third party acting as joint venture partner, independent contractor, appraisal company, appraisal management company, or partner on behalf of the lender, shall influence or attempt to influence the development, reporting, result, or review of an appraisal through coercion, extortion, collusion, compensation, inducement, intimidation, bribery, or in any other manner including but not limited to:
(1) withholding or threatening to withhold timely payment or partial payment for an appraisal report;
(2) withholding or threatening to withhold future business for an appraiser, or demoting or terminating or threatening to demote or terminate an appraiser;
(3) expressly or impliedly promising future business, promotions, or increased compensation for an appraiser;
(4) conditioning the ordering of an appraisal report or the payment of an appraisal fee or salary or bonus on the opinion, conclusion, or valuation to be reached, or on a preliminary value estimate requested from an appraiser;
(5) requesting that an appraiser provide an estimated, predetermined, or desired valuation in an appraisal report prior to the completion of the appraisal report, or requesting that an appraiser provide estimated values or comparable sales at any time prior to the appraiser’s completion of an appraisal report;
(6) providing to an appraiser an anticipated, estimated, encouraged, or desired value for a subject property or a proposed or target amount to be loaned to the borrower, except that a copy of the sales contract for purchase transactions may be provided;
(7) providing to an appraiser, appraisal company, appraisal management company, or any entity or person related to the appraiser, appraisal company, or appraisal management company, stock or other financial or non-financial benefits;
(8) allowing the removal of an appraiser from a list of qualified appraisers, or the addition of an appraiser to an exclusionary list of disapproved appraisers, used by any entity, without prompt written notice to such appraiser, which notice shall include written evidence of the appraiser’s illegal conduct, a violation of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) or state licensing standards, substandard performance, improper or unprofessional behavior or other substantive reason for
Home Valuation Code of Conduct • December 2008 • Page 1 of 6
removal (except that this prohibition will not preclude the management of appraiser lists for bona fide administrative reasons based on written, management-approved policies);
(9) ordering, obtaining, using, or paying for a second or subsequent appraisal or automated valuation model (AVM) in connection with a mortgage financing transaction unless: (i) there is a reasonable basis to believe that the initial appraisal was flawed or tainted and such basis is clearly and appropriately noted in the loan file, or (ii) unless such appraisal or automated valuation model is done pursuant to written, pre-established bona fide pre- or post-funding appraisal review or quality control process or underwriting guidelines, and so long as the lender adheres to a policy of selecting the most reliable appraisal, rather than the appraisal that states the highest value; or
(10) any other act or practice that impairs or attempts to impair an appraiser’s independence, objectivity, or impartiality or violates law or regulation, including, but not limited to, the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Regulation Z, or the USPAP.
C. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the lender (or any third party acting on behalf of the lender) from requesting that an appraiser (i) provide additional information or explanation about the basis for a valuation, or (ii) correct objective factual errors in an appraisal report.
II. Borrower Receipt of Appraisal
The lender shall ensure that the borrower is provided a copy of any appraisal report concerning the borrower’s subject property promptly upon completion at no additional cost to the borrower, and in any event no less than three days prior to the closing of the loan. The borrower may waive this three-day requirement. The lender may require the borrower to reimburse the lender for the cost of the appraisal.
III. Appraiser Engagement
A. The lender or any third party specifically authorized by the lender (including, but not limited to, appraisal companies, appraisal management companies, and correspondent lenders) shall be responsible for selecting, retaining, and providing for payment of all compensation to the appraiser. The lender will not accept any appraisal report completed by an appraiser selected, retained, or compensated in any manner by any other third party (including mortgage brokers and real estate agents). The lender may accept an appraisal prepared by an appraiser for a different lender, including where a mortgage broker has facilitated the mortgage application (but not ordered the appraisal), provided the lender: (1) obtains written assurances that such other lender follows this Code of Conduct in connection with the loan being originated; and (2) determines that such appraisal conforms to its requirements for appraisals and is otherwise acceptable.
Home Valuation Code of Conduct • December 2008 • Page 2 of 6
B. All members of the lender’s loan production staff, as well as any person (i) who is compensated on a commission basis upon the successful completion of a loan or (ii) who reports, ultimately, to any officer of the lender not independent of the loan production staff and process, shall be forbidden from (1) selecting, retaining, recommending, or influencing the selection of any appraiser for a particular appraisal assignment or for inclusion on a list or panel of appraisers approved to perform appraisals for the lender or forbidden from performing such work; and (2) having any substantive communications with an appraiser or appraisal management company relating to or having an impact on valuation, including ordering or managing an appraisal assignment. If absolute lines of independence cannot be achieved as a result of the lender’s small size and limited staff, the lender must be able to clearly demonstrate that it has prudent safeguards to isolate its collateral evaluation process from influence or interference from its loan production process.
C. Any employee of the lender (or if the lender retains an appraisal company or appraisal management company, any employee of that company) tasked with selecting appraisers for an approved panel or substantive appraisal review must be (1) appropriately trained and qualified in the area of real estate appraisals, and (2) in the case of an employee of the lender, wholly independent of the loan production staff and process.
IV. Prevention of Improper Influences on Appraisers
A. In underwriting a loan, the lender shall not utilize any appraisal report:
(1) prepared by an appraiser employed by:
(a) the lender;
(b) an affiliate of the lender;
(c) an entity that is owned, in whole or in part, by the lender; or
(d) an entity that owns, in whole or in part, the lender.
(2) prepared by an appraiser
(a) employed,
(b) engaged as an independent contractor, or
(c) otherwise retained by
any appraisal company or any appraisal management company affiliated with, or that owns or is owned, in whole or in part by, the lender or an affiliate of the lender.
Home Valuation Code of Conduct • December 2008 • Page 3 of 6
B. Section IV.A. shall apply unless:
(1) the appraiser or, if an affiliate, the company for which the appraiser works, reports to a function of the lender independent of sales or loan production;
(2) employees in the sales or loan production functions of the lender have no involvement in the operations of the appraisal functions and play no role in selecting, retaining, recommending, or influencing the selection of any appraiser for any particular appraisal assignment or for inclusion on a list or panel of appraisers approved to perform appraisals for the lender or forbidden from performing such work;
(3) employees in the sales or loan production functions of the lender are not allowed to have any substantive communications with an appraiser, appraisal company, or appraisal management company relating to or having an impact on valuation or to be provided information about which appraiser has been given a particular appraisal assignment before completion of that assignment;
(4) the lender, or its agents, and any appraisal company or appraisal management company providing the appraisal to the lender do not provide the appraiser any estimated or target value of the property or the loan amount applied for (except that a copy of the sales contract for purchase transactions may be provided);
(5) the appraiser’s compensation does not depend in any way on the value arrived at in any appraisal or upon the closing of the loan for which the appraisal was completed;
(6) the lender and any appraisal company or any appraisal management company providing the appraisal to the lender has adopted written policies and procedures implementing this Code of Conduct, including, but not limited to, adequate training and disciplinary rules on appraiser independence (including the principles detailed in Part I of this Code of Conduct) and has mechanisms in place to report and discipline anyone who violates these policies and procedures;
(7) the lender’s appraisal functions are either annually audited by an external auditor or are subject to federal or state regulatory examination, and, unless prohibited by law, the lender promptly provides to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac the results of any adverse, negative, or irregular findings of such audits and examinations indicating non-compliance with any provision of this Code of Conduct, whether or not the examination was conducted for the purpose of determining compliance with this Code of Conduct; and
(8) the lender and any entity described in section IV.A. providing the appraisal to the lender recognize that, once the Independent Valuation Protection Institute is established, the Institute will receive complaints for review and referral regarding non-compliance with the Code of Conduct. Referrals and reports shall be made to Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac regarding such complaints and the Institute will provide information on the results of complaint reviews to Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac and make them available to the other parties to the Home Value Protection Program and Cooperation Agreement.
Home Valuation Code of Conduct • December 2008 • Page 4 of 6
C. In underwriting a loan, the lender shall not use an appraisal report prepared by an entity that is affiliated with, or that owns or is owned, in whole or in part by, another entity that is engaged by the lender to provide other settlement services, as that term is defined in the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, 12 U.S.C.§ 2601 et seq., for the same transaction, unless the entity that provides the appraisal:
(1) has adopted written policies and procedures implementing this Code of Conduct, including, but not limited to, adequate training and disciplinary rules on appraiser independence (including the principles detailed in this Code of Conduct) and has mechanisms in place to report and discipline anyone who violates these policies and procedures;
(2) recognizes that, once the Independent Valuation Protection Institute is established, the Institute will receive complaints for review and referral regarding non-compliance with the Code of Conduct. Referrals and reports shall be made to Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac regarding such complaints and the Institute will provide information on the results of its review of such complaints to Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac and make them available to the other parties to the Home Value Protection Program and Cooperation Agreement.
D. Notwithstanding the requirements herein, the lender also may use in-house staff appraisers to (i) order appraisals, (ii) conduct appraisal reviews or other quality control, whether pre-funding or post-funding, (iii) develop, deploy, or use internal automated valuation models, or (iv) prepare appraisals in connection with transactions other than mortgage origination transactions (e.g. loan workouts), if it complies with the terms of this Code of Conduct.
E. The provisions of this section do not apply to institutions (including non-banking institutions) that meet the definition of a “small bank” as set forth in 12 U.S.C. § 2908, and which Freddie Mae or Fannie Mae determines would suffer hardship due to the provisions, and which otherwise adhere to this Code of Conduct.
V. The Independent Valuation Protection Institute
An Independent Valuation Protection Institute (Institute) shall be created as approved by the parties. Subject to section IX, when the Institute is established, the lender will provide information to appraisers and borrowers regarding the availability of the Institute’s services, which are expected to include: (1) a telephone hotline and email address to receive any complaints of Code of Conduct non-compliance, including complaints from appraisers, individuals, or other entities concerning the improper influencing or attempted improper influencing of appraisers or the appraisal process, which the Institute will review and report as provided in IV.B(8) and IV.C(2) of this Code of Conduct; and (2) the publication and promotion of best practices for independent valuation. The lender shall not retaliate, in any manner or method, against the person or entity that makes a complaint to the Institute.
Home Valuation Code of Conduct • December 2008 • Page 5 of 6
Home Valuation Code of Conduct • December 2008 • Page 6 of 6
VI. Appraisal Quality Control Testing
The lender agrees that it shall quality control test, by use of retroactive or additional appraisal reports or other appropriate method, a randomly selected 10 percent (or other bona fide statistically significant percentage) of the appraisals or valuations that are used by the lender, including the results of automated valuation models, broker’s price opinions, or “desktop” evaluations. The lender shall provide to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac a report of any adverse, negative, or irregular findings of such quality control testing, and any findings indicating non-compliance with any provision of this Code of Conduct, with respect to loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac respectively, and the Enterprise may enforce all applicable rights and remedies, including requiring the lender to repurchase mortgages or the Enterprise’s participation interest in mortgages.
VII. Referrals of Appraisal Misconduct Reports
Any lender that has a reasonable basis to believe an appraiser or appraisal management company is violating applicable laws, or is otherwise engaging in unethical conduct, shall promptly refer the matter to the applicable State appraiser certifying and licensing agency or other relevant regulatory bodies.
VIII. Representations and Warranties
A lender shall certify, warrant, and represent that the appraisal report was obtained in a manner in compliance with this Code of Conduct. If the Enterprise determines, on its own or from a referral made by the Institute, that a lender is in breach of a material aspect of this Code of Conduct or in violation of a provision of the Code by a complaint referred from the Institute, the Enterprise will enforce all applicable rights and remedies, including suspension or termination of the lender’s eligibility to sell loans to the Enterprise, if the lender fails to remediate.
IX. Scope of Code
Nothing in this Code of Conduct shall be construed to establish new requirements or obligations that: (1) require a lender to obtain a property valuation, or to use any particular method for property valuation (such as an appraisal or automated valuation model) in connection with any mortgage loan or mortgage financing transaction; (2) affect the acceptable scope of work for an appraiser in connection with a particular assignment; or (3) require the lender or any third party acting on behalf of the lender to take any action prohibited by federal or state law or regulation.

1. Payments, not prices: The plan centers on the belief that struggling borrowers will stay in their homes—even as values decline sharply—as long as they can make their monthly payments. Although not each one is in conformity with this, the investor Warren Buffett of billionaire approved philosophy in his more recent letter with the shareholders. “Commentary about the current housing crisis often ignores the crucial fact that most foreclosures do not occur because a house is worth less than its mortgage (so-called “upside-down” loans),” Buffett wrote. “Rather, the preclusions take place because the borrowers cannot pay the monthly payment which they were of agreement on the wages.”

2. Thirty-one percent: To that end, the administration’s plan requires participating loan servicers to reduce monthly payments to no more than 38 percent of the borrower’s gross monthly income. The government would notch then inside to reduce payments to promote, with step more than 31 percent of the monthly income of the borrower. In lowering the payment, the servicer would first reduce the interest rate to as low as 2 percent. If is not enough to strike the threshold of 31 percent, they would then prolong the limits of the loan with up to 40 years. If that’s still not enough, the servicer would forebear loan principal at no interest. The plan, however, does not require servicers to reduce the main thing of mortgage, that the green of Richard, director of the center of Lusk for the real estate with USC, considers a weak point. “For underwater loans, if you don’t write down the balance to be less than the value of the house, people still have an incentive to default,” Green says. “To initially note the main thing whose with the place is what [the administration of Obama is] makes propose-me the direction.” .

3. Cash incentives: To encourage participation, servicers will be paid $1,000 for each modification and will get an additional $1,000 payout each year for as many as three years, as long as the borrower continues making payments. The borrowers, while waiting for, can rise to $1.000 struck to far the main thing from their loan the every years for as much from as five years if they carry out their time rates. Neither party can receive the cash incentives until the modified loan payments have been made for at least three months

4. Financial hardship: The Obama administration is pitching its plan as an effort to help responsible homeowners ensnared in the historic housing slump and painful recession—not speculators. As such, only owner-occupied, primary residences with outstanding principal balances of up to $729,750 are eligible. Occupancy status will be verified through documents, such as the borrower’s credit report. In addition, the program is designed to target homeowners who are undergoing “serious hardships”—such as a loss of income—which have put them at risk of default. To participate, borrowers will have to sign an affidavit of financial hardship and verify their income with documents. “If we would have had such stringent verification over the last four or five years, we probably wouldn’t be in as bad a position as we are in,” says Richard Moody, the chief economist at Mission Residential. But while Moody has no objection to such verification, obtaining documents from so many homeowners could be an onerous effort. “It’s going to be a very time-consuming process,” he says. Only loans originated on or before Jan. 1, 2009, are eligible, and modified payments will remain in place for five years. Now that the administration’s plan is out, lenders are free to begin modifying loans.

