David, really appreciate you making the video detailing your journey. I think some of us who’ve been around might be surprised at the long road it takes to make a solid income in the valuation space. Congrats on becoming a dad too-that’s huge!
Crazy how similar our career paths have been timeline wise. I just passed the exam last month. Still waiting to get my license info. We have a good looking future for sure. Congratulations fellow young appraiser!
Congrats David, that’s no small accomplishment! I can’t believe it took that long to get your application submitted with the state board. Mine took 6 months or so and I was getting extremely impatient then, I can’t imagine it taking over a year! Nonetheless, congratulations! EDIT: also congrats on having a baby!
Thank you! A lot of lessons were learned so hopefully my story can help prevent others from making the same mistake and going through the long grueling process that I experienced.
Congratulations! As a father of a 2-year old and another one on the way (November) AND a commercial trainee - this gives me hope. I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel with only two classes left. I saved Report Writing and Finance/Statistics for the very end and will take some kind of review before I sit for the CG exam hopefully next year. I chose to take in-person courses with AI and really felt busy doing two classes a year with travel and expenses coming out of my own pocket. It's a very slow, expensive, and tedious process of working full-time as well as going through courses but I guess you have to start somewhere. I would be a liar if I said I haven't thought about going into a different career but I've made it this far and thankfully have stayed relatively steady through the slowdown. None of these classes have been easy, but honestly, they're a walk in the park compared to that first three months of having a new baby in the house lol
Thank you! I remember taking those classes, not as bad as the income approach at least! These classes are not cheap at all, especially if you take into account the hotel and flight fees for in-person courses. But it pales in comparison compared to the bill from the hospital right after having a kid, lol!
It’s very discouraging being a new trainee(working on my licensed classes currently sales comparison and income approaches) and hearing how slow it is. Been looking for a supervisor since December and no luck at all. Not even close. Glad to hear a success story. I’ll keep chugging along
It has really been a roller-coaster in last couple of years for appraisal industry. Not sure when market will be back on track. Though, I just want to say congratulations David!
Just passed my certified residential. The whole part about not putting complex reports in your log is true. The state came back to me with some questions but everything was good once explained.
Congratulations 🎉. I am a trainee licensed in DC and MD. However, can't find a supervisor and mentor. I know you are in a different state, but I would love if you could be a remote mentor? 😊. Just watching this video was so helpful and I would be so grateful for an occasional chat with you to help guide me forward through this process. I hope to hear from you. Trish
Videos are great, your like only one making them. Struggles are real keep making them* At this point I'm on hold until PURREA Nothing but dead ends trying to get hours in small town Oregon
I'm on hold with you Travis. Been waiting on PAREA since March... nothing but waiting. I would agree that it has its place, but is way too popular at this point.
Im interested in this field but it still seems like a secret society that doesn't make it clear of what's really going on. You appear alot happier, are you overall happy with what your feeling not being a trainee anymore? Instant jump in income as expected? Endless opportunities and appraisals coming your way now that your fully licensed at the commercial level? Despite your excellent videos, it still seems hard to stay motivated to study and wanna move forward. Majority of the information out there all seems negative and filled with uncertainty, doom n gloom. Like being an appraiser is something in which your begging to appraise and hoping the field won't be taken down, begging to get the license and still unsure of what's to come. Begging for someone to teach you the skill. Am I not seeing or hearing this correctly? Anyone else feeling this way? I'm open for whatever thoughts or criticism. The only person I've seen that makes this field seem promising was the MSNBC special on the appraiser lifestyle. He speaks of the career and all the opportunities and high lifestyle.
@Coolguyallthetime2k I just met an appraiser finally that I befriended. She shows me her day to day grind. All she does is beg for appraisals, hopes and prays to WIN the magic appraisal amongst all the saturation of desperate and thirsty appraisal vultures that low ball to the nearest 200th on the residential side, creating all out Gangs of New York style wars for work. As of today (10/27/24), they seem to be wishing for the rainfall of opportunity as the market is terrible and appraisals have decreased like a famine of sorts. It may be worth it only going after the highest level, being the Certified General with the skill level to do commercial and every type of appraisal. The maker of this video knows this, hence why he just gives the basic information and doesn't want to create more competition at his level of the business.
