Maintaining Your Standards as a Mentor

The Appraisal Foundation recently announced that they are lowering their standards for appraisers to get their appraiser licenses. Prior to April 30, 2018, licensed general appraisers needed 2,000 hours of experience over the course of a minimum of twelve months. As of May 1, 2018, this has now essentially been cut in half. Potential appraisers now only need 1,000 hours of experience over the course of six months. The process for getting a certified general appraiser license has also been simplified from 2,500 hours over the course of twenty-four months to 1,500 hours in a twelve-month time frame.

 

Additionally, it is now possible to get a license without a four-year degree. Although slightly harder, it is also possible to get a certification without a four-year degree if one practices under a general license for at least five years without any disciplinary actions being taken against them.

 

From what I’ve noticed from the appraisal circles I follow online, the appraisal world is somewhat upset over this new standard. Many are arguing that it is lowering our profession and enabling unqualified appraisers to enter the field. Additionally, because it is now easier to become licensed, it stands to reason that more individuals will seek to become appraisers which will increase the competition for current appraisers. While I think these arguments are both valid, I see things a little differently.

 

The requirements to become an appraiser are no less than what your appraiser mentor requires. This means that as a mentor, you choose what you sign off on, and you choose what kind of appraisers you train. You don’t necessarily have to adopt these standards. I personally find an arbitrary minimum number of hours required to be somewhat foolish. It will take less time for some individuals to be trained than it will for others and vice versa. However, you decide when your trainees are ready to enter the field as valuation experts, so I would encourage you to maintain your standards as a mentor even though the standards have been lowered for the profession as a whole.

For more information on this subject, please download and listen to The Appraiser Coach Podcast Episode: 305 Lower Standards for Becoming an Appraiser

10 thoughts on “Maintaining Your Standards as a Mentor”

  1. I am 39 years old and just began working for my dad a little less than 2 years ago as a trainee appraiser. I was a paralegal and office manager for 17 years prior to that. My dad has been in the business for almost 20 years, prior to that my grandparents owned the appraisal business for 30+ years. My grandfather was one of the first 50 appraisers in the State of Missouri. NONE of them had any college education, nor were they required to. I would imagine the majority of residential appraisers around this area that are between the ages of 40-65 do not have a college education.

    I agree that the standard should be far more stringent than 20+ years ago, however, requiring a person to have a Bachelor degree, but not having a requirement that it be in a particular subject or set of core classes to better themselves in the appraiser profession, did not do the profession or the individual appraiser any justice.

    I am graduating tomorrow and the recession was discussed in both of my accounting classes, both history classes, all 3 business classes and my humanities class. I believe that anyone over the age of 30 trying to get into the profession, lived through the recession and would not purposely over value homes. None of the college education I received assisted me in the appraisal business. My experience with buying and selling houses and growing up with a family of appraisers, realtors, house flippers, landlords is where I gained the most knowledge.

    Due the overwhelming number of baby boomers in the profession and the fact that they will be retiring within the next 5 years, means we need more persons entering the profession. I believe the statistics state that is around 25% of appraisers.

    We still have the biggest feat in my opinion and that is for trainees to find a supervisor to work under. In the area where I live, there are not any large appraisal companies, the majority of appraisers are sole proprietors or family owned businesses. Had it not been for my dad being an appraiser, I do not believe I would have had the opportunity to be in this business, which I love.

  2. You are completely off base. I have been appraising for 32 years and in business and training the next generation for 25 years. People are not going to accept a longer training period then what is set by the AMC puppets at the AQB. When it gets to the end of the mandated period they will simply quit, and turn their log in without your signature, it’s that simple.

    Not one single person on the AQB was a full time residential fee appraiser and none of them had a trainee, they are clueless. Over half of the comments were against this, but they simply don’t care.

    How is this in the best interest for the public?