5. Net present value: To determine if a particular mortgage will be modified, the servicer will perform a so-called net present value test. The test compares the margin of financing envisaged whose loan would produce if it is modified with the expected margin of financing that it would produce if it is not. If the modified loan is expected to produce more cash flow for the mortgage holder, the servicer is to restructure the loan. Howard Glaser, a consultant as regards industry of mortgage and a department of the USA of the civil servant of housing and urban development during the government of Clinton, called this component of intelligent plan the “,” alleging that would function to ensure the broad participation. “When you apply the formula, the loans that are modified are the ones that are in the best economic interest of the investors to modify,” Glaser says. “The federal subsidy for the payment on the modification… inclines the balance towards the modification like better business for the investor.”

Please check with your lender before contacting a loan modification company.

Being a professional website optimizer for over 10 years gave me invaluable information regarding search engine optimization and internet marketing. Over 90% of my new clients have found my company while searching in Google. You have to show up on the first page of search results to attract new clients.

Do you have a website? Have you tried searching for your primary search terms?

Take a minute to search for your primary keywords in Google and see where your website shows up. First determine your primary search terms? I have found that most people search for ‘CITY NAME’ appraisal, second is usually ‘CITY NAME’ appraiser. Other searches include a variation to include county, community names, certified appraiser, FHA appraiser, certified, certified general, etc…

My primary search phrases are - ‘San Diego Appraisal‘ and ‘San Diego Appraiser‘

Now put your search phrase in to Google and find where your website ranks in the results. Does it show up on the first page of search engine results?

For San Diego Appraisal, my websites show up on the first page of results in position #1, #4, #6 and #8.

You have to RANK to get RESULTS!

Do you think those results gets me more business? Yes, it amounts to about 90% of my new client referrals. If you search for my secondary keywords, I usually show up in the top positions for each community within San Diego that I want to target. I have similar results with ‘San Diego Appraiser’ and any other search terms related to doing appraisals in San Diego County for Real Estate.

I figure if one website costs me $350 a year, that is nothing compared to the amount of money I make through orders. When adding additional websites, I target every area that I am receiving the most work within, then the most populated cities or communities within my market area and additional areas I am interested in doing more work. I also target estate appraisals, tax reassessment appraisals, FHA appraisal work and certified appraiser work needed within my coverage area.

If you have an existing website that does not show up in the top 10 results of Google (the #1 search engine), then you really need to make some changes to your internet marketing plan.

Since most search engine optimization companies charge around $1000 to rebuild your existing website to make it more search engine friendly, I would suggest getting additional websites built by a professional website hosting company with an easy to use search engine optimized website builder. If you are happy with your existing website, you can keep it the way it is and make additional websites that will rank in the search engines, attract new clients and bring in more orders.

Multiple Websites will bring you multiple streams of income!

My best advice is for you to figure out your primary keywords and getting a 3-5 websites that will target those needs. Since I am a residential appraiser serving San Diego County, I wanted to make sure to show up for those keywords first. Second I enjoy doing estate appraisals for divorce, date of death, etc… So I put added some more search terms for my list. I like doing high end and custom home appraisals as well as beach front properties, so I added the cities and communities within San Diego that contain those types of homes. Tax Reassessment is also becoming very popular in my area because the city seems to be falling behind on their reassessments.

I narrowed my list of primary search terms to:
San Diego Appraisal - my primary website with a lot of sub terms to include Appraisal, FHA, Reassessments, etc.
San Diego Appraisal - Secondary website with a lot of sub terms to include Appraiser, FHA, Reassessments, etc.
San Diego Divorce Appraisal - focusing on Divorce and number of sub terms relating to Estate Appraisals
Coronado Appraisal - Very Complex, High End beach front home appraisals
La Jolla Appraisal - Very Complex, High End beach front home appraisals
Chula Vista Appraisal - REO work and currently highest percentage of listings and sales within my market area.

For each of those search terms I used a website builder that would affectively target those keywords throughout every page and focused on getting links to those websites with targeted search terms. Instead of using my company name, I would insert the link as La Jolla Appraisal and put a description with the keywords as well: Providing High Quality appraisal services in La Jolla, CA.

Your primary search term might take a while to get ranking within the top 5 or 10 results in Google. But by getting the proper inbound links from a number of free websites and some popular appraiser related link directories, you will get there. The Sub websites will be much easier to get ranking within the top 5 positions. The more Sub related websites you own, the more work you will receive.

Create Top Ranking Websites Easily

Being a Real Estate Appraiser and having over 20 years of experience with Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Placement, I know first hand the success you will experience by having a top ranking appraisal website. Not only is it a great time to increase your client base, but it has never been easier now that we have created a search engine optimized website builder specifically for Real Estate Appraisers.

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For a limited time, if you sign up for the complete hosting plan at AppraiserWebsites.Net, we will create a custom website that is optimized for all the major search engines ($495.00 Value). Within 24 hours after receiving all of your information, your website will be published online and ready to accept orders. We will also submit your website to the top search engine directories, and submit your new website to additional Appraiser Directories for free. This is a limited time offer and will only be available for a short time.

Visit AppraiserWebsites.Net for more information.

How to become a licensed real estate appraiser
Why do you want to become a real estate appraiser?

-Would like to spend more time with the family?

-Be your own boss?

-Set your own schedule?

-Learn more about Real Estate?

-Value properties that you wish to purchase?

-Make $100+ a year?

There are numerous reasons why someone would like to become a real estate appraiser. Not only can you make a very good income doing appraisals for mortgage companies, lawyers, personal estates and for the government, but you will also be able to apply these skills to be your own boss and make a very good income. Better yet, you can affectively know how to evaluate undervalued properties to purchase as an investment.
CNN/Money recently being a Real Estate Appraiser is #8 out of the top 10 jobs.
Income potential:

The Appraisal Institute notes that a liberal arts education is a good basis for becoming a real estate appraiser. Particularly helpful is a background in, among other things, economics or finance, architecture, law or engineering.

Preliminary results from a nationwide survey conducted this year by the Appraisal Institute indicate that 34 percent of appraisers had gross incomes of $100,000 or more in 2003; of those, 7 percent earned between $150,000 and $200,000 and 9 percent earned $200,000 or more.

Another 13 percent earned between $80,000 and $100,000.

THANK YOU FOR ORDERING OUR SYSTEM, FOR UPDATED MARKETING RESOURCES AND LINKS, MAKE SURE TO VISIT

HTTP://WWW.APPRAISERINCOME.COM

Copyright 2007 AppraiserIncome.com

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Do not distribute freely. No part of this report may be altered in any form whatsoever, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage or retrieval system without express written, dated and signed permission from the author. You may not distribute this document.
DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES:

The information presented herein represents the view and experience of the author as of the date of publication. Because of the rate with which conditions change, the author reserves the right to alter and update his opinion based on the new conditions. The report is for informational purposes only. While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided in this report, neither the author nor his affiliates/partners assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional. If advice concerning legal or related matters is needed, the services of a fully qualified professional should be sought. This report is not intended for use as a source of legal or accounting advice. You should be aware of any laws, which govern business transactions or other business practices in your country and state. Any reference to any person or business whether living or dead is purely coincidental. For more information please read the Earnings Disclaimer at the end of this report.

CHAPTER 1 - WHY I BECAME A REAL ESTATE APPRAISER 4 CHAPTER 2 – WHAT IS AN APPRAISAL 6 CHAPTER 3 – THE APPRAISAL PROCESS 17 CHAPTER 4 - CHECKLIST TO BECOME A REAL ESTATE APPRAISER 19 CHAPTER 5 - STATE BOARD LICENSING REQUIREMENTS 20 CHAPTER 6 - GETTING YOUR EDUCATION 32 CHAPTER 7 - APPLYING TO BECOME AN APPRAISER 36 CHAPTER 8 - STUDYING AND TAKING THE EXAM 38 CHAPTER 9 - FINDING A MENTOR/SUPERVISOR 40 CHAPTER 10 - APPRAISAL EXPERIENCE 43 CHAPTER 11 - GETTING FULLY LICENSED 45 CHAPTER 12 – CONGRATULATIONS, YOU’RE A FULLY LICENSED APPRAISER! 47 ADDENDUM A – CALIFORNIA LICENSE REQUIREMENTS 50 ADDENDUM B – APPRAISER RESOURCES 52
Chapter 1 - Why I Became a Real Estate Appraiser

When I was in high school, many of my friends were better off financially than the rest of us; they drove fancier cars, lived in extravagant homes and enjoyed frequent vacations. One thing they all had in common was that they were all investing in real estate. This was throughout the early 80’s and on, people weren’t flipping properties, but they were producing rental income. I thought this was amazing, not realizing the risks and without even knowing about appreciation and its deadly foe, depreciation.

Of course they had money to be able to invest in real estate, they were very motivated and successful in the professions that they selected. At that time I set a goal to invest in real estate as soon as possible. Throughout college pursuing a marketing degree, I took a few real estate and investing courses that further reinforced the idea that Real Estate was the key to wealth.

After working for various dot-com start-ups and failures throughout the late 90’s I started to learn Internet marketing and sales and eventually was doing fairly well until 2001 when everything seemed to change overnight. My commissions started to drop radically and at the same time I just made my first major real estate purchase; A small home in San Diego with a big back yard. I was scrambling trying to make ends meet when I started to notice a few of my friends driving new cars, a couple had some new ski boats and were buying real estate left and right. We met up at a Halloween party and I asked them what they were doing for work. They told me they were real estate appraisers and after telling them about my interest in real estate investing, they said I should definitely look in to it as soon as possible.

I asked around and finally found an appraiser that said he could use some help if I would take my classes and get more business for his company. He let me come along and watch as he completed his appraisals, and I typed some of his appraisal reports to include the basic subject and sales information so he could make the sales comparison adjustments after verifying my work. I took a couple real estate appraisal courses at the community college and started going door to door visiting all the mortgage companies I could find, dropping off flyers and talking with owners and managers about appraisal services offered by my mentor. I did this for about two weeks and finally orders started to come in. After completing my courses and taking the trainee exam, I became a licensed appraiser trainee.

Bringing in all my own work, my mentor completed the inspections with me and double-checked my reports, eventually signing them when the report was perfect for a 75% fee split. It took me a short time to avoid the simple mistakes and eventually moved up to a 50% fee split. Eventually I was making few errors and was only charged a 25% fee split. I started getting caught up on my bills and was very excited about the appraisal industry and potential. I felt like I made the best decision of my life. I am sure you will as well.

I became fully licensed after completing my 2000 hours of experience and started making over $100,000 a year immediately. I expanded my marketing efforts and was successful in obtaining the top ranked website on Google and continue to receive numerous orders per week from all around the country.

In addition to making an amazing career change, through my appraiser training I realized the value of the real estate I currently owned! I figured out that my existing corner lot could be split in to two separate parcels because they met the minimum requirements for lot size and street frontage. I went on to split the parcel in to two, selling the vacant lot for over $200,000 in profit!

Chapter 2 – What is an Appraisal
Real estate appraisal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A real estate appraisal is a service performed by a licensed or certified appraiser, who develops an opinion of value based upon the highest and best use of real property. The highest and best use is that use which produces the highest value for the land, as if vacant. This use is based on 4 parts; physically possible, appropriate, legal, and economically feasible. Also of importance is the definition of the type of value being developed and this must be included in the appraisal,

i.e. market value, condemnation value, quick sale value, etc. For mortgage valuations of improved residential property, this value is most often reported on a standardized form, the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report.

An appraisal is performed for a specific client, to whom the appraiser has a fiduciary responsibility, regardless of what party ultimately pays for the appraisal, whether anyone actually pays for the appraisal, or when the appraisal is paid for. Typically residential appraisers agree to accept orders from lending institutions with the understanding that payment will be made following settlement, or closing of the loan. In most cases, the homeowner or buyer ultimately pays for a residential appraisal, either directly or rolled into settlement fees.

In the USA minimum appraisal standards and appraiser qualifications are the province of The Appraisal Foundation, which is chartered by Congress. Through one of its boards, The Appraisal Standards Board (ASB), it periodically publishes the Uniform Standard of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). USPAP provides the minimum development and reporting standards an appraiser/appraisal report must meet. The Appraisal Foundation is also responsible for setting the minimum qualifications for appraiser licensure/certification through its other board, The Appraisal Qualifications Board (AQB). The AQB is responsible for establishing the minimum education, examination, and experience requirements for licensed/certified appraisers. Effective January 1, 2008, the requirements to become a state licensed or certified real property appraiser will significantly increase.[1] State licensing was established in the early 1990s in the wake of the Savings and Loan “crisis”.

The implementation of licensure and enforcement are state functions. In addition, there are appraisal organizations, private not-for-profits, some of which date back to the Great Depression of the 1930s, such as the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, founded in 1929. Others were founded as needed and opportunity arose in specialized fields, such as the Appraisal Institute and the American Society of Appraisers (founded in the 1930s) and the International Right of Way Association and the National Association of Realtors (after World War II). These organizations all existed to establish and enforce standards, but their influence has waned as the government increases appraisal regulation.

There are several professional organizations of appraisers in the US. They include the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, and the largest, the Appraisal Institute (AI). In addition to state licensing and certification, appraisers can earn professional designations from the above organizations. The most highly regarded is the MAI (Member, Appraisal Institute) which requires approximately one year of post graduate college level course work, a three year internship, and successful completion of a two day Comprehensive Examination.
Types of value

There are several types and definitions of value sought by a real estate appraisal. Some of the most common are listed:

• Market Value – The price at which an asset would trade in a competitive Walrasian auction setting. Market value is usually interchangeable with open market value or fair value. However, the word “fair” is no longer in use when describing Market Value. International Valuation Standards (IVS) define Market Value as:

Market Value is the estimated amount for which a property should

exchange on the date of valuation between a willing buyer and a willing

seller in an arms-length transaction after proper marketing wherein the

parties had each acted knowledgably, prudently, and without compulsion.

