Real Estate Appraiser
Member since 2023 · 10 posts · 21 votes
Hello, I'm thinking about becoming a Real Estate Appraiser in NJ and I want to know if this is a good career and if it is in high demand right now in the NJ area? Any real estate Appraisers here that can give their personal insight and any tips would be very helpful. Thank you!
I would imagine that like the rest of real estate, its cyclical in nature. However, I can tell you that about a year ago, we couldnt get appraisers out to properties without paying crazy fees (in the SE). Good Luck!
I would imagine that like the rest of real estate, its cyclical in nature. However, I can tell you that about a year ago, we couldnt get appraisers out to properties without paying crazy fees (in the SE). Good Luck!
I would imagine that like the rest of real estate, its cyclical in nature. However, I can tell you that about a year ago, we couldnt get appraisers out to properties without paying crazy fees (in the SE). Good Luck!
Definitely going to reaffirm this. Very cyclical, but there is always a demand of some sort!!
Hey Johanna, Long time appraiser here, and agent/broker, investor, etc. My main "day gig" has been appraising for 26+ years. The industry has definitely changed majorly over that time period and appears to be in a current state of flux also.
My goal was to learn the art of appraising to understand value so I can utilize that knowledge in investing. So, my goal was RE investing 1st, not an appraisal career. Appraising was to be my means to that goal.
I started at the local Assessor's office, as a Deputy Assessor Trainee for the largest assessor's office in the country, the Los Angeles County Assessor. It was a job, where I got paid training and great varied experience to learn something that I wanted to know and possibly have as a career. It was a great situation. But, since my goal was focused beyond an appraisal job, I left after a few years, to do fee appraising and investing. I didn't realize at the time the potential that job had. If I had known, I might've thought harder about staying, but I don't regret leaving. As an example, a couple of my colleagues that were in my training class are still with the Assessor and since their pay is public record, I can see what they recently got paid. In a recent year 1 of them got a total compensation (including benefits) of $245k and another got $197k. That's amazing pay for a govt job and the retirement package is supposed to be very good. They probably can retire soon with 6 figure pensions if they wanted. Now, this is LA within CA and the largest Assessors office, so public money tends to get thrown around meaninglessly here. I don't expect the pay to be similar in other areas.
So, my first piece of advice would be, if you're looking for a career, i'd definitely check out the local Assessor's office. All in all it was a good job an interesting work, for the most part. It definitely helped with my investing knowledge.
As far as independent fee appraising, that has changed over the years. There is always business to get, but it isn't as plentiful as it once was. Most of the lender business is provided through AMC's, appraiser management companies. They typically pay lower fees and can be challenging to deal with. There are some lenders which do engage appraisers directly, but those are fewer these days and with the lower # of people getting mortgages these days, business has definitely slowed for most of us.
There are other avenues for business and work, like CPA's or attorney's for estate work. When a person passes away they need to have their real estate valued at their time of death for their estate, or some portfolios need to be valued every so often for accounting purposes, etc. There's litigation work, for people with disputes for different reasons, etc.
As far as NJ, I have no idea about the business there. My advice would be to go on Facebook and search for appraiser groups, some are only for appraisers, but I think there may be some open to the public. You can pose your question/s there and possibly get some direct answers regarding NJ. Also, it depends on what your goals are. Since you are on BP, I assume you are interested in RE investing. An independent appraiser career does give you the flexibility to do your own investing, but it can also be inconsistent, causing some financial flux. one positive aspect for me is, I do get an inside, behind the scenes look at some current transactions and deals, which does help me really understand what some buyers are looking for and what they are currently valuing, etc.
Anyway, there is a lot more to say, but not enough time. Feel free to ask me anything.
But, I have a question for you.
What are you trying to do?
What are your goals, with career, investing, etc.?
I would focus on being clear with that first, then you can see which routes fit.
Thank you so much for your insight. I am trying to get into real estate investing. My goal is to start with wholesaling then move up to house hacking and then buy and hold. However, I do want to get into a good career as well that will help me gain the experience and knowledge to get into real estate investing. Not only that but I need a job to fall back on and use to pay my bills where as wholesaling I will use to invest.
But, I have a question for you.
What are you trying to do?
What are your goals, with career, investing, etc.?
I would focus on being clear with that first, then you can see which routes fit.
Thank you so much for your insight. I am trying to get into real estate investing. My goal is to start with wholesaling then move up to house hacking and then buy and hold. However, I do want to get into a good career as well that will help me gain the experience and knowledge to get into real estate investing. Not only that but I need a job to fall back on and use to pay my bills where as wholesaling I will use to invest.
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Hey @Johanna Perez, Sorry for my delayed response. The issue I have with the appraising business was it was not always steady and sometimes unpredictable. And at the moment, the industry feels like it is changing. the bulk of work always seemed to be appraisals for lending purposes (bank appraising), and at the moment, that part of the business has dried up pretty drastically in many areas, due to low # of current transactions. But, there is always private work out there, as I mentioned above, with CPA's, attorneys, estate work, etc.
And although the Assessor job was pretty good, and had a fair amount of freedom, it was still a fulltime obligation, which puts some limitations on doing side hustles (i.e. the RE investing). I'm sure it could be done, but I don't know if it is an ideal path. I definitely benefit from the great education, knowledge and experience I got there though. That is invaluable and has definitely helped in my investing.
I do pretty well when business is busy, but, it does take a lot of time and energy to devote to the work, leaving less for other pursuits - RE investing, etc. I have been able to do it, but I do feel like I would've been able to do much better with other options. Now, having the knowledge, experience, and access to the resources (data, etc), has been invaluable. But, I have often used the saying "I have been too busy working, to make money." Meaning, when I busy and doing pretty well, it was taking up time and energy that may've done even better if I was able to focus on the RE investing.
To me the ideal situation would be a fairly autonomous home-based job/career, which is steady, pays well and has flexible hours, to provide enough time and money to pursue the RE investing around the regular work.
One area I had contemplated recently is Data Science. This has been a career that has seemed to be in demand in the recent past and should still be in demand in the future. I still may do some education in it to utilize within my investing and possibly business. The pay is supposedly really good (6-figures, etc), you can learn great pertinent skills to utilize in analyzing markets, and you may find it easier to find more flexible positions. To me, that would've been an avenue I would've look more closely at many years ago, to utilize my appraisal skillset within that newer career. And there are ways to get the training and education through education programs, which don't necessarily require a degree and may be relatively inexpensive (depending). But, not everyone has an interest in the areas it involves, so make sure to look into it deeply before jumping in. There are many resources to find more info and even message employment recruiters who specialize in this area, for more info.
Anyway, I hope that insight is somewhat helpful. Good luck