How to Get a Job as a Real Estate Appraiser

A real estate appraiser is an administrative position where you can work for a company or as an independent appraiser with your own business. In this position, you determine the value of property and assign a monetary figure for a sale of the property. Sometimes, you will appraise a property simply as part of an estate appraisal or when the value of the property is necessary to settle a divorce case. The property can range from uncleared land to commercial and residential properties of all sizes. Usually appraisers work in areas with which they are familiar so they have knowledge of the conditions and the environment that can affect the values of different properties.

You will use various methods of appraising the net value of a property when you work as a real estate appraiser. First of all you have to note any outstanding characteristics of the property or if there are defects, you have to take note of any areas needed repairs or improvements. The condition of the roof and the foundation are important, as repairs to these parts of a building are very costly. You will also need to take pictures of the property to help you in writing the report. When you return to your office, you combine all of your notes and observations into a detailed report that also takes other factors into consideration, such as the location, comparable sale prices of similar properties in that location and the demand for the property.

As a rule a real estate appraiser works for several different clients, but only one client at a time. Therefore, it is important to prepare a schedule of work so you know exactly what properties you will be looking at on a particular day. You may have days of the week when you appraise properties and days when you stay in the office writing the reports.



This schedule may also have to change with the weather, so you should be able to adapt to changing conditions. Depending on the real estate demands in your area, you may handle all sorts of appraisals or specialize in residential or commercial real estate. Mortgage lenders require a property appraisal before they will approve a loan for a borrower, so in some areas you may have to specialize in one area if you don’t want to spread yourself too thinly.

You will spend a great deal of your time in the job of real estate appraiser working in your office researching information and writing reports. You will also have to spend some time on the road traveling to different properties and doing the actual appraisal. The time you spend on site also depends on the type of property. It takes less time to appraise a residential property than it does a commercial one, such as a shopping mall or a piece of land.

To become a real estate appraiser, you do need to have at least a Bachelor’s degree in business, economics, or a related field. In addition, federal law stipulates that in order to work in this job you must have a license from the state in which you work. The requirements for this license vary from state to state and differ in the educational background and experience required.