(IVS 1 - Market Value Basis of Valuation, Seventh Edition)

* Value-in-use – The net present value (NPV) of a cash flow that an asset generates for a specific owner under a specific use. Value-in-use is the value to one particular user, which may be above or below the market value of a property.
* Investment value - is the value to one particular investor, which may be above or below the market value of a property.
* Insurable value - is the value of real property covered by an insurance policy. Generally it does not include the site value.

It is important to distinguish between Market Value and price. Market value is a fluid concept, ever changing, while price is a historical fact at the time of a transaction. A price obtained for a specific property under a specific transaction may or may not represent that property’s market value: special considerations may have been present, such as a family relationship between the buyer and seller, or else the transaction may have been part of a larger set of transactions in which the parties had engaged. Another possibility is that a specific buyer would be willing to pay a price higher than the market value. Such situations often arise in corporate finance, as per example when a merger or acquisition is concluded at a price which is higher than the value represented by the price of the underlying stock. The usual rationale for these valuations is that the ’sum is greater than its parts’, since full ownership of a company entails special privileges for the buyer for which he is willing to pay. Such situations arise in real estate/property markets as well (see value-in-use). It is the task of the real estate appraiser to judge whether a certain price obtained under a certain transaction is indicative of market value.
Market value definitions in the US

In the US, “Fair Market Value” and “Fair Value” are commonly used as accounting terms. The equivalent appraisal term is “Market Value.” (USPAP Advisory Opinion 8.) USPAP defines Market Value as “a type of value, stated as an opinion, that presumes the transfer of a property (i.e., a right of ownership or a bundle of such rights), as of a certain date, under specific conditions set forth in the definition of the term identified by the appraiser as applicable in an appraisal”.

Forming an opinion of market value is the purpose of many real property appraisal assignments, particularly when the client’s intended use includes more than one intended user. The conditions included in market value definitions establish market perspectives for development of the opinion. These conditions may vary from definition to definition but generally fall into three categories:

1) The relationship, knowledge, and motivation of the parties (i.e., seller

and buyer);

2) The terms of sale (e.g., cash, cash equivalent, or other terms); and

3) The conditions of sale (e.g., exposure in a competitive market for a

reasonable time prior to sale).

(Definitions: USPAP 2005.)

In the US, a typical definition of market value can be found on the FNMA residential appraisal forms, as the FNMA 1025, which states the following:

DEFINITION OF MARKET VALUE: The most probable price which a property should bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, the buyer and seller, each acting prudently, knowledgeably and assuming the price is not affected by undue stimulus. Implicit in this definition is the consummation of a sale as of a specified date and the passing of title from seller to buyer under conditions whereby: (1) buyer and seller are typically motivated; (2) both parties are well informed or well advised, and each acting in what he or she considers his or her own best interest; (3) a reasonable time is allowed for exposure in the open market; (4) payment is made in terms of cash in U. S. dollars or in terms of financial arrangements comparable thereto; and (5) the price represents the normal consideration for the property sold unaffected by special or creative financing or sales concessions* granted by anyone associated with the sale.

‘*’Adjustments to the comparables must be made for special or creative financing or sales concessions. No adjustments are necessary for those costs which are normally paid by sellers as a result of tradition or law in a market area; these costs are readily identifiable since the seller pays these costs in virtually all sales transactions. Special or creative financing adjustments can be made to the comparable property by comparisons to financing terms offered by a third party institutional lender that is not already involved in the property or transaction. Any adjustment should not be calculated on a mechanical dollar for dollar cost of the financing or concession but the dollar amount of any adjustment should approximate the market’s reaction to the financing or concessions based on the appraiser’s judgment.(FNMA form 1025, March 2005.)
Types of ownership interest

* Fee simple value - the most common type of value sought. It is the fair market value of the fee simple interest in a property unencumbered by any external factors such as existing leases.
* Leased fee value - is probably the second most common value opinion sought. It is the property owner’s interest in a property that is encumbered by existing long-term leases, which may be at, below, or above prevailing market trends.
* Leasehold value - is the lessee’s interest in a leased property.

Note that in the US, the above value nomenclature does not apply. In the US, the type of value needs to be examined separately from the ownership interest. Examples of US use would be a market value of a fee simple ownership interest, or an investment value of a leased fee interest, or a liquidation value of a leasehold interest.
Highest and best use

The highest and best use in real estate appraisal is the use that will render the maximum fair market value of a particular property. That use must be legally allowable, physically possible, financially feasible, and result in the maximum value for the property. The test of highest and best use is given to a property both as if vacant and as improved.

For example, “House A” in a residentially zoned area may have a highest and best use as vacant and a highest and best use as improved that are both the same. A similar “House B” in a commercially zoned area may have a highest and best use as vacant as a commercial lot and ”highest and best use as improved as a residence. If the value of the commercial lot as vacant in “House B” exceeds the value of house as a residence as improved plus demolition costs, the overall highest and best use of this property would be the as vacant value of a commercial lot.

Since vacant lots are not improved, such properties are generally given only the as vacant test.

The highest and best use is critical to real property valuation since in order to value a property at its fair market value, comparable properties with similar highest and best uses must be examined. In the “House B” scenario, comparing that house to other houses that do not have a similar highest and best use would result in an inaccurate value opinion.

In the US, the legally permissible aspect of highest and best use is very important. In some locations, the governing jurisdiction can use the “police power” concept to destroy illegally built improvements. This would obviously affect the market value of a property. This overall concept is logical, ie. a governing agency would be remiss to allow a toxic chemical plant to be built in the middle of a suburban area.
Three approaches to value

There are three usual approaches to determining the fair market value of a property: cost approach, sales comparison approach, and income approach. The appraiser will determine which of the approaches is applicable and develop an appraisal based upon information from each individual market area. Costs, income, and sales vary widely from area to area and particular importance is given to the specific location of the property.

Consideration is also given to the market for the property appraised. Properties that are typically purchased by investors (ie. skyscrapers) will give greater weighting to the Income Approach, while small retail or office properties (purchased by owner-users) will give greater weighting to the Sales Comparison Approach. Single Family Residences are most commonly valued with greatest weighting to the Sales Comparison Approach.
Cost approach

The Cost approach was formerly called the summation approach. The theory is that the value of a property can be estimated by summing the land value and the depreciated value of any improvements. It is the land value, plus the cost to reconstruct any improvements, less the depreciation on those improvements. The value of the improvements is sometimes abbreviated to RCNLD— reproduction cost new less depreciation, or replacement cost new less deprecation. Reproduction refers to reproducing an exact replica. Replacement cost refers to the cost of building a house or other improvement, which has the same utility, but using modern design, workmanship and materials.

In most instances, when the cost approach is involved, the overall methodology used is a hybrid of the cost and market data approaches. For instance, while the cost to construct a building can be determined by adding the labor and materials costs together, land values and depreciation must be derived from an analysis of the market data. This approach is typically most reliable when used on newer structures, but the method tends to become less reliable as properties grow older.

The underlying premise of the cost approach in appraising market value is that building a substitute property is an alternative to someone who wishes to own such a property. While age is a fairly obvious constraint on that premise, developed urban areas present their own challenges. For instance, if there is little or no vacant land available in a neighborhood, the premise breaks down. Appraising land value is subjective when a scarcity of relevant land sales exists. But also, estimating construction cost is problematic because of an absence of similar construction from which to derive costs. Not only are building codes frequently changing in developed urban areas, but also the small number of houses built do not allow the economies of scale available in a new development. The absence of land sales presents more than a data problem for completing the cost approach. The absence of such a market indicates that buyers may not be thinking in terms of building a new home as a substitute for buying an existing home, which tends to expose the unrealistic nature of the underlying premise. Building an individual new home also can be more difficult due to the difficulty in obtaining mortgage financing.

Observe that as the Cost Approach has non-market based components (costs), the approach may not be a good indicator of market value, even when new. This is most noticeable on properties where the market demand is limited. Say for example a military base. The cost to produce the base is not indicative of its market value, even when new. In the US, the government is the only party that would be willing to “buy” this product. This immediate “loss” is a form of obsolescence.

Also observe that this includes “home improvements” that do not recover their costs in the market. A common example in California is the cost of a pool. In most houses, the cost to build a pool is far greater than the increase in market value to the house. This immediate “loss” is again, a form of obsolescence. Accurately determining obsolescence and depreciation (as the property ages) are usually the main problems within the Cost Approach to open market value.

Notwithstanding, the latter challenge must be accepted for insurance purposes. Insurers are interested in insuring structures, not the value of the whole property. After a major disaster, for instance the Oakland Hills Fire of 1991, some perspective is gained on the actual cost of urban construction. The perspective may be through a distorted lens, however. While builders uniformly maintained that costs exceeded those published in cost manuals, the replacement houses, almost as uniformly are larger than those they replaced.

One of the interesting issues in the cost approach is the influence of classical economics. In the example of the swimming pool, above, or many other “home improvements” the relevant question to the homeowner is microeconomic. It is not what the modification in question costs, but rather whether he can modify his existing home more easily and cheaply than buying another house which already has those features. Even in a static market transaction costs related to selling and buying favor home improvements. In an inflationary market, adding the cost of the “improvements” to a decade old cost basis in the property compounds the effect. In a wildly inflationary market it is even dangerous to give up your present home in the hope of replacing it. The price of the replacement home becomes a moving target. This, of course, tends to exacerbate inflation by limiting, at least in the short run, supply.
Sales comparison approach

The sales comparison approach looks at the price or price per unit area of similar properties being sold in the marketplace. Simply put, the sales of properties similar to the subject are analyzed and the sale prices adjusted to account for differences in the comparables to the subject to determine the fair market value of the subject. This approach is generally considered the most reliable, if good comparable sales exist. In any event, it is the only independent check on the reasonability of an appraisal opinion.

Because this approach applies market derived numeric factors to relate the sold properties to the one being appraised, it is related to Automated Valuation Modeling, below. An interesting perspective on the relationship between relatively subjective human estimation as compared with that obtained by purely mathematic modeling is contained in “Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart” by Gerd Gigerenzer. Dr. Gigerenzer, a psychologist, asked people to estimate some real world facts based simply on their knowledge, experience and impressions. Common knowledge and some simple rules created models which were close to those produced by multiple regression analysis (MRA) and neural networks. The predictive value of the human models applied to a new sample was a bit better than the mathematical models, suggesting that the mathematical models may have described the data better but missed the predictive relationships. Similarly automated valuation models frequently find building size (square feet or meters) predictive of value, even when that information is not explicitly advertised. This is similar to the example in “The Wisdom of Crowds”, Surowiecki, in which the scientist Francis Galton observed a crowd at a fair to, on average, accurately estimate the size of an ox.
Income approach or Income capitalization approach

The income capitalization approach is used to value commercial and investment properties.

In a commercial income producing property this approach capitalizes an income stream into a present value. This can be done using revenue multipliers or single-year capitalization rates of the net operating income. The Net operating income (NOI) is gross potential income (GPI), less vacancy (= Effective Gross Income) less operating expenses (but excluding debt service or depreciation charges applied by accountants).

Alternatively, multiple years of net operating income can be valued by a discounted cash flow (DCF) model. The DCF model is widely used to value larger and more expensive income-producing properties, such as large office towers.
Valuation methods

In the UK, real estate appraisal, or property valuation, is regulated by the RICS, which publishes the Red Book. The Red Book takes a more subtle approach to valuation than the three approaches to appraisal outlined above. The Red Book recognizes five methods of valuation:

(1)
Comparable method. Used for most types of property where there is good evidence of previous sales. This is analogous to the sales comparison approach outlined above.
(2)
Investment/income method. Used for most commercial (and residential) property that is producing future cash flows through the letting of the property. If the current rental value and the passing income are known, as well as the market-determined equivalent yield, then the property value can be determined by means of a simple model. Note that this method is really a comparison method, since the main variables are determined in the market. In standard US practice, however, the closely

related capitalizing of NOI is confounded with the DCF method under the

general classification of the income capitalization approach (see above).

(3)
Accounts/profits method. Used for trading properties where evidence of rates is slight, such as hotels, restaurants and old-age homes. A three-year average of operating income (derived from the profit and loss or income statement) is capitalized using an appropriate yield. Since any income stream can be simulated by an appropriate choice of yield, this method is comparable to DCF (see above). Note that since the variables used are inherent to the property and are not market-derived, the resulting value is value-in-use and not market value.
(4)
Development/residual method. Used for properties ripe for development or redevelopment or for bare land only.
(5)
Contractor’s/cost method. Used for only those properties not bought and sold on the market. Both the development/residual method and the contractor’s/cost method would be grouped in the US under the cost approach (see above).

Automated valuation models

Automated valuation models (AVMs) are growing in acceptance. These rely on statistical models such as multiple regression analysis and geographic information systems (GIS).[2] While AVMs can be quite accurate, particularly when used in a very homogeneous area, there is also evidence that AVMs are not accurate in other instances such as when they are used in rural areas, or when the appraised property does not conform well to the neighborhood.

This is most evident where there is a renewal or “revitalization” of a particular area or neighborhood. There can exist within a single city block homes that are in poor condition to homes that have been completely rehabilitated and are in good to excellent condition. The differential of sales prices can be demonstrated to be from 50% to 125%. This can lead to an inaccurate model. In San Francisco, California, something like half of price can be predicted using readily quantified measures and a multiple regression (MRA) AVM. In suburban Redwood City, California, by contrast, over 90% of price can normally be captured. Extreme caution should be exercised when relying on AVMs, especially if the user is unfamiliar with modeling and the math.

