Becoming An Appraiser Is Going To Get More Difficult

by Michael on April 23, 2012

Last year the Appraiser Qualifications Board made changes to the criteria for becoming an appraiser. Starting in January 1,2015 all licensed appraisers wishing to upgrade their license to become a certified and general appraiser will be now have to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college.

First, I’m all for raising the standards of appraisers, however, not at the expense of crippling the industry. There already was a mass exodus of appraisers due to all of the new onerous regulations that have been instituted over the past few years. I’m of the opinion that this will only exacerbate the problem of people willing enter the appraisal industry. You’re going to have a tough time convincing a college graduate into becoming an appraiser with a starting income of only $20-$25K a year as a residential appraiser, and by the way they’ll have a few thousand dollars a year in business expenses (E&O insurance, license fees, continuing education, mileage, liability insurance, MLS annual and monthly dues, etc..).

Second, if raising the bar for appraisers is so important, it does beg the question what about all of the other players within the real estate industry. How about real estate agents, loan officers, real estate closers; don’t they play an integral part of the residential real estate process?

Mark my words, there will come a day when it’ll take up to 30 days or more for an appraisal to be completed from the time it’s requested until it’s completed. There is no way the system could handle a major real estate boom without some major changes, and if you don’t like the selection of appraisers doing residential work now, hang-on it’s only going to get worse.

 

 

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