All Forum Posts by: Wes Crafton

Yes, and it goes both ways. Finding a good mentor who actually cares about your progression is equally hard to find. Some appraisers just want the assistance of doing less admin work instead of teaching a new appraiser to do their own reports. The ROI just isn't there. Also, once you are certified, you can technically go off on your own and do your own business so they are very cautious of this. However, I have been told in several of my Certified General classes the average age of an appraiser is 60+ and they are winding down. My suggestion would be to come up with a list of reasons why you could help the mentor focus on the valuation of the appraisal and less of the front end the admin/research work. That's what they really want. They cant stand the repetitious labor after doing it 20+ years. I can tell you, just starting in commercial appraisal, you will be doing all the basic research for the subject property, comp research, pulling demographic data, macro/micro market research, light report writing, and maybe site visit help so bring this up to them that you wish to do this for them until you are ready to write reports. Given that you have your real estate license means you will have a leg up as opposed to someone starting fresh. Furthermore, when the mentor feels like you are progressing well, they will let you start attempting the full report from front to back while they edit your mistakes and guide you on how to do better. The appraisal report looks something like this- roughly 70-100 pages for bank work, much much less if a restricted appraisal for consumers- The front half of a typical report are important facts/conclusions about the subject property, site data, description of improvements, property rating vs typical market, macro and micro market data, demographics, highest and best use, etc. The second half of a report is all about the valuation and your comps- this is where the Mentor really needs to focus. I also suggest going ahead and doing all your advanced appraisal training before jumping into it. I personally found it too grueling to try and pound out reports while doing my Certified General classes. Its not the easiest material to grasp either. Hope this helps!

PS- If you are not pursuing Commercial, then its much less of a grueling process, but still difficult nonetheless. Residential reports are more like form filling rather than report writing, but you can still offer your services of subject/comp research, zoning research, deed research, site visit and photo taking help, measuring buildings, etc. PM me and I will share on your to do these things really well but some of it you will learn in appraisal school.   

I know this is an older post but this an ongoing question for those that want to get into investing but also want to make a weekly paycheck while working on their REI business. I am both a realtor and working towards my Certified General. IMO, appraisal is the absolute best way to start in the industry. Just like others have mentioned, you are doing several site visits per month of all property types. Plus, you will speaking to brokers, developers, owners, tenants, zoning officials, etc on a weekly basis. Why limit yourself with residential doors and all those headaches. Personally, I would rather partner up with a group of folks into a single commercial NNN asset rather than multiple residential properties with multiple tax bills and management.

Gentlemen, 

Thank you for your wisdom and sharing your experiences. Great discussion here and I am feeling a good bit more confident. I do believe as @Marc Brenner pointed out that you it may be good to crawl before you run may be the better route before investing all in one location/one multifamily. The more I speak to ATL multi fam brokers I hear the deals in the $5mm to $10mm range are best because it pushes out the smaller investors and are often not worth the time of the larger institutional guys. Also, this price range will buy a good location in a decent neighborhood with decent scale- 30+ units.   Thank you @Bryan Mitchell for your suggestion to follow this as well.

Hi everyone!

This is my first BP post after listening to several podcasts, reading books and sifting through various discussions on BP. I am in my mid thirties and somewhat new to the field of commercial real estate but for the past three years I have been working as a registered commercial appraiser in Atlanta. Prior to my appraisal experience, my family and I sold our engineering firm in Cobb County and I have a fair amount of cash to invest in a multi family property- I have approx. $700k and thought about quitting my job now and started knocking on doors in Atlanta looking for a good BRRR deal.

I know the answer is obvious to some of the younger folks out there on BP, however I have a family to raise and bills to pay but at the same time I long for financial flexibility offered by MF. A lot of the podcasts I listen to seem to have the same regurgitated story of house hacking with say a husband and wife with no kids and don't have a lot of cash. My circumstances are slightly different and we are living comfortably with my salary and diversified stock portfolio. After working in commercial RE for a few years I am quickly discovering $700k doesn't go too far especially in this market. I seem to be caught in between starting with several SFR BRRR deals or just waiting for a downturn and deploying all that cash for a multifamily. I hate timing the markets and I personally don't see a recession coming anytime soon but I am curious what the Pros on this board would recommend doing given my current situation.

Lastly, I have little experience with rehabs and was considering working for a property managment or asset management firm to gain skills, continue having an income and prepare for a downturn. Thoughts/partnerships/new relationships are welcome! Thanks y’all!

Sounds like a plan!