Because of the limitations, AVMs have begun to fall out of favor with many lenders but are widely used in other appraisal problems such as mass appraisals for ad-valorem real estate tax purposes. One of the problems of using AVMs for lending purposes is control of inputs and results. Everyone in the loan origination process is interested in some way in making the loan. Modifying the inputs (boundary of comparable search, even size of building) to create a favorable answer is a mighty temptation. Even foreclosure is unlikely to result in regret if the mortgage has been securitized and the originator gets paid to service the loans in the package. In property tax assessment, by contrast, there are contesting interests and a quasi-legal dispute resolution process. The assessor, arguably, wants assessments as high as defensibly possible. The taxpayers, clearly, want their assessments low. Disputes are normally adjudicated in assessment appeal. The county assessor is frequently an elected office. The contest of interests tends to refine the accuracy of the valuation results.
USPAP

In the United States, the rules of real estate appraisal are codified in the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) developed by the Appraisal Standards Board, which is authorized by Congress as the source of appraisal standards. USPAP guidelines set standards for real estate appraisal practice in the United States. USPAP was developed after the Savings and Loan scandal of the late 1980s when real estate appraisal in almost all states was an unregulated industry. Government regulations such as the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) called for stricter guidelines on the appraisal industry. USPAP was developed to protect lenders against unethical and incompetent appraisers. The core framework of USPAP is from the standards of professional practice of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers and the Society of Real Estate Appraisers. Founded along with others in the 1930’s, the two organizations merged in the 1980’s to form the Appraisal Institute (AI). The AI awards two professional designations: “SRA”, or “Senior Residential Appraiser” and MAI, or “Member Appraisal Institute”. In the US, the appraisal licensing of individuals is left to the states. However all appraisals for a “Federally Related Transaction” must be performed by an appraiser with the appropriate type of license, and conform to USPAP. The individual states decide if licensing is required for other types of appraisals.

The largest and most influential professional organization of real estate appraisers in America is the Appraisal Institute, but other organizations, such as the American Society of Appraisers, National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers, and the National Association of Master Appraisers were also founding sponsor-members of the Appraisal Foundation.[3]
Further reading

* The Appraisal of Real Estate, 12th Edition, by the Appraisal Institute is an industry-recognized textbook.
* Real Estate Investment; A Capital Market Approach, by Gerald R. Brown and George A. Matysiak (London, 1999)
* The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, by The Appraisal Foundation, updated and published annually through the 2006 edition; henceforth, updated editions are to appear biannually.
* Isaac, D., (2002) Property Valuation Principles, Palgrave, London
* Rees, W.H. and Hayward, R.E.H. (ed.), (2000) Valuation: Principles into Practice, 5th edition, Estates Gazette, London

References

1. ^ “Appraiser requirements”, Appraisal Foundation http://www.appraisalfoundation.org/s_appraisal/sec.asp?CID=2&DID=2
2. ^ “Valuation”, RICS Organization http://www.rics.org/Property/Residentialproperty/leading_edge_series.htm
3. ^ 2006 “USPAP Online”, Appraisal Foundation http://commerce.appraisalfoundation.org/html/2006 USPAP/toc.htm

Copyright (2007) Bryan Knowlton.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this chapter under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.

A copy of the license is included in the section entitled “GNU Free Documentation License”.

Chapter 3 – The Appraisal Process
The 7 Steps in the Appraisal Process

o Step 1: Problem Definition
+ Real Estate identification
+ Property rights
+ Use of appraisal
+ Value definition
+ Date of Valuation
o Step 2: Preliminary Analysis & Data
+ Plan of attack
# Information
* General – trends
* Specific – property and comparable
* Supply & Demand – future changes
* Step 3: Highest and Best Use Analysis

“the reasonably probable and legal use of vacant land or an improved property, which is physically possible, appropriately supported, financially feasible, and that results in the highest value”

* Vacant vs. improved
* Vacant may be highest and best use.
* Identify use with highest overall return
* Helps identify comparable properties

o Step 4: Land Value Estimate
+ Sales comparison
+ Allocation (ratio)
+ Extraction (less improvements)
+ Subdivision & development
+ Land residual technique (NOI)
o Step 5: Application of Three Approaches
+ Sales Comparison (VSC)
+ Cost (VC)
+ Income (VI)
o Step 6: Reconciliation
o • Using various estimates of value under a number of methods determine one estimate of value.
o Step 7: Report of Defined Value
+ Conclusion communicating the final value estimate written.
+ It presents the data, assumptions, and analyses in a manner so that an intelligent reader should comprehend the logical process and come up with a similar answer to the problem.

Chapter 4 - Checklist to become a real estate appraiser

1. Check with your state’s licensing board to find out the education and testing requirements. Use the list in Chapter 5 to locate your licensing agency.
2. Complete Educational Requirements
3. Study for Exam
4. Submit proof of completing education requirements, fill out application, pay fees and provide additional materials to either obtain your trainee license or to get your test date.
5. Take and pass trainee exam if required by your state.
6. Get your equipment, software and any additional materials needed to complete appraisals
7. Find a mentor / trainee position
8. Record work experience
9. Submit experience log and take additional licensing exam if required.

Chapter 5 - State board licensing requirements

The process of becoming an appraiser differs according to the various appraisal disciplines and state requirements. Most appraisers are required to have a certain number of hours of education and experience. In addition, if an appraiser wishes to become state licensed or certified in real property or if an appraiser wishes to become designated by an appraisal organization, they must also pass a comprehensive examination.

The AQB has put together an excellent Student Appraiser guide to help you:

1. Better understand the requirements for becoming a credentialed appraiser;
2. Make you aware of how this regulatory system works;
3. Make you aware of the changes to minimum criteria that are effective in 2008;
4. Give you some tools to keep good records of your progress in meeting requirements; and
5. Provide additional resources to help answer your questions.

Click here for the -Student Appraiser Guide http://www.appraisalfoundation.org/s_appraisal/bin.asp?CID=277&DID=717&DOC=FILE.PDF

The Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) of The Appraisal Foundation recommends the following minimum criteria for state licensed/certified real
property appraisers:
Licensed Residential Certified Residential Certified General Experience Hours 2,000 hrs 2,500 hrs 3,000 hrs Education Required 90 hrs 120 hrs 180 hrs Exam Yes Yes Yes

Please note that the criteria above is a recommended minimum and that the individual states may decide to increase this criteria as they see fit. For specific questions about the requirements in your state, you will need to contact your state appraisal board.
See Addendum A for an example of California Licensing Requirements.

Click on the following links to get state specific information:
ALABAMA

Alabama Real Estate Appraiser Board

P.O. Box 304355 Montgomery, AL 36130-4355 PHONE: 334-242-8747 FAX: 334-242-8749 Website: http://www.reab.state.al.us/
ALASKA

Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers 333 Willoughby Avenue

P.O. Box 110806 Juneau, AK 99811-0806 PHONE: 907-465-5470 FAX: 907-465-2974 Website: http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/occ
ARIZONA

Arizona Board of Appraisal 1400 W. Washington, Suite 360 Phoenix, AZ 85007 PHONE: 602-542-1539 FAX: 602-542-1598 Website: http://www.appraisal.state.az.us/
ARKANSAS

Arkansas Appraiser Licensing & Certification Board 101 E. Capitol Street, Suite 430 Little Rock, AR 72202 PHONE: 501-296-1843 FAX: 501-296-1844 Website: http://www.state.ar.us/alcb/
CALIFORNIA

Office of Real Estate Appraisers 1102 Q Street, Suite 4100 Sacramento, CA 95814 PHONE: 916-552-9000 FAX: 916-440-7406 Website: http://www.orea.ca.gov/
COLORADO

Colorado Board of Real Estate Appraisers 1560 Broadway, Suite 925 Denver, CO 80203 PHONE: 303-894-2166 FAX: 303-894-2683 Website: http://www.dora.state.co.us/real-estate/
CONNECTICUT

Real Estate Appraisal Commission State Office Building, Room 110 165 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT 06106 PHONE: 860-713-6150 FAX: 860-713-7230 Website: http://www.state.ct.us/licensing/realestate.htm
DELAWARE

Delaware Council on Real Estate Appraisers 861 Silver Lake Blvd. Dover, DE 19904 PHONE: 302-744-4500 FAX: 302-739-2711 Website: http://www.dpr.delaware.gov
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DCRA/OPLA

941 N. Capitol Street, NE, Rm. 7200 Washington, DC 20002 PHONE: 202-442-4320 FAX: 202-442-4866 Website: http://www.prommisor.com
FLORIDA

Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation 400 W. Robinson Street, Suite N-801 Orlando, FL 32801 PHONE: 407-481-5662 FAX: 407-317-7245 Website: http://www.state.fl.us/dbpr/re/index.shtml
GEORGIA

Georgia Real Estate Appraiser Board International Tower 229 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 1000 Atlanta, GA 30303-1605 PHONE: 404-656-3916 FAX: 404-656-6650 Website: http://www.grec.state.ga.us/index.html

HAWAII

Hawaii Real Estate Appraiser Advisory Committee

P.O. Box 3469 Honolulu, HI 96801 PHONE: 808-586-2701 FAX: 808-586-2674 Website: http://www.hawaii.gov/dcca/pvl/
IDAHO

Idaho Real Estate Appraiser Board Bureau of Occupational Licenses Owyhee Plaza 1109 Main Street, Suite 220 Boise, ID 83702-5642 PHONE: 208-334-3233 FAX: 208-334-3945 Website: http://www.ibol.idaho.gov
ILLINOIS

Illinois Office of Banks and Real Estate 310 S. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2130 Chicago, IL 60604 PHONE: 312-793-3000 FAX: 217-793-8720 Website: http://www.obre.state.il.us/
INDIANA

Real Estate Appraiser Licensure and Certification Board Indiana Professional Licensing Agency Indiana Government Center-South 302 W. Washington, Room E034 Indianapolis, IN 46204 PHONE: 317-234-3009 FAX: 317-232-2312 Website: http://www.in.gov/pla/bandc/appraiser
IOWA

Iowa Real Estate Appraiser Examining Board 1920 S.E. Hulsizer Road Ankeny, IA 50021-3941 PHONE: 515-281-7393 FAX: 515-281-7411 Website: http://www.state.ia.us/iapp
KANSAS

Kansas Real Estate Appraiser Board 1100 SW Wannamaker Road, Suite 104 Topeka, KS 66604 PHONE: 785-271-3373 FAX: 785-271-3370 Website: http://www.accesskansas.org/kreab
KENTUCKY

Kentucky Real Estate Appraisers Board 2480 Fortune Drive, Suite 120 Lexington, KY 40509 PHONE: 859-543-8943 FAX: 859-543-0028 Website: http://www.kreab.ky.gov
LOUISIANA

Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board 5222 Summa Court Baton Rouge, LA 70809 PHONE: 225-765-0191 ext. 241 FAX: 225-765-0637 Website: http://www.reab.state.la.us/
MAINE

Maine Board of Real Estate Appraisers 35 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333 PHONE: 207-624-8522 FAX: 207-624-8637 Website: http://www.maineprofessionalreg.org
MARYLAND

Maryland Real Estate Appraisers Commission 500 N. Calvert Street, Suite 302 Baltimore, MD 21202 PHONE: 410-230-6165 FAX: 410-333-6314 Website: http://www.dllr.state.md.us/
MASSACHUSETTS

Board of Registration of Real Estate Appraisers Division of Registration 239 Causeway Street, Suite 500 Boston, MA 02114-2130 PHONE: 617-727-3055 FAX: 617-727-2669 Website: http://www.state.ma.us/dpl/board/ra
MICHIGAN

Board of Real Estate Appraisers

P.O. Box 30018 Lansing, MI 48909 PHONE: 517-241-9236 FAX: 517-373-1044 Website: http://www.michigan.gov/appraisers
MINNESOTA

Minnesota Department of Commerce 85-7th Place East, Suite 60 St. Paul, MN 55101 PHONE: 651-296-6319 FAX: 651-284-4107 Website: http://www.commerce.state.mn.us/index.htm
MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi Real Estate Appraiser Board PO Box 12685 Jackson, MS 39236-2685 PHONE: 601-932-9191 FAX: 601-932-2990 Website: http://www.mab.state.ms.us/
MISSOURI

Missouri Real Estate Appraisers Commission 3605 Missouri Blvd. Jefferson City, MO 65102 PHONE: 573-751-0038 FAX: 573-526-3489 Website: http://www.pr.mo.gov/appraisers.asp/
MONTANA

Board of Real Estate Appraisers 301 S. Park Avenue, Suite 400

P.O. Box 200513 Helena, MT 59620-0513 PHONE: 406-444-2961 FAX: 406-841-2313 Website: http://realestate.appraisers.mt.gov
NEBRASKA

Nebraska Real Estate Appraiser Board 301 Centennial Mall South Lower Level, P.O. Box 24963 Lincoln, NE 68509-4963 PHONE: 402-471-9015 FAX: 402-471-9017 Website: http://www.appraiser.ne.gov
NEVADA

State of Nevada, Real Estate Division 788 Fairview Drive, Suite 200 Carson City, NV 89710-5453 PHONE: 775-687-4280 FAX: 702-687-4868 Website: http://www.red.state.nv.us/
NEW HAMPSHIRE

New Hampshire Real Estate Appraiser Board State House Annex, Room 426 25 Capitol Street Concord, NH 03301-6312 PHONE: 603-271-6186 FAX: 603-271-6513 Website: http://www.nh.gov/nhreab/
NEW JERSEY

Board of Real Estate Appraisers Division of Consumer Affairs

P.O. Box 45032 Newark, NJ 07101 PHONE: 973-504-6480 FAX: 973-648-3536 Website: http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/nonmed.htm
NEW MEXICO

New Mexico Real Estate Appraisers Board 2550 Cerrillos Road 2nd Floor Santa Fe, NM 87504 PHONE: 505-476-4611 FAX: 505-476-4645 Website: http://www.rld.state.nm.us/
NEW YORK

Department of State New York State Board of Real Estate Appraisers 84 Holland Avenue Albany, NY 12208-3490 PHONE: 518-474-4429 FAX: 518-473-6648 Website: http://www.dos.state.ny.us
NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina Appraisal Board 5830 Six Forks Road Raleigh, NC 27609 PHONE: 919-870-4854 FAX: 919-870-4859 Website: http://www.ncappraisalboard.org/
NORTH DAKOTA