@Coolguyallthetime2k it's worth going for the highest level with proceeded caution I gather. Don't put all your eggs in the basket. At worst, you'll learn a massive amount of things about real estate and have a cool side hustle. Cool thing is that you can sit for the real estate brokers exam after 2 years of being a FULL TIME appraiser from what I read and level up. I feel It's a win with this mindset based on the unknown. Just my thoughts as I go ahead and enter the valley of the shadow of lost Appraisal planets lol.
I'm switching from residential to commercial but also contemplating a completely different career. I think of people with little college doing 2 year training programs in other fields making $50/hour plus benefits and think appraisal is not worth it.
Agreed, commercial is quite a different market and approach to residential. Also that's awesome, personally I think that if you can find a different career path that's stable, competitive pay, favorable benefits, and you enjoy -- go for it.
How advanced would you say the math was? I'm comfortable with a lot of Algebra concepts. Do you think I would struggle with some of the advanced classes you mentioned? Is it a lot of converting from one measurement to another, or would you say the equations get quite complex?
I appreciate the video... but I dont feel as confident about the career choice anymore-after hearing you speak and "not speak" about your experience. If you had to do it all over again it doesn't seem as if you would. DANG now what am I going to do? Im definitely discouraged now. Thank you for your time and updating us on your journey and your experiences. KEEP POSTING!
Yeah, I don't blame you and you're reading between the lines correctly. If I had to do it all over, I probably would have invested five years doing something else.
I’ve only assisted in one or two appraisal in my entire career, and those were still narrative appraisal reports. Typically in only focus on commercial. Something similar to residential is that we appraise residential subdivision land development.
Hi Dave, I am Tom. Im licensed home inspector in Florida and looking also to become real estate appraiser. Need some advice before I decide to go ahead with it. Will you be willing to consult a little? Thanks
Do you enjoy being a home inspector in Florida? I’m actually looking to choose between this and being an appraiser. I have a feeling that the home inspector route is more stable income with less barrier to entry. I guess this is why some chose appraisals though, since becoming one is a bit more difficult so less job competition. Would love to hear your thoughts.
So, you already got disciplined from the state? Also, it looks like your supervisor screwed you by not training you correctly. Also, 5 years as a trainee? Wow. You got screwed. Business was slow for me too and I only did 12k a month as a residential appraiser this year. I'm a college drop out. 1.81gpa. Over 20 yrs in the business. Average yearly salary is about 175 to 200k a year.
@tamkayjoh Be the best in your field. Master the craft, know your self worthy, have solid repeatable service. Takes me like 5 to 6 appraisals to do 3k a week. Last two months, I've been doing 5 to 6k a week.
Thanks for the feedback, point taken! The original video was about an hour so I spent the entire evening cutting it down to a more tolerable length. Mostly what I cutted were pauses, stutters, "umms", and audible breathing.
David, really appreciate you making the video detailing your journey. I think some of us who’ve been around might be surprised at the long road it takes to make a solid income in the valuation space. Congrats on becoming a dad too-that’s huge!
Thank you for sharing as always! And CONGRATS on your license and the new family member!!🎉
Crazy how similar our career paths have been timeline wise. I just passed the exam last month. Still waiting to get my license info. We have a good looking future for sure. Congratulations fellow young appraiser!
Congratulations and thank you as well!
How long it took in total?
Five years to get my certified general. Typically folks take anywhere between three to five years.
Congrats David, that’s no small accomplishment! I can’t believe it took that long to get your application submitted with the state board. Mine took 6 months or so and I was getting extremely impatient then, I can’t imagine it taking over a year! Nonetheless, congratulations!
EDIT: also congrats on having a baby!
Thank you! A lot of lessons were learned so hopefully my story can help prevent others from making the same mistake and going through the long grueling process that I experienced.
