Real Estate & Home Appraiser Jobs

Appraisers are licensed professionals that inspect properties and provide unbiased estimates of their most probable sales price. On this page you’ll learn a little bit about home appraiser jobs including pay and job requirements.To formulate an estimate, they factor in the size of property, age and condition and the selling prices of similar homes that have recently sold in the area.

Appraisals are typically performed for property sale, purchase refinancing, tax appeals and bankruptcy.

Before you think that appraising property is less sexy than real estate, let me tell you that appraisers were on CNN’s list of interesting six figure jobs. Preliminary results from a nationwide survey by the Appraisal Institute indicate that 34 percent of appraisers had gross incomes of $100,000 or more. Appraisers can find plenty of work when the economy is hot and even more work from foreclosures when the economy is cold.

Are you intrigued yet?

Becoming an Appraiser

First of all, few appraisers would describe their job as boring, though it tends to be paper intensive. Appraisers come from a range of backgrounds: liberal arts, finance, business, construction, architecture, and real estate – all professions that require attention to detail, strong math skills and excellent communication. Most states require an appraisers license, either through their local licensing program or the Appraisal Foundation’s program.

Like the real estate license, appraisers must complete pre-exam coursework – usually about 75 hour’s worth, and work several years under an experienced appraiser before they can advance in their careers.

Typical-entry level positions focus upon market research. New appraisers gather information for senior appraisers and help put together reports that justify their estimates. As they become more experienced, their work will become more client-oriented. Increased responsibilities involve site inspections, financial analyses and written reports for the clients.

Check out the website of the Appraisal Foundation for more information.