North Dakota Appraisal Board

P.O. Box 1336 Bismarck, ND 58502-1336 PHONE: 701-222-1051 FAX: 701-222-1051
OHIO

Ohio Real Estate Appraiser Board Division of Real Estate & Professional Licensing Ohio Department of Commerce 77 South High Street, 20th Floor Columbus, OH 43215 PHONE: 614-466-4100 FAX: 614-644-0584 Website: http://www.com.state.oh.us
OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma Real Estate Appraiser Board 2401 NW 23rd St, Ste 28 Oklahoma City, OK 73107 Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 53408 Oklahoma City, OK 73152-3408 PHONE: 405-521-6636 FAX: 405-522-6909 Website: http://www.oid.state.ok.us/reab
OREGON

Appraiser Certification and Licensure Board 1860 Hawthorne Avenue, NE Suite 200 Salem, OR 97303 PHONE: 503-485-2555 FAX: 503-485-2559 Website: http://www.oregonaclb.org
PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania State Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers 2601 North Third Street, P.O. Box 2649 Harrisburg, PA 17105 PHONE: 717-783-4866 FAX: 717-787-5540 Website: http://www.dos.state.pa.us/real
RHODE ISLAND

Rhode Island Real Estate Appraisers Board Department Of Business Regulation Appraisal Section 233 Richmond Street, Suite 230 Providence, RI 02903 PHONE: 401-222-2255 FAX: 401-222-6654 Website: http://www.dbr.state.ri.us
SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina Real Estate Appraisal Board

P.O. Box 11847 Columbia, SC 29211-1847 PHONE: 803-896-4400 FAX: 803-896-4402 Website: http://www.llr.state.sc.us
SOUTH DAKOTA

South Dakota Department of Revenue and Regulation 445 East Capitol Avenue Pierre, SD 57501-3185 PHONE: 605-773-4608 FAX: 605-773-5369 Website: http://www.state.sd.us/appraisers
TENNESSEE

Tennessee Real Estate Appraiser Commission 500 James Robertson Parkway 6th Floor Nashville, TN 37243 PHONE: 615-741-1831 FAX: 615-253-1692 Website: http://www.state.tn.us/commerce/boards/treac
TEXAS

Texas Appraiser Licensing & Certification Board

P.O. Box 12188 Austin, TX 78711-2188 PHONE: 512-465-3950 FAX: 512-465-3910 Website: http://www.talcb.state.tx.us
UTAH

Utah Division of Real Estate Department of Commerce Box 146711 Salt Lake City, UT 84414-6711 PHONE: 801-530-6747 FAX: 801-530-6749 Website: http://www.commerce.utah.gov/dre
VERMONT

Vermont Board of Real Estate Appraisers 81 River Street Montpelier, VT 05609-1104 PHONE: 802-828-3228 FAX: 802-828-2368 Website: http:/www.vtprofessionals.org/appraisers/
VIRGINIA

Department of Professional & Occupational Regulation 3600 West Broad Street, 5th Floor Richmond, VA 23230-4817 PHONE: 804-367-2039 FAX: 804-367-2475 Website: http://www.virginia.gov
WASHINGTON

Business & Professions Division - Real Estate Appraiser Section

P.O. Box 9015 Olympia, WA 98507-9015 PHONE: 360-664-6504 FAX: 360-570-4981 Website: http://www.wa.gov/dol/bpd/appfront.htm
WEST VIRGINIA

Licensing and Certification Board 2110 Kanawha Blvd., East, Suite 101 Charleston, WV 25311 PHONE: 304-558-3919 FAX: 304-558-3983 Website: http://www.state.wv.us./appraise/
WISCONSIN

Wisconsin Dept. of Regulation & Licensing

P.O. Box 8935 Madison, WI 53708-8935 PHONE: 608-266-2112 FAX: 608-261-7083 Website: http://drl.state.wi.gov
WYOMING

Certified Real Estate Appraiser Board 2020 Carey Avenue, Suite 100 Cheyenne, WY 82002-0180 PHONE: 307-777-7141 FAX: 307-777-3796 Website: http://realestate.state.wy.us/
AMERICAN SAMOA

American Samoa Government

P.O. Box 7 Pago Pago, AS 96799 American Samoa PHONE: 684-633-4163 FAX: 684-633-1838
GUAM

Government of Guam Dept. of Revenue & Taxation Bldg 13-1, 2nd Fl. Mariner Ave, Tiyan

P.O. Box 23607 Barrigada, GU 96913 PHONE: 671-475-1817 FAX: 671-472-2643 Website: http:/www.guampay.com
MARIANA ISLANDS

Board of Professional Licensing Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands

P.O. Box 2078 Saipan, MP 96950 PHONE: 670-234-5897 FAX: 670-234-6040
PUERTO RICO

Puerto Rico Board of Examiners of Real Estate Appraisers

P.O. Box 9023271 San Juan, PR 00902-3271 PHONE: 787-722-4816 FAX: 787-722-4818 Website: http:/www/estado.gobierno-pr
VIRGIN ISLANDS

Dept. of Licensing and Consumer Affairs No. 1 Sub Base, Room 205 Charlotte Arnalie, St. Thomas USVI 00801 PHONE: 340-639-7488 FAX: 340-693-7489

Chapter 6 - Getting your Education

Depending on your motivation, time requirements and available funds will determine the route you should take to obtain your education hours. Depending on your state licensing board, most likely you will need 150 hours of education to become a licensed trainee.

Your options:

-
Local Community College / Vocational Training / Universities – This option takes more time to get all the required classes due to semester breaks and having to take courses with prerequisites. This will probably be the least expensive route and could be a good route to take for current college students. You will need to determine that the offered classes are accepted as educational credit prior to enrollment. Instructors are usually well informed but might not provide detailed appraiser experience.
-
Local Professional Schools – There are a number of private schools that teach in a classroom setting. You can check the yellow pages and the Internet to find schools offering these services. The local professional schools are usually more expensive than the cost to complete the coursework at a community college or through on Online Appraisal School, but you should receive a better understanding of the appraisal process. The coursework can also be completed in a shorter amount of time than obtaining your hours through a local community college or university. Local professional schools usually have a package that will satisfy all the educational requirements. I recommend Kaplan Professional Schools with locations throughout the US.

http://www.kaplanprofessionalschools.com/

- Online Appraisal Schools – There are numerous appraisal schools that offer distance education. Online schools will also have a package to obtain your educational requirements quickly. You will need to verify that all the classes are approved by your state licensing board. You will have to be self motivated to complete the courses online and you will only get as much out of the coursework as the time that you put in. Usually the fees fall between the cost of obtaining your license at a community college and taking the coursework through a local professional school.

Allied Business Schools http://www.realestatelicense.com/?bid=2&aid=CD113&dp=386&opt = has a good program and I know many appraisers that have taken their online course to complete their education requirements. I recently checked the Allied Business Schools website and they currently offer payment plans!
Trainee License & Residential License Education Requirements

150 hours of education experience

Qualifying Education hours must include instruction in the following modules:

-
30 hours Basic Appraisal Principles
-
30 hours Basic Appraisal Procedures

-
15 hours The 15-hour National USPAP Course
-
15 hours Residential Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use
-
15 hours Residential Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach

-30 hours Residential Sales Comparison and Income Approaches

-15 hours Residential Report Writing and Case Studies -

Note: Course work for the Trainee License cannot be taken more than 5 years prior to the application date.
2008 BASIC EDUCATION MODULE AND SUBTOPICS

The following are the subtopics for each module. Not all module subtopics are required for credit of a module. Courses may contain one module or parts of one or more modules.

Basic Appraisal Principles (30 hours required at all levels)

A. Real Property Concepts and Characteristics

* Basic Real Property Concepts
* Real Property Characteristics
* Legal Description
* Legal Consideration
* Forms of Ownership
* Public and Private Controls
* Real Estate Contracts
* Leases
* Influences on Real Estate Values
* Governmental
* Economic
* Social
* Environmental, Geographic and Physical
* Types of Value
* Market Value
* Other Value Types
* Economic Principles
* Classical Economic Principles
* Application and Illustrations of the Economic Principles
* Overview of Real Estate Markets and Analysis
* Market Fundamentals, Characteristics, and Definitions
* Supply Analysis
* Demand Analysis
* Use of Market Analysis
* Ethics and How They Apply in Appraisal Theory and Practice

Basic Appraisal Procedures (30 hours required at all levels)

A. Overview to Approaches to Value

B. Valuation Procedures

* Defining the Problem
* Collecting and Selecting Data
* Analyzing
* Reconciling and Final Value Opinion
* Communicating the Appraisal
* Property Description
* Geographical Characteristics of the Land/Site
* Geologic Characteristics of the Land/Site
* Location and Neighborhood Characteristics
* Land/Site Considerations for Highest and Best Use
* Improvements – architectural Styles and Types of Construction
* Residential Applications

The 15-Hour National USPAP Course or It’s Equivalent (required at all levels)
Residential Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use (15 Hours required at AT, AL & AR Levels)

A. Residential Markets and Analysis

* Market Fundamentals, Characteristics and Definitions
* Supply Analysis
* Demand Analysis
* Use of Market Analysis
* Highest and Best Use
* Test Constraints
* Application of Highest and Best Use
* Special Considerations
* Market Analysis
* Case Studies Residential Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach (15 Hours required at AT, AL & AR Levels)
* Site Valuation
* Methods
* Case Studies
* Cost Approach
* Concepts and Definitions
* Replacement/Reproduction Cost New
* Accrued Depreciation
* Methods of Estimating Accrued Depreciation
* Case Studies

Residential Sales Comparison and Income Approaches (30 Hours required at AT, AL & AR Levels)

A. Valuation Principles & Procedures – Sales Comparison Approach

B. Valuation Principles & Procedures – Income Approach

C. Finance and Cash Equivalency

D. Financial Calculator Introduction

E. Identification, Derivation and Measurement of Adjustments

F. Gross Rent Multipliers

G. Partial Interests

H. Reconciliation

I. Case Studies and Applications Residential Report Writing and Case Studies (15 Hours required at AT, AL & AR Levels)

A. Writing and Reasoning Skills

B. Common Writing Problems

C. Form Reports

D. Report options and USPAP Compliance

E. Case Studies

Chapter 7 - Applying to Become an Appraiser
Application Procedures

This will vary from state to state, but you will need to fill out an initial application and provide proof that you have completed any basic educational requirements. After submitting the appraisal fees and your application is approved you will be assigned a test date in your area.

Below is an example of California Application Procedures; this may vary slightly from state to state. Check with your local board, listed in Chapter 5, for individual state licensing requirements.
Initial Application

State and federal laws provide that applicants must meet minimum education and experience requirements and must pass an examination prior to being licensed to perform real estate appraisals in federally related transactions.

Requirements include appropriate knowledge of the English language including reading, writing, spelling, and knowledge of arithmetic computations common to real estate and appraisal practices. The following information is provided to answer some of the most commonly asked questions and to provide assistance in understanding the application process.

California law requires every applicant for a real estate appraiser license to provide facts that establish his or her true identity, character, and competence.

Every fact requested in the application is necessary and required to determine eligibility for licensure. An applicant must disclose the requested information, including any criminal convictions, on the application.

Failure or refusal to provide any fact or information requested in the application may result in the application being rejected as incomplete or may subject the applicant to sanctions including, but not limited to, the denial of an application.

All applications for licensure are valid for a maximum period of one year and cannot be extended.

Minimum Age

Licensees must be at least 18 years of age.
Payment of Fees

Application fees must be paid by preprinted personal or company check, certified check, cashier’s check, money order, or government purchase order.
Required Materials to Submit

This section applies to applicants who are applying for the first time, or for individuals previously licensed who are no longer eligible to renew. Applicants may apply at any level of licensure for which they meet the requirements.

To apply for an initial license, applicants must submit:

* A completed Initial.Application (REA 3001);
* A completed Basic.Education.Attachment (REA 3002) to document basic education needed to qualify for the appropriate license level, along with copies of transcripts or course completion certificates;
* A completed Consent.to.Service.of.Process (REA 3006), if the applicant’s business, mailing or residence address is outside of California;
* A completed Statement.of.Citizenship,.Alienage,.and Immigration Status for State Public Benefits (REA 3030), along with proof of legal presence in the United States; and
* All appropriate fees as required.

OREA processes applicant fingerprints via Live Scan for California residents at the time the application is approved. Please note, if you are applying for a California license but reside out of state, your fingerprints should be submitted on two (2) FD-258 fingerprint cards with your application.

Once an application is approved, OREA will issue an Admission to.Examination letter and a “Request for Live Scan Service” fingerprinting form (see Examinations.and.Issuance on page 18). Upon successful completion of the exam, applicants then submit the Application.for.Issuance.of.License (REA 3008), a copy of the completed “Request for Live Scan Service” fingerprinting form (after being fingerprinted), and the balance of the license fee. The expiration date of an appraiser license is normally two years from the date of

Chapter 8 - Studying and taking the exam

You should study all of your course materials and any additional test taking materials that your education provider might have included in preparation for the exam.
CALIFORNIA TRAINEE EXAMINATION EXAMPLE:

-4 HOURS

-100 QUESTIONS

-GRADE of 75 to PASS* *Graded on a point system. E.g., One question could be weighted for 1 point and another for 5 points. Therefore a point grade must be achieved not a percentage based on total amount of questions answered.

Anthony Schools in San Diego used to sell a set of Audio CDs and a workbook that helped me pass the exam on my first try. I did not see this offered on their website, so you will probably need to contact the school directly.

Anthony Schools - 5939 Balboa Ave, San Diego, CA - (858) 571-1411

You can also find numerous books online by searching the Internet for books in your state.

A good book that will help you to prepare:

Questions & Answers to Help You Pass the Real Estate Appraisal Exams Find it at http://www.amazon.com OR http://books.google.com/books?id=help+pass+appraisal+exam by Jeffrey D. Fisher, Dennis S. Tosh - 2004 - 272 pages
Getting Ready for the Exam:

Set daily goals to prepare you in advance to take the exam. Get plenty of rest, eat well and don’t try to review everything one day before your examination date. If you are having problems with certain areas, make flash cards and notes to memorize the information until you have no more flash cards left that you don’t know the answer to.

Below is a uniform exam outline on what you can expect to appear on your test. These might vary from state to state depending if your state has not adopted the

National Uniform Exam.

Current National Uniform Exam Content Outlines

Domain Lic. App. Cert. Res. Cert. Gen.