Congratulations! As a father of a 2-year old and another one on the way (November) AND a commercial trainee - this gives me hope. I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel with only two classes left. I saved Report Writing and Finance/Statistics for the very end and will take some kind of review before I sit for the CG exam hopefully next year. I chose to take in-person courses with AI and really felt busy doing two classes a year with travel and expenses coming out of my own pocket. It's a very slow, expensive, and tedious process of working full-time as well as going through courses but I guess you have to start somewhere. I would be a liar if I said I haven't thought about going into a different career but I've made it this far and thankfully have stayed relatively steady through the slowdown.
None of these classes have been easy, but honestly, they're a walk in the park compared to that first three months of having a new baby in the house lol
Thank you! I remember taking those classes, not as bad as the income approach at least! These classes are not cheap at all, especially if you take into account the hotel and flight fees for in-person courses. But it pales in comparison compared to the bill from the hospital right after having a kid, lol!
Congratulations, David!🎉😊on so many beautiful gifts! It’s definitely a great and memorable year for you.
It’s very discouraging being a new trainee(working on my licensed classes currently sales comparison and income approaches) and hearing how slow it is. Been looking for a supervisor since December and no luck at all. Not even close. Glad to hear a success story. I’ll keep chugging along
I feel you. It's tough right now trying to find a supervisor. I wish you the best of luck.
MAI is "Member Appraisal Institute".
It has really been a roller-coaster in last couple of years for appraisal industry. Not sure when market will be back on track.
Though, I just want to say congratulations David!
Thank you! I'm not sure when the market will go back to the good times again but we'll just have to wait and see.
@@davidtranpdx Yes! September might be crucial. Fed supposed to cut rates which may ease up things a little bit.
Just passed my certified residential. The whole part about not putting complex reports in your log is true. The state came back to me with some questions but everything was good once explained.
Congratulations on passing your exam! Happy to hear that and that your experience with the state was smoother than mine.
Congratulations 🎉. I am a trainee licensed in DC and MD. However, can't find a supervisor and mentor. I know you are in a different state, but I would love if you could be a remote mentor? 😊. Just watching this video was so helpful and I would be so grateful for an occasional chat with you to help guide me forward through this process. I hope to hear from you. Trish
Videos are great, your like only one making them. Struggles are real keep making them*
At this point I'm on hold until PURREA
Nothing but dead ends trying to get hours in small town Oregon
Thank you! Sorry to hear that, hopefully PAREA will help reduce a lot of the existing bottlenecks in our industry.
I'm on hold with you Travis. Been waiting on PAREA since March... nothing but waiting. I would agree that it has its place, but is way too popular at this point.
Im interested in this field but it still seems like a secret society that doesn't make it clear of what's really going on. You appear alot happier, are you overall happy with what your feeling not being a trainee anymore? Instant jump in income as expected? Endless opportunities and appraisals coming your way now that your fully licensed at the commercial level? Despite your excellent videos, it still seems hard to stay motivated to study and wanna move forward. Majority of the information out there all seems negative and filled with uncertainty, doom n gloom. Like being an appraiser is something in which your begging to appraise and hoping the field won't be taken down, begging to get the license and still unsure of what's to come. Begging for someone to teach you the skill. Am I not seeing or hearing this correctly? Anyone else feeling this way? I'm open for whatever thoughts or criticism. The only person I've seen that makes this field seem promising was the MSNBC special on the appraiser lifestyle. He speaks of the career and all the opportunities and high lifestyle.
I agree with all your points. I’m feeling unsure about pursuing this for these reasons.
@Coolguyallthetime2k I just met an appraiser finally that I befriended. She shows me her day to day grind. All she does is beg for appraisals, hopes and prays to WIN the magic appraisal amongst all the saturation of desperate and thirsty appraisal vultures that low ball to the nearest 200th on the residential side, creating all out Gangs of New York style wars for work. As of today (10/27/24), they seem to be wishing for the rainfall of opportunity as the market is terrible and appraisals have decreased like a famine of sorts. It may be worth it only going after the highest level, being the Certified General with the skill level to do commercial and every type of appraisal. The maker of this video knows this, hence why he just gives the basic information and doesn't want to create more competition at his level of the business.
