CAPTAIN CHUCK

I know I read on here at one time that an OSO brother does house appraisals. Whoever this is please get back to me I am interested in trying to get an appraisal license and if you could give me some info I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Chuck

waterboy222

message marylandmark..i believe hes into it..

CAPTAIN CHUCK

I get up around ten cst.... I am looking forward to talking with you.
Thanks,
Chuck

open87

iTrader: (2)

well , here in la ,you have to do 2 years apprenticeship. you can only do 125 points a year. you need a total of 250.

you would need to go to class ,pass the test to become a licensed trainee...

i belive donaldson school in metairie is closed now (not 100% sure).

then , you will have to find a licensed appraiser here to

a- take you in

b- get you work

c- sign off on your work

d- because your a trainee

if you can get a,b,c - then you will have to do the 2 year apprenticeship and then after the 250 points you have to take another test ,if you pass that test and then submit 3 appraisals to the state board for review.

if you pass the review you may be bleesed with a licence to do appraisals on your own..for yourself or for another company that will no longer need to sign off on your work..

now , how do i know...

my girlfriend did this , she took the 1st test at donaldson , failed...
passed the second time so she got here "trainee" certificate..

was lucky enough to find a company that was willing to take her on as a trainee and made like 30% commission. basically enough to pay for gas , insurance ,and the alamode software ,etc.

now ,since we had the storm , the company she worked for closed up(old guy) cause he lost his house ,clients and a bunch of other stuff..

now , she had just hit her 2 years and her 250 points when the storm hit..


toss having a baby 2 weeks before the hurricane into the mix....

sooo , now she needs to find the time to study to take the last test...if she passes, then she needs to submit her application to the state with her 3 appraisals , and hope to get the boards blessing..

now ,that may have all changed too...you know how baton rouge works....

now , i will also say that if your not "ina cick" like everything else here...you will not make it....

best luck too you ,but if someone is telling you you can make big $$$$ doing this ,and fast...you won't...

there are a ton of appraisers here all trying to get the same work out of a very, very much smaller market..the few big local companies have it sewed up with the local banks and lenders..

so , unless your connected....keep your day job...

open87

iTrader: (2)

...here is the "bible" all 536 pages you will need to study and the contact info at the state level...

PJDiesel

I'm Certified Residential also. Only been doing it since about 2003 though. As Mark stated, with the "Refi-Boom" and Mid Atlantic housing "bubble" over it isn't as glamorous as it once was. I went from struggling to keep my head above water to doing 2 a week some weeks.

I have another business that keeps us floating, otherwise I would be looking for a regular job with a BOSS which after being self employed since 2002 would really suck.

Also as stated, the licensing caries state to state. Maryland is doing it's best to make it hard to get licensed at this point (good thing for me). It's heading towards a min. of 2 Yr. degree here soon. I did 2500 hours in just over 2 years, plus about 120 hours of schooling (about $2K total).

Good luck finding a mentor though, it's like being a Barber apprentice, to a certain extent, your teacher is risking you getting chummy with the clients and taking them with you when you leave.
I was VERY lucky to have a guy who was just burnt out on Appraising, very ethical and had lots of experience, just decided he didn't like dealing with the lenders anymore.

In closing, I still like my gig. Make my OWN hours, don't have 200 clients a year like my RE agent buddies, work about 20-25 hours a week and still make pretty decent money......
Good Luck

PJDiesel

When it comes time to test, I used a program called Compu-Cram, it's pretty close to my states actual test and I think it really helped me pass both my State License and then Certification first time around with relative ease.

CAPTAIN CHUCK

Thanks for all the input guys. I guess it is a case of "A day late & a dollar short". I am really looking to get into another profession without getting out of my current one. I will keep searching because to own the boats we all dream of...there is never enough money.