I. Influences on RE Value 5% 5% 3%

II. Legal Considerations 5% 5% 4%

III. Types of Value 5% 5% 3%

IV.
Economic Principles 6% 6% 4%
V.
Real Estate Markets & Analysis 9% 9% 11%

VI. Valuation Process 7% 7% 5%

VII. Property Description 9% 9% 8%

VIII. Highest and Best Use Analysis 8% 8% 9%

IX.
Appraisal Statistical Concepts (Math & Stat) 6% 6% 6%
X.
Sales Comp Approach 10% 7% 6%

XI. Site Value 5% 5% 6%

XII. Cost Approach 5% 6% 7%

XIII. Income Approach 6% 8% 12%

XIV. Valuation of Partial Interest 1% 1% 3%

XV. Appraisal Standards and Ethics (USPAP) 13% 13% 13%

100% 100% 100%

Chapter 9 - Finding a Mentor/Supervisor

If possible, you should start looking for a mentor prior to becoming a licensed appraiser trainee. If you know people in the industry and can offer a benefit to them, this would be a good way to get your foot in the door and show them you are motivated. You can work in their office at a discounted rate answering phones, typing up reports, marketing the appraisal business or anything else they might require. You might be able to use a portion of this experience on your experience log depending on state requirements.

You can also search for jobs online that are interested in hiring trainee appraisers. Some companies actually prefer to hire trainees and provide additional training so the trainee will learn the employers’ specific requirements and complete appraisals to their specifications.

Appraisal Institute – Available Positions http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/resources/positions_available.asp

Monster.com http://www.monster.com/

Hotjobs.com http://www.hotjobs.com/

Careerbuilder.com http://www.careerbuilder.com/

Craigslist.org http://www.craigslist.org/

If you can’t find anyone looking for a trainee appraiser, I would suggest looking through online directories and through the phone book, making a list to include contact name, address and phone number. You can then call them to find out if they are looking for appraiser trainees. You can also use this list to send out your resume from time to time as your gain more experience or take more classes.

When the market is hot and there is plenty of work going around, it is easier to become a real estate appraiser. If you bring in your own work, you can usually find a mentor that will be willing to train you on your own work for a fee split. This way the mentor is making a little money above and beyond what they usually make on a monthly basis. If you are in an area saturated with trainees, or an area that is facing a downturn in real estate activity, it will be more difficult to find a mentor. Being motivated is the key.

You will need to show that you are a very self-motivated individual and are confident that you will be able to learn the necessary skills to both market and complete appraisals.

With the current slow down in the California market, finding a mentor might be difficult unless you are able to obtain new clients using alternative marketing ideas or through contacts you have previously established in the real estate industry. Become familiar with techniques on getting new appraisal business by reading through the additional materials we have included with this ebook. The fee split percentage is up to the mentor, but I would be extremely motivated and if possible, willing to work for free for a short amount of time to gain this invaluable trainee experience. Your mentor/supervisor will usually go along with you on most of your appraisals, review your work and sign the report along with you. It is really important to find a good mentor, if you come along a bad one that does not help you, move on.

A good supervisor will give you a lot of feedback on your reports and provide good training in all aspects of appraising real estate. Usually a mentor will have their own style of filling out appraisal reports and it will probably take you between 5 to 10 reports to really understand how the reports should be filled out to meet their expectations. I know I felt like I was getting picked to death on all the initial reports I completed, but I soon realized how my mentor wanted the report filled out, from the way he wanted the name of the appraisal files, file numbers, and to adjustments. My trainees have felt the same way when I started with them, but they soon figured out this was the easiest way for the mentor to review their work without missing simple mistakes.
Making the most of your mentor experience:

* Dress professionally – business casual (collared shirt, kaki pants), no jeans or shorts unless given permission by your mentor.
* Be professional and friendly to everyone.
* Take plenty of good, detailed and well organized notes.
* Go on as many appraisals as possible with your mentor for experience.
* Expect your first 5-10 appraisals to take 5-10 hours to complete properly.
* Have an inexpensive laptop and work on appraisals alongside your mentor.
* Pre-load your computer the appraisal software your mentor is using. ACI, Day One, etc…
* Get experience by appraising your home or your friend’s homes.
* Record your work experience daily on a spreadsheet/excel.
* Keep a list of all the errors/mistakes you have made on your appraisals, print and review your list prior to submitting the appraisal to your mentor. Eventually you won’t have to look at your list anymore to avoid making the same mistakes.

Creative ways to find a mentor:

* Send out full color postcards including a photo and mini resume – I WANT TO WORK FOR YOU!
* If you are fast typist, offer to type the appraisers files for free in return for training – I TYPE FAST!
* Visit potential mentors offices and offer to work part time for free answering phones, filing, etc.
* Offer to bring in all your own work by delivering your mentors marketing materials to potential clients (mortgage companies, banks, accountants, lawyers, real estate clubs, etc.)
* If you have marketing experience, Internet experience, or any other type of business related experience, offer to provide your services for free in return for training hours and future work.

By working for a minimal fee split or for free while completing all aspects of the appraisal, you can quickly gain enough experience to market your services as an experienced trainee. With this experience you can find mentors offering higher fee split positions.

You don’t have to have one mentor while obtaining your experience hours. I would not suggest doing marketing for competing appraisal firms, but I would take advantage of mentors looking for fee split appraisers to help them with appraisals they are unable to complete on their own.

Currently, when my schedule is full of appraisals for the week, I will contact other appraisers and trainees that I know to help me out on a fee split basis. This keeps my clients happy with the quick turn-around time and also allows me to accept orders that I would not have been able to complete on my own.

Chapter 10 - Appraisal experience
Prior to finding a mentor:

- Take additional classes offered locally or online on how to appraise different types of property, possibly to include FHA, short sales and foreclosed properties.

- Sign up for a data source like http://www.sandicor.com , which will allow a licensed trainee to search the MLS and obtain the public record information on homes within your area. Play around with the software and figure out how you can use it to pull comparable properties, get property data and plat maps.

- Download and install trial appraisal software. You can call local appraisers and get their opinions on the different software packages they have used and which package they currently use to help make your decision. I would suggest ACI http://www.aciweb.com/ since everyone I know uses it, but there are other packages like WinTotal http://www.alamode.com/ , DayOne http://www.day1.com/ , etc… You can also check their websites to find out if they offer training in your area so you can quickly learn the software.

-
Practice measuring properties and compare your results to public record.
-
Practice doing appraisals from start to finish. Appraise your own home or your friends.

- Go through every field on the appraisal forms, if you don’t know what a section is for, review a sample appraisal and try to figure it out on your own. Ask questions online at the AppraisersForum http://appraisersforum.com/ if you can’t figure a field out.

- You will not be able to record this experience on your work logs, but it will provide you with practical field experience.

- Take a typing class if you are a slow typist.

- Visit the AppraisersForum http://appraisersforum.com/ and review all the different sections from education to marketing. Ask plenty of questions but take criticism with a grain of salt. Some of the old timers on that message board are very set in their ways and are VERY opinionated.
After finding a mentor:

- In addition to doing the above, find out exactly what your mentor expects of you and exceed that expectation.

- Watch your mentor complete possibly three to five appraisals from start to finish and take plenty of good notes. Even if you think you will remember, note key points of the entire process. Nothing is more frustrating to a mentor than getting asked the same question over and over.

- On the next five or more appraisals your mentor is working on, attempt to complete the entire appraisal on your own.

1. Starting with the address of the subject, download and print the public record information, select your comparables and follow your mentor to the inspection.
2. Try to do the entire inspection on your own. Use the inspection checklist we have provided that you can print on your sketch paper to avoid forgetting important data you will later be using in your reports.
3. Take your photos, make notes, draw your sketch, etc…
4. After the inspection, drive around and take the pictures of the comparables you have selected.
5. When you are back in the office, put everything in to the report and try to complete the appraisal with as few questions as possible.
6. Make sure you review your report as many times as it takes, and go through every field and make sure you have the correct information and a completely filled out report.
7. Most software has a review function built-in that should help you catch additional errors.
8. Have your mentor review your work and take plenty of new notes during his review.
9. Keep a growing list of the errors you have made, and try not to make them again.

- Completing additional appraisals of your home or friends homes will give you additional appraisals for your mentor to review without taking up too much of their time.

- Record all your experience hours on an excel worksheet. Look at our example of a sample work log included with this book.

- When you and your mentor feel confident, you should be able to pull all of the data needed to complete an appraisal report, contact the owner to set up the inspection, complete the inspection and the appraisal without your mentor reviewing every step of the process. At that point the mentor will review your work, give it back to you to correct any errors if needed and sign the report along with you. At this point you should be able to work out a fee split arrangement on work you bring in.

-
If you have not already started, you should begin marketing the services of your mentor.

1. o Keep a detailed work log for your mentor on companies you have contacted to include the address and phone numbers.
2. o On your first visit you should introduce yourself to the office manager and hand out any available brochures, flyers or business cards with you name and contact information.
3. o Don’t stop marketing until you get work, your mentor will be impressed by the growing list of companies you have contacted.
4. o Updating the list on a weekly basis will let your mentor know you are serious, self-motivated and dedicated to bring in more work.
5. o Follow up with potential clients every couple weeks.

-
If at any point you are slow and feel like you are running out of momentum, ask your mentor for more office work, go on more appraisals with them for different types of properties, do more marketing or possibly look for available trainee positions on the Internet.

Chapter 11 - Getting Fully Licensed
How to upgrade to the residential license:

Appraisers who have a Trainee License and have completed their work experience may apply to upgrade to the Residential License. The requirements may vary from state to state. Below is an example of what California requires to upgrade to the residential license.
Application Process

To upgrade a Trainee License to the Residential License level, appraisers must submit the following:

* A completed Upgrade Application (REA 3023);
* A completed Log of Appraisal Experience (REA 3004) documenting the number of hours, months and experience. The log must also contain certifications on page 2 of the form.
* A completed Experience Log Summary (REA 3003), which summarizes information from the Log of Appraisal Experience;
* Two work samples from each category of experience claimed for each of the two most recent years listed on the Log of Appraisal Experience;
* A completed Basic Education Attachment (REA 3002) to document any additional basic education required for the Residential License (if necessary), along with copies of transcripts or course completion certificates;
* A completed Consent to Service of Process (REA 3006), if the appraiser’s business, mailing or residence address is outside of California;
* All applicable fees; and
* A new Statement of Citizenship, Alienage, and Immigration Status for State Public Benefits (REA 3030), along with proof of legal presence in the United States if the documentation previously submitted to this office expired.

Once the application is approved and all issuance fees have been paid, OREA will issue a Residential License with the same expiration date as the Trainee License.
Effective January 1, 2008

In addition to the above requirements, applications to upgrade a Trainee License to the Residential License level received on or after January 1, 2008, must include a completed Basic Education Attachment (REA 3002) documenting the 2008 basic education requirements for the Residential License, along with copies of transcripts or course completion certificates.

Additionally, all applicants upgrading from the Trainee License to the Residential License after January 1, 2008, will be required to pass the 2008 Residential License level examination. Upon approval of an application, OREA will issue an Admission to Examination Letter.

Chapter 12 – Congratulations, you’re a fully licensed appraiser!

At this point you should have a good idea on the direction you would like to take in this profession. Below is a list of options you can explore after becoming a fully licensed appraiser.

1. Fee Appraiser – You can start your own business and start marketing your services or contact fee appraisers in your community and offer to work for a fee split on work they provide. You have the highest earning potential as an independent fee appraiser, but will have to build up your own list of clients. You can find other fee appraisers in the yellow pages, at your local state licensing agency or professional appraisal organizations. You will have to pay for your own insurance and understand the basics of running a small business.
2. In-House Appraiser – There are numerous financial institutions in most communities that hire appraisers on staff to complete appraisals, provide appraisal review or to complete other appraisal related functions. After determining the appropriate department within the organization, you should find out their requirements and what they expect from their appraisers. Benefits and insurance and job stability is a plus as an in-house appraiser.
3. Assessor – Call your county assessor’s office to find out if they have any employment opportunities within their organization. There can be numerous appraisal divisions within the assessor’s office, so you want to make sure if you will need to contact them individually or through a human resources department. Most likely you will be provided with good benefits, a decent wage and possibly a work vehicle. Salary is usually dependent on work experience.
4. Appraisal Trade Association - Contact local trade associations as they frequently have information on companies looking for licensed appraisers. You easiest way to find appraisal trade associations is by searching for them on the Internet. One of the most popular is the Appraisal Institute, which has a very nice and frequently used job listing board. You can find all types of jobs available to appraisers at these associations.
5. Appraisal Management Companies – There are numerous appraisal management companies on the Internet that can be found by searching for “appraisal +management”. Some require a fee to join and do not take any cut of the appraisal, others require a fee plus a split, and others work solely on taking fee splits. Appraisal management companies will usually contact you when an order is available in your area. After accepting you will complete the appraisal and submit the appraisal through their portal. You are usually paid within a 60 days. Appraisal management companies appear to have in insatiable need for appraisers. Appraisal management companies coordinate the appraisal ordering

and review function for a number of institutional clients. Appraisal management companies can be identified on the Internet using the key words “appraisal + management”. These services are primarily for the fee appraiser. There are several drawbacks, which usually require you to accepting much smaller appraisal fees and requiring you to do value checks prior to accepting the assignment.
How much can you expect to make as an appraiser?

Based on a 1999 study that was published in the Journal of Real Estate Research, the average income for United States real estate appraisers was over $58,000 with a maximum of $225,000. RePEc:jre:issued:v:18:n:1:1999:p:377393

Entry Level Appraiser – When you are working under a mentor and gaining your experience, you will either be working under the supervision of a fee appraiser or working as an in-house appraiser for a larger mortgage company, bank, etc… Working in house will provide a more stable income and wages are typically around $15 - $20 per hour. When working under the supervision of a fee appraiser, typically trainees are paid between 25-50% of the appraisal fee based on the agreement you have established with your mentor. The way I have worked it in the past is for trainees to get paid 25% on their first 10-20 orders. When I feel comfortable with the trainee and they are no longer making data entry errors and have a good understanding of comparable selection, adjustments and completing the entire process without too much assistance I will usually bring them up to a 50% fee split on work they bring in to the company. If a trainee is bringing in a lot of work and their reports are nearly error free, I will increase their split up to 75%.