@Coolguyallthetime2k it's worth going for the highest level with proceeded caution I gather. Don't put all your eggs in the basket. At worst, you'll learn a massive amount of things about real estate and have a cool side hustle. Cool thing is that you can sit for the real estate brokers exam after 2 years of being a FULL TIME appraiser from what I read and level up. I feel It's a win with this mindset based on the unknown. Just my thoughts as I go ahead and enter the valley of the shadow of lost Appraisal planets lol.
@@majesticw7668 I really really appreciate your insight. Thanks so much for the feedback!
I'm switching from residential to commercial but also contemplating a completely different career. I think of people with little college doing 2 year training programs in other fields making $50/hour plus benefits and think appraisal is not worth it.
Agreed, commercial is quite a different market and approach to residential. Also that's awesome, personally I think that if you can find a different career path that's stable, competitive pay, favorable benefits, and you enjoy -- go for it.
How advanced would you say the math was? I'm comfortable with a lot of Algebra concepts. Do you think I would struggle with some of the advanced classes you mentioned? Is it a lot of converting from one measurement to another, or would you say the equations get quite complex?
That math isn't bad at all. If you do the practice problems in each course over and over again, you'll get it down.
I appreciate the video... but I dont feel as confident about the career choice anymore-after hearing you speak and "not speak" about your experience. If you had to do it all over again it doesn't seem as if you would. DANG now what am I going to do? Im definitely discouraged now. Thank you for your time and updating us on your journey and your experiences. KEEP POSTING!
Yeah, I don't blame you and you're reading between the lines correctly. If I had to do it all over, I probably would have invested five years doing something else.
Hey David ! I got few questions about appraisal . How can i contact you ? Thanks
Hi David, what do you think of getting a virtual assistant to help with entering comps or other tasks?
I think it's great. We have offshore support that assist with tasks such as entering comps and administrative tasks.
Do you ever do residential appraisals? Or at this point you only focus on commercial?
I’ve only assisted in one or two appraisal in my entire career, and those were still narrative appraisal reports. Typically in only focus on commercial. Something similar to residential is that we appraise residential subdivision land development.
Hi Dave, I am Tom. Im licensed home inspector in Florida and looking also to become real estate appraiser. Need some advice before I decide to go ahead with it. Will you be willing to consult a little? Thanks
Do you enjoy being a home inspector in Florida? I’m actually looking to choose between this and being an appraiser.
I have a feeling that the home inspector route is more stable income with less barrier to entry. I guess this is why some chose appraisals though, since becoming one is a bit more difficult so less job competition. Would love to hear your thoughts.
So now you will do your MAI?
@@JuanTiquila I’ll take the advanced courses but probably not for awhile until I get my hours.
@@davidtranpdx I wish you much success on your way. Keep us updated, I like your detailed videos
So, you already got disciplined from the state? Also, it looks like your supervisor screwed you by not training you correctly. Also, 5 years as a trainee? Wow. You got screwed. Business was slow for me too and I only did 12k a month as a residential appraiser this year. I'm a college drop out. 1.81gpa. Over 20 yrs in the business. Average yearly salary is about 175 to 200k a year.
What's your secret to being so successful? How many appraisals do you do per month to earn $12K?
@tamkayjoh Be the best in your field. Master the craft, know your self worthy, have solid repeatable service. Takes me like 5 to 6 appraisals to do 3k a week. Last two months, I've been doing 5 to 6k a week.
@@fookbia8875 Thanks so much!
Did you post this video in 1,25x ? It doesn’t feel natural lol.
Thanks for the feedback, point taken! The original video was about an hour so I spent the entire evening cutting it down to a more tolerable length. Mostly what I cutted were pauses, stutters, "umms", and audible breathing.
@@davidtranpdx Other than that I feel like it’s a mental game until we all make it in this profession lol. We don’t quit !!!
Absolutely true! It’s honestly brutal for newcomers entering this profession at this time.