    There is simply no way that this next under trained generation will be ready. There is NO national appraiser shortage. This B.S. only help the AMC and hurts the industry, the American and world economy. They have learned nothing or they simply don’t care

  3. YOU DO NOT NEED A BACHELORS DEGREE TO BE A RESIDENTIAL APPRAISER. AN AA DEGREE WOULD BE ALL YOU NEED. LENDERS WANT TO ELIMINATE APPRAISALS IF THEY CAN. SO WHY WOULD ANYONE GET A BACHELORS DEGREE TO DO THE SHORT DESK TOP APPRAISALS THAT ARE NOW BEING PUSHED I DO HAVE A BACHELORS DEGREE WHICH I GOT IN 1976 BEFORE I EVEN THOUGHT OF BECOMING AN APPRAISER. THE PENDULUM IS SWINGING AGAINST APPRAISERS AT THE PRESENT TIME. IT WILL SWING BACK WHEN THE LENDERS CRASH & BURN AGAIN. THEY WOULD LOAN DOUBLE THE VALUE OF A PROPERTY AS LONG AS THEY GET THEIR COMMISSION THEY DO NOT CARE AT ALL. THEN THEY WILL ONCE AGAIN BLAME THE APPRAISERS AS THEY DID IN 2007 THE PUBLIC WILL BELIEVE IT AGAIN. RIGHT NOW THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF APPRAISERS. BUT WITH RATES INCREASING THE WORK LOAD IS DROPPING. WHEN IT SWING BACK THE $200 THEY ARE OFFERING WILL INCREASE TO $500 BECAUSE WE WILL BE ABLE TO GET IT IF WE CAN STAY IN BUSINESS LONG ENOUGH

  4. Patrick L. Millard

    I know that great, but in Michigan, the state has to change the law first before any of the new standards can take affect. Per the licensing department that can take up to two years.

  5. I am a mentor and I do not agree with the lowered hours. All appraisers need to go through a few different cycles of economy to truly understand how to handle the work necessary. Lowering the hours requirement satisfies the AMC’s will have a full crop of “skippies” to do their bidding. I think if I were able to post the conversations I’ve had interviewing potential trainees they would step back and quickly. The reasons many of these trainees are coming into the business are frightening. The most common one is from a few Realtors who said someone has to “make the value” Not kidding. There is no shortage of appraisers in Arizona, just a shortage of appraisers willing to work for minimum wage and be responsible for the work necessary.

    1. The one and only Mr. Bill Johnson

      Try working in San Diego county Francy where there are OVER 900 licensed appraisers (all within 20 miles of me). Going out a few hundred miles, and the number of licensed appraisers increases to OVER 5,000. Many entire states (Idaho), have less of an appraiser population compared to WITHIN 10 MILES OF ME. Be sure to vet ones experience, before taking guidance.

      Seek the truth.

  6. Pingback: Maintaining Your Standards as a Mentor - Appraisal Buzz

  7. I don’t think lenders or AMC’s care about experience levels in the appraisers used. All they i.e. AMC’s want is the signature of a licensed appraiser on the report to get the job done. Furthermore the greater the pool of licensed appraisers they can draw from the more likely it is they will find someone who will do the job for the outrageously low fees being offered now. So its no surprise that whatever changes to the licensing system the AQB can push through which will result in the increasing the pool of appraisers will be done and is being done. AG

  8. A few years ago they increased the requirements, supposedly to improve the profession. This included requiring a degree. Now they want to lower required hours of training/experience. In my view the experience and training are much more valuable to produce a qualified and professional appraiser.

  9. The one and only Mr. Bill Johnson

    With big brother government monitoring residential loans, and thus individual appraisers by way of UAD forms, and their required portals, the question becomes, not how do we get more appraisers to the market (lowering standards), but why are only 40,000 of 80,000 current licensed appraisers participating under the current environment? Ignoring the real issues (C&R pay, scope creep, CU, AND AMC’s), by lowering entry standards (increase supply) is not a solution to the problem.

    Seek the truth.

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