With the current state of the mortgage industry and real estate market, it might be more difficult to find a fee appraiser for a mentor. Under these circumstances we would suggest trying to find an entry-level position being an in-house appraiser. I know of many trainees working part time for free to gain their experience hours, others are getting a 10-20% fee split and have even heard of some trainees offering to pay for work experience. Use our information on how to find a Mentor and you should be ahead of the game.

Residential Appraisers - As a fee appraiser many appraisers work on a “fee split” basis. This means the appraiser is compensated based on a percentage of the revenue that is generated for each appraisal. The fee split generally ranges from 30 to 50 percent of the gross fee. Within a year, an entry-level appraiser should be in a position to produce an average of at least one single-family residential appraisal per day. If the typical appraisal fee is between $300 and $350 and a fee split of 30 to 50 percent; this would be $90 to $175 per day or $21,600 to $42,000 per year (48 weeks per year x 5 days per week).

Experienced residential appraisers have been known to produce between two and three appraisals per day. This would result in 500 appraisals per year or more. Based on the same $300 to $350 fee for an appraisal and a 50 percent fee split this would be $75,000 to $87,500 per year (500 appraisals per year x 50% fee split).

Obviously, if one owned their own company and generated these levels of production the income would be much higher. If you are self-motivated or have experience in running your own business, this is the route I would suggest.

Commercial Appraisers – Unless they are already self-employed, commercial appraisers work on a fee split as well. This fee split generally ranges between 20 to 50 percent depending on the amount of support that is being provided by the senior appraiser / appraisal firm and the contribution that is made by the junior appraiser.

The amount of revenue that commercial appraisers generate varies widely. The variables include differing levels of

1. Competition in various geographies
2. Competency
3. Areas of specialization
4. Marketing expertise
5. Amount of energy that one is willing to commit to work

The potential exist for commercial appraisers to generate $150,000 of gross revenue per year and more. The potential for any given appraiser is largely dependent on their willingness to commit time, energy, and focus to their appraisal career.
Summary

The income potential for a real estate appraiser is appealing. Additionally, many find the time flexibility, respect from other professionals, and relative ease of becoming a professional appraiser to be motivating. Both education and experience are required to reach your full potential, and finding a mentor who is willing to teach you the appraisal profession is an important part of the process. The potential for a rewarding, professional career that is well compensated is dependent on each individuals desire, motivation and commitment.
ADDENDUM A – CALIFORNIA LICENSE REQUIREMENTS

Download the Real Estate Appraiser Licensing Requirements Handbook http://www.orea.ca.gov/pdf/lic_hdbk.pdf in pdf format.
LiveScan Fingerprinting

OREA processes applicant fingerprints via Live Scan for California residents. However, in lieu of fingerprinting applicants prior to the application review, we will now request fingerprints at the time the applicant is approved for the examination. Therefore, please submit your application for a real estate appraiser license without completing the fingerprinting process. Please note, if you are applying for a California license, but are located out of state, your fingerprints should be submitted on two (2) FD-258 fingerprint cards with your application.

Note: The Department of Justice no longer accepts fingerprints submitted on the BID-7 fingerprint cards from OREA applicants.

For an updated list of LiveScan fingerprinting locations, use the following link:

http://caag.state.ca.us/fingerprints/publications/contact.htm
License Requirements - Effective 01/01/98

Levels of Licensure

There are four levels of real estate appraiser licensing. They are:

* AT - Trainee License
* AL - Residential License
* AR - Certified Residential License
* AG - Certified General License

The information contained in this pamphlet is designed to provide a summary of the minimum education, experience and examination requirements established by the Appraiser Qualifications Board and the State of California. These minimum requirements became effective on January 1, 1998.

Effective January 1, 2003 the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB) of The Appraisal Foundation implemented changes to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) course requirements. These changes affect both basic and continuing education courses. Read more.
2008 Basic Education Modules/Subtopics

As with any program, changes may occur. Consult with current statutes, regulations and rules which prevail over the information in this leaflet.

REQUIREMENTS OF EACH LICENSE LEVEL

Click here to view the old Licensing Fee Chart (in effect prior to 9/7/2006) http://www.orea.ca.gov/html/lic_fees.shtml Click here to view the new Licensing Fee Chart (in effect starting 9/7/2006) http://www.orea.ca.gov/html/lic_fees2.shtml

*The 15 Hour National USPAP Course taught by an AQB Certified Instructor is required to meet the 15 hour USPAP requirement if the course is taken on or after January 1, 2003.
Effective January 1, 1998 Trainee License Residential License Certified Residential License Certified General License
Education A minimum of 90 hours of appraisal related education covering the specific topics required by the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB), with at least 15 hours on the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).* A minimum of 90 hours of appraisal related education covering the specific topics required by AQB, with at least 15 hours on USPAP.* A minimum of 120 hours of appraisal related education covering the specific topics required by AQB, with at least 15 hours on USPAP.* A minimum of 180 hours of appraisal related education covering the specific topics required by AQB, with at least 15 hours on USPAP.*
Experience None A minimum of 2,000 hours of acceptable appraisal experience. A minimum of 2,500 hours and two and one-half years of acceptable appraisal experience. A minimum of 3,000 hours and two and one-half years of acceptable appraisal experience.At least 1,500 hours of the experience must be non-reresidential properties.
Exam Must pass the AQB approved residential examination. Must pass the AQB approved residential examination. Must pass the AQB approved certified residential examination. Must pass the AQB approved certified general examination.
Scope Must work under the technical supervision of a licensed appraiser. May assist on any appraisal within the scope of practice of the supervising appraiser. May appraise non-complex 1-to-4 unit residential property up to a transaction value of $1 million, and complex 1to-4 unit residential and all non-residential property up to a transaction value of $250,000. May appraise all 1-to-4 unit residential property without regard to complexity, and nonresidential property up to a transaction value of $250,000. May appraise all types of real estate.
ADDENDUM B – APPRAISER RESOURCES
Appraisal Management Companies

* Accolade Network, Inc. http://www.appraise.com/
* AMLEND Mortgage Services http://www.amlendonline.com/
* Appraisal Enhancements http://www.ousleyinc.com/
* Express Financial Services http://www.efstitle.com/
* First American Appraisal Services http://www.firstam.com/
* General American Credit http://www.gac.com/
* Integrated Loan Services http://www.ils.com/
* LandSafe Appraisal Services http://www.landsafe.com/
* Mortgage Information Services http://www.mtginfo.com/
* Stewart Mortgage Information-Appraisal Division http://www.stewart.com/
* Steele Software Systems http://www.steelesoft.com/
* U.S. Property & Appraisal http://www.uspa.com/
* Value-IT/First America http://www.evalueit.com/
* Appraisal.com http://www.appraisal.com

Appraisal Software

Residential Software

* ACI http://www.appraiserschoice.com/
* Alamode http://www.alamode.com/
* Bradford Technologies - Click Forms - http://www.bradfordsoftware.com/
* Day One http://www.day1.com/
* @Value http://www.atvalue.com/
* STDBOnline.com http://www.stdbonline.com/

Commercial Software

Appraisal Schools

* Allied Appraisal School http://www.realestatelicense.com/?bid=2&aid=CD113&dp=386&opt =
* Mckissock http://www.mckissock.com
* Acheson Appraisal http://www.achesonappraisal.com/
* Anthony Schools http://www.anthonyschools.com/
* Appraisal Web School http://www.appraisalwebschool.com/
* Appraiser Training http://www.appraisertraining.com/
* Appraisal Academy http://www.appraisalacademy.com/
* Kaplan Schools http://www.kaplanprofessionalschools.com/

Associations

* Appraisal Foundation http://www.appraisalfoundation.org/
* Appraisal Subcommittee http://www.asc.gov/
* HUD appraisal and property guidelines http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/ref/chap1.cfm
* Appraisal Institute http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/
* National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers (NAIFA) http://www.naifa.com/
* American Society of Appraisers (ASA) http://www.appraisers.org/
* Foundation of Real Estate Appraisers (FREA) http://www.frea.com/
* National Association of Real Estate Appraisers (NAREA) http://www.iami.org/narea.cfm
* National Association of Review Appraisers and Mortgage Underwriters (NARA/MU) http://www.iami.org/nara.cfm
* Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officials (AARO) http://www.aaro.net/
* American Guild of Appraisers, OPEIU http://www.opeiu.org/appraisers/index.htm
* National Association of Master Appraisers (NAMA) http://www.masterappraisers.org/
* National Associtaion of REALTORS (NAR) Appraisal Section http://www.realtor.org/rodesign.nsf/pages/appraisalctr?OpenDocument
* Employee Relocation Council (ERC) http://www.erc.org/

Appraisal Stores

* Appraisers Depot http://www.appraisersdepot.com/
* Tool Mark http://www.toolmark.net/
* Geo Solution http://www.geosolution.com/
* Xsites by Alamode http://www.alamode.com/xsites/
* Appraiser Web Services http://www.appraiserswebservices.com/
* Loopnet http://www.loopnet.com/
* Reals.com http://www.reals.com/

Appraiser Websites

Commercial R.E. Portals / Directores

Data Sources / Research

Building Costs

* Marshall & Swift http://www.marshallswift.com/
o R.S. Means http://www.rsmeans.com/
o Residential - Public Records
* NDCdata.com http://www.ndcdata.com/
* Dataquick http://www.dataquick.com/
* First American http://www.appraisergeneral.com/www.fares.com
* Fidelity http://www.fnf.com/

Commercial

* CoStar http://www.costar.com/
* PriceWaterhouse http://www.pwcreval.com/
* Real Estate Exchange http://www.realestateexchange.com/
* Storetrax.com http://www.storetrax.com/
* Property & Portfolio Research, Inc. http://www.ppr.info/
* Google Earth http://earth.google.com/
* Black’s Guide http://www.blacksguide.com/
* Dun & Bradstreet http://www.dnbsearch.com/
* Hoover’s Online http://www.hoovers.com/
* Torto Wheaton Research http://www.twr.com/
* KnowX http://www.knowx.com/
* Reis http://www.reis.com/
* OREP http://www.orep.org/
* J.A. Price Agency, Inc. http://www.japrice.com/appraiser.htm
* CRES Insurance Services, Inc http://www.cresinsurance.com/
* Hobbs Group http://www.hobbsgroup.com/
* Liability Insurance administrators http://www.liability.com/real.asp
* Intercorp http://www.intercorpinc.net/programs/reappraisers.asp
* FREA http://www.frea.com/
* Flood Insights http://www.floodinsights.com
* Flood Source http://www.floodsource.com/
* Beacon Maps http://www.beaconmaps.com/
* Digital Media Services http://www.floodmaps.com/
* Lochscheil http://wearedomainnames.com/default.aspx
* InterFlood

E & O Insurance Providers

Flood Maps

http://www.alamode.com/products/Appraiser/Interflood/default.aspx

Government Links

* BLS Consumer Price Index http://www.bls.gov/cpi/home.htm
* HUD Home Page http://www.hud.gov/
* Fannie Mae http://www.fanniemae.com/index.html
* Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation http://www.fdic.gov/
* FEMA http://www.fema.gov/
* Geological Survey http://www.usgs.gov/
* National Archives and Records http://www.archives.gov/
* Federal Reserve Board http://www.federalreserve.gov/
* FedWorld Information Network http://www.fedworld.gov/
* Freddie Mac http://www.freddiemac.com/
* Government Information Locator Service (GILS) http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/gils/
* Internal Revenue Service http://www.irs.gov/
* Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/
* Office of the Comptroller of the Currency http://www.occ.treas.gov/
* U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/
* U.S. Labor Department http://www.dol.gov/
* U.S. Tax Code On-Line http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title26/title26.html
* White House http://www.whitehouse.gov/
* Pre Paid Legal http://www.prepaidlegal.com/ - Legal Services
* Adams, Chase & Emerson, Inc. http://www.adamschaseemerson.com/ Collections
* Post Master http://www.post-master.net/rs/appgen/ - Email Automation
* Dental Plans http://www.dentalplans.com/
* NetQuote.com http://www.netquote.com/

Legal Services

Marketing Tools

Insurance / Dental Plans Merchant Account Providers

• Applied Merchant Systems http://www.appliedmerchant.com/partners/ag -now offers appraisers a customized credit card processing program with the lowest rates and guaranteed approval.

Publications

* Working RE Magazine http://www.workingre.com/workingre/
* Valuation Review http://www.valuationreview.com/
* Communicator http://www.frea.com/page11.aspx - Appraises and Home Inspectors
* Valuation Insights and Perspectives http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/publications/periodicals/vip/subscribe.asp -Appraisal Institute publication
* Appraisal Buzz http://www.appraisalbuzz.com/
* Appraisal Today http://www.appraisaltoday.com

Tracking Systems

* iValu.com http://www.ivalue.com/
* eTrac http://www.myetrac.com/ - myetrac.com
* Appraisaltrac http://www.appraisaltrac.com/

Important Links:

Appraiser Income / Marketing and More – http://www.appraiserincome.com Free Appraisal Website – http://rwm.net/appraiser.htm Free Appraiser Marketing Tips - http://www.appraisergeneral.com/currentissue.cfm Appraiser Management and Marketing - http://www.appraisaltoday.com/biztips.htm Appraisers Forum – http://www.appraisersforum.com

Copyright 2007 – AppraiserIncome.com
Earnings Disclaimer

EVERY EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE TO ACCURATELY REPRESENT THIS PRODUCT AND IT’S POTENTIAL. EVEN THOUGH THIS IS ONE OF THE EASIEST PROFESSIONS TO GET IN TO, WITH UNLIMITED POTENTIAL, THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL EARN ANY MONEY USING THE TECHNIQUES AND IDEAS IN THESE MATERIALS. EXAMPLES IN THESE MATERIALS ARE NOT TO BE INTERPRETED AS A PROMISE OR GUARANTEE OF EARNINGS. EARNING POTENTIAL IS ENTIRELY DEPENDENT ON THE PERSON USING OUR PRODUCT, IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES. WE DO NOT PURPORT THIS AS A “GET RICH SCHEME.”

ANY CLAIMS MADE OF ACTUAL EARNINGS OR EXAMPLES OF ACTUAL RESULTS CAN BE VERIFIED UPON REQUEST. YOUR LEVEL OF SUCCESS IN ATTAINING THE RESULTS CLAIMED IN OUR MATERIALS DEPENDS ON THE TIME YOU DEVOTE TO THE PROGRAM, IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES MENTIONED, YOUR FINANCES, KNOWLEDGE AND VARIOUS SKILLS. SINCE THESE FACTORS DIFFER ACCORDING TO INDIVIDUALS, WE CANNOT GUARANTEE YOUR SUCCESS OR INCOME LEVEL. NOR ARE WE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OF YOUR ACTIONS.

MATERIALS IN OUR PRODUCT AND OUR WEBSITE MAY CONTAIN INFORMATION THAT INCLUDES OR IS BASED UPON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS GIVE OUR EXPECTATIONS OR FORECASTS OF FUTURE EVENTS. YOU CAN IDENTIFY THESE STATEMENTS BY THE FACT THAT THEY DO NOT RELATE STRICTLY TO HISTORICAL OR CURRENT FACTS. THEY USE WORDS SUCH AS “ANTICIPATE,” “ESTIMATE,” “EXPECT,” “PROJECT,” “INTEND,” “PLAN,” “BELIEVE,” AND OTHER WORDS AND TERMS OF SIMILAR MEANING IN CONNECTION WITH A DESCRIPTION OF POTENTIAL EARNINGS OR FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE.

ANY AND ALL FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS HERE OR ON ANY OF OUR SALES MATERIAL ARE INTENDED TO EXPRESS OUR OPINION OF EARNINGS POTENTIAL. MANY FACTORS WILL BE IMPORTANT IN DETERMINING YOUR ACTUAL RESULTS AND NO GUARANTEES ARE MADE THAT YOU WILL ACHIEVE RESULTS SIMILAR TO OURS OR ANYBODY ELSES, IN FACT NO GUARANTEES ARE MADE THAT YOU WILL ACHIEVE ANY RESULTS FROM OUR IDEAS AND TECHNIQUES IN OUR MATERIAL.

Results may vary as with any business opportunity. The story of my success being a real estate appraiser is due to my motivation and dedication to starting a new career and providing a good living for my family. Success in any business opportunity is a result of hard work, time and a variety of other factors.

» Would you like to have more family time?

» Would you like to be your own boss?

» Interested in setting your own work schedule?

» Are you interested in Real Estate?

» Would you like to identify undervalued properties?

I love being a real estate appraiser and hope to become a Certified General Appraiser within the next few years so I can start appraising Commercial Properties as well.

A real estate appraiser is ofter referred to as “the eyes and ears of the lender”, making them responsible for obtaining an estimate of market value based on comparable sales within the market area of the subject. If you are honest and ethical, a good problem solver and are self motivated, you can do very well being an appraiser.

This blog is for people interested in becoming an appraiser and also to help Appraiser Trainees find out what it takes to find a mentor and what you might experience when trying to find a mentor to help you gain experience and complete your 2000 hours of work experience to become a fully licensed real estate appraiser. The hardest part at this point is finding a mentor that will be willing to train you for your work experience. If you have a friend in the industry and are willing to work for free, then you have an advantage.

Preliminary results from a nationwide survey by the Appraisal Institute indicate that 34% of appraisers had gross incomes of $100,000+ with 7% of those earning $150,000 to $200,000 and 9% earned $200,000+. Another 13% earned between $80,000 to $100,000. There is a lot of money to be made.

In Southern California, most appraisers charge between $300-$400 for a simple / tract home like appraisal. Lately I have been doing between 7-10 tract home like appraisals a week, plus some more complex appraisals, with a fee of $500 - $1500 each. You can see that this ads up very quickly!!!

I went from barely able to pay my bills, working 80+ hours a week, to making well over $10,000 a month and setting my own hours as a Real Estate Appraiser!!!

By the end of 2009 I hope to have a new record year with over $200,000 in appraisals completed!!!

LOOKING TO GET RICH QUICK?

If you are looking for another get rich quick scheme, this is not for you. This is a professional career that can lead you to financial freedom and incredible wealth! How many people do you know personally that became rich quickly, with little work and without spending a small fortune in educational expenses?

BECOMING AN APPRAISER CHANGED MY LIFE

If you have tried making money online and have gotten nowhere, I know how you feel!!! I finally made the right decision that changed my life!

I spent over 7 years trying to make a decent living online. After thousands of hours of wasted time, living check to check, working all day and night in front of my computer, spending little free time with friends and family, I finally made the decision to change. Don’t get me wrong; I was making some money, but not quite enough to pay the bills or go on a vacation. I thought my working condition was better than getting a dead end crappy job working 40 hours a week and reporting to some lame boss. But I just was not getting anywhere. I was renting a very small house, had a kid on the way and was selling my wife’s car to make ends meet. I had a marketing degree, but entry level jobs were paying only $10-$15 an hour.

A friend said I should look in to becoming an appraiser. It sounded good to me, I was dying to get out of the house and try something new! 3 short years later, I now work part-time, own 2 homes, invest in real estate and make well over $150,000 a year. I set my own hours, spend lots of time with friends and family and still have plenty of time left over to play with all my toys!!!

By the way, if you know anything about the Internet, you are already one step above the competition. I get more than 50% of my orders right off the Internet! At the same time I highly doubt that 5% of the appraisers in my area even have a web site!

Going from computers to appraising was very easy for me. Not only was I sick of working inside all the time, but I also found that it was incredibly easy for me to learn the software packages and online data resources. I am also a fast typist and make few errors, giving me more free time! After getting started doing appraisals, I built my first web site for the appraisal business and quickly learned how to make it the top ranked appraisal web site in Google. This is an ideal profession for computer savvy people looking to make the big bucks.

What is an Appraisal?

A real estate appraisal is performed by a licensed or certified appraiser who develops an opinion of value based upon the highest and best use of the subject property. The highest and best use practice is to determine the value of the land as a vacant property without any improvements. The improvements then are given value depending on the buildings and any additional on site improvements. To determine the highest and best use are based on the four parts to include if the value estimate is physically possible, appropriate for the parcel, legally feasible (due to zoning, etc.), and economically feasible (if the improvements to the site would not cost more than the final estimate of value).

Appraisals are to be provided for a specific client and completed by an appraiser with ample experience in completing the requested appraisal. The appraiser must have experience or be able to obtain the experience to provide the final appraisal report. The appraiser must also be able to define the use of the appraisal in terms of what type of value is to be developed in the appraisal, i.e. market value, condemnation value, quick sale value, etc. Most of the appraisals that are required to be completed by an appraiser is often reported on a standardized form like the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report. The majority of the appraisals you will be asked to complete are for purchase transactions, refinances and for estate purposes which can all be completed on the standard Uniform Residential Appraisal Report.

There are minimum appraisal standards and qualifications are provided by The Appraisal Foundation which is chartered by Congress. In additon, The Appraisal Standards board periodically publishes the Uniform Standard of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) which provides the minimum development and reporting standards that an appraisal/appraiser must meet. The appraisal Qualifications Board which is also administered by The Appraisal Foundation is responsible for setting the minimum qualification for appraisers to become licensed and certified. The AQB board is responsible for establishing the minimum education, testing, and experience requirements for a trainee to become a lecensed or certified appraiser.

There are some new requirements adopted in February 2004 by the AQB that became effective Jan 1, 2008 that include increased requirements for education, experience, and a new Uniform State Appraiser Examination.

AQB Minimum Real Property Appraiser Qualifying Criteria
(Effective January 1, 2008)

OREA Basic Education College Level Experience
License Levels Requirements Requirements

Trainee (AT) 150 Hours N/A N/A
Residential (AL) 150 Hours N/A 2,000 Hours
Residential (AR) 200 Hours Associate Degree* 2,500 Hours
Certified General(AG) 300 Hours Bachelors Degree** 3,000 Hours

AT Trainees must be supervised by a AR or AG appraiser under the new criteria. The supervisor can not supervise more than three trainees at one time when issuing experience hours to trainees. A licensed appraiser without an AR or AG license can no longer mentor trainees.

Being an Appraiser was recently voted #8 of the Top 10 Jobs by Money/CNN  • Become an Appraiser Quickly  • Be your own Boss  • Online and Local Education Providers  • Appraisal Marketing Tips and Advice  • And much, much more! We will show you how to get licensed quickly so you can begin your Appraisal Career ASAP!

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• District
  of Columbia
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New
  Hampshire
• New
  Jersey
• New
  Mexico
• New
  York
• North
  Carolina
• North
  Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode
  Island
• South
  Carolina
• South
  Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West
  Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

1. The Cost Approach to value is determining a value estimate by what it would cost to replace or reproduce the improvements as of the date of the appraisal, less the Physical Deterioration, Functional Obsolescence and Economic Obsolescence. The remainder is added to determine the Land Value.

2. With the Comparison Approach to value the real estate appraiser will take the most similar comparables within the market area, considered “bench mark” properties of similar size, quality and location that have recently sold. The standard I try to stick to with the current market in San Diego is to start my first search of comparables within .5 miles from the subject, within 10% in living area from the subject, within 10 years of age to the subject and that have sold in the past 4 months. Depending on the results I will sometimes have to loosen my search criteria. Then a comparison is made between the comparables and the subject property making $ adjustments for the differences that affect value.

3. The Income Approach to value is of primary importance in ascertaining the value of income producing properties and is rarely used on owner occupied residential type properties. This approach provides an objective estimate of what a prudent investor would pay based upon the net income the property produces. When asked to appraise income properties, you will need to get the additional information and most lenders will also ask for an operating income statement along with a rent survey.

After a thorough analysis of all the gathered data, a final estimate or opinion of value is given.

You can then move on to the appraisal process.
1. Determine the purpose of the appraisal and who will be using it.

2. Get the required completion date of the appraisal, usually this is the date of inspection, but sometimes can be a historical appraisal based on a previous date.

3. If this is for a purchase transaction, you will need a copy of the purchase agreement to review.

4. If you can’t obtain the real estate taxes from public record, you can request a copy of current real estate tax bill.

5. Is property listed for sale and if so, for how much and with whom? Has there been any offers? Etc…

6. What personal property is included if any. This must be disclosed in the appraisal report.

7. If this is an income producing property, you will need to get the current rents and a breakdown of income and expenses from at least the past year and a copy of leases.

Each appraisal must contain the following items in addition to all pertinent information known to the appraiser at the time of the appraisal:

· A statement as to purpose and/or objective of the appraisal, with value defined. Refinace, purchase, as-is, etc… There could be many purposes.
· A legal description and/or adequate identification of the property appraised obtained from public record.
· The date of the value estimate, the date at which the value estimate applies. Usually date of inspection, but could be a historical appraisal needed for estate purposes, divorce, etc…
· An adequate description of the physical characteristics of the property appraised based on your physical inspection.
· A statement as to the known and/or observed encumbrances, if applicable.
· A statement and analysis of the highest and best use of the property appraised, if appropriate. Usually is the current use, but could be different.
· A statement as to the property rights appraised. Fee Simple, etc…
· A direct sales comparison approach and analysis, if applicable. This is usually required in most of the appraisals you will be completing as a trainee.
· A cost approach and analysis, if applicable. This is usually required on all properties except for condominiums.
· An income approach and analysis, if the property is an income producing property to include multi-family residences and rented single family residences.
· A statement as to the conclusions reached in the appraisal report.
· Documentation requirements [the appraiser must have the minimum data requirements in his/her file to properly support the final estimate of value]. You will also need to save this documentation.
· A statement as to the assumption and limiting conditions affecting the appraisal.
· The signature of the responsible appraiser together with his/her particular designation [IFA, IFAA, IFAS, IFAC]. You will need to get an electronic copy of your signature, usually obtained through the company software you will be using.
· A statement concerning the maintenance of confidentiality regarding the appraisal assignment and results thereof.
· Designated members [IFA, IFAA, IFAS, IFAC] must disclose their continuing education status clearly in every appraisal report.

Appraisal reports must not include:
· Improbable and non supportable premises.
· Vague assumptions unsupported by fact.
· Improbable highest and best use.

At the time I decided to become an appraiser I looked in to a variety of appraiser schools to include my local community college, online appraiser schools and live appraiser training seminars. Being low on funds at the time due to a change in career and finding classes available in my area over a 2 semester period, I signed up for all the classes through a couple of my local community colleges. Since the classes had to be taken in order, I had no choice but to attend 2 different semesters and due at two different community colleges.

That decision turned out to be a big waste of time and income.

Unfortunately the teachers in these classes were unmotivated to help and really gave a very basic outline of the appraisal industry. We barely completed 1 appraisal form and upon completion were given very minimal feedback and very poor opinions of our reports. If I had only taken some online courses I would have been up and running about 6 months sooner. I would not suggest this route to anyone unless they know of qualified and good professors teaching these subjects.

My other friends that decided to take online appraiser courses were able to complete their education requirements easily within 3 months and were licensed trainees and building up their experience hours under their supervising appraisers. Luckily I was able to complete a significant amount of my experience hours prior to becoming a licensed trainee, but not as much as I could have if I had more free time from my class requirements.

Through a licensed and approved appraiser school, you can easily obtain your education requirements and get prepared for the trainee examination in no time.

Make sure your Real Estate Appraisal Course has been approved for Qualifying Education by the Appraiser Qualification Board (AQB). You also want to find a complete appraisal licensing package that will satisfy your states hourly requirements for pre-licensing and hourly USPAP educational requirements.

By taking your appraisal training courses online you will have the ease and convenience of completing all course assignments and exams from home and at your own pace. The online cours will provide the needed textbooks and online supplies.

So far I have referred about 10 people to complete their online training through Allied. Not one of them have failed the course and had no time flying through the process. They also offer a 110% refund if you don’t pass the exam on your first try. How can you beat that!

This Is What You Do to obtain a license through Allied Online Appraiser Schools

1. Enroll in Allied’s Real Estate Appraisal Course - This course satisfies 90 hours of required study
2. Complete assignments and pass the final exam
3. Schedule a test date with the state (they will let you know how)
4. Review your state exam prep materials (included with your course)
5. Pass the State Exam

The number one thing I can suggest is to GET STARTED TODAY if you are serious. There are tons of trainees out there already, no need to wait for more to get in line in front of you.