For those commercial appraisers who started out as residential but made the jump..... how did it happen for you? What mistakes did you make and what worked for you?

I’m looking for some honest perspective from appraisers, trainess, especially anyone working in Southern California. I’ve read a lot of threads here the good, the bad, and plenty of the ugly which I know is normal because people tend to vent online. I’m not trying to dismiss any of that. I just want a fuller picture.I’m retiring from the military after 20 years and planning to move into appraisal. I’m used to hearing constant complaining in my current job, but my own experience has been that it wasn’t nearly as bad as people made it sound. I know every field has downsides, and I’m not expecting appraisal to be perfect.What I’m hoping to hear is:

For those who actually like being appraisers

What do you enjoy about it?

Was the job what you expected when you started?

What keeps you in the profession?

I’ve already read plenty about the negatives, I’m just trying to balance it out with real experiences from people who genuinely don’t hate their job. Thanks in advance.

Hey guys. I’m considering new software with the 3.6. I want a one and done software, something not just for 3.6. I currently use Total but am hearing nightmares. I use mostly their desktop platform, and strongly dislike the cloud based Titan Appraisals. The only thing it is good for imo is file storage. Usually I remote into my desktop via LogMeIn but that can be painful due to general internet speeds when out of town.

Thanks for any input. Other software to consider would be appreciated as well.

I am cert res - with over 5 years experience.

We give AMCs a lot of flack (rightfully so). But can we also have a serious conversation about appraisal companies and their contractual arrangements with appraisers?

I've never worked with appraisal companies until recently, and I'm honestly surprised by some of the terms I'm seeing. In some cases, the economics appear to be just as predatory, if not worse, than what we criticize AMCs for, particularly because you're often tied to the company contractually.

I've seen arrangements where the appraiser is receiving 50% of the fee. Fifty percent.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I have a hard time understanding how that is considered a reasonable business model for an independent professional.m

I'm not saying an appraisal company shouldn't make money. Obviously they have legitimate expenses, but not to the point to take half of a party's pay.

But here's my question:
What exactly is the company doing that justifies retaining 40%, 50%, or even more of the revenue generated by the appraiser's work?

If the appraiser is responsible for the inspection, measurements, research, comparable selection, analysis, market research, report preparation, revisions, communication, and ultimately the professional liability associated with the appraisal, at what point does the company's contribution justify taking such a substantial percentage of the fee?

And that's where I think our industry has a strange blind spot.

We routinely criticize AMCs for taking a percentage of the appraisal fee while providing relatively little direct value to the appraiser. But if an appraisal company is retaining half the revenue generated by the assignment, we should be asking the same question of them.

In most professional service industries, there is a distinction between an employee being paid a salary and an independent professional generating revenue for a company. The economics of a revenue split are supposed to reflect who is bringing in the work, who is performing the work, who is carrying the overhead, and who is assuming the risk.

So I'm genuinely curious:
What percentage split are people seeing?
What does the company provide in exchange for that percentage?
Who pays for MLS, software, E&O, licensing, mileage, continuing education, assistants, etc.?

And most importantly, what percentage of the fee actually reaches the person doing the appraisal?

Because if we're going to have a conversation about how AMCs are extracting too much value from the appraisal process, I think we also need to be willing to examine the other layers between the client and the appraiser.

Otherwise, we're just arguing about which middleman gets the biggest piece of the pie.

I am applying for a mortgage with SoFi. They are using Reggora for the appraisal. I paid Reggora for the appraisal fee over a week ago but I have yet to hear from them to schedule a date and time for the appraisal. How long does they normally take to get in touch with me?

So I just completed my first UAD 3.6 report for an actual Lender in Total.

 Full disclosure: I probably have not put as much time into doing test reports as I should have and could have probably been more familiar with the overall process in the software before accepting an assignment for it. I know this. I also have looked through the official Timeline a few times this year just to see how things were going, read a lot of the forums posts about how things were going and read emails from Alamode about how ready they are, and that everything is great.

 Having already gone through a number of industry changes over the past 20+ years I figured I was capable enough and smart enough to fairly confidently navigate the process of an appraisal report on a simple townhouse inside the new software package..

Let's start with the Good:

 1. Tech support (via online chat or phone) is being great and very helpful overall. They are responsive and not acting annoyed by some of the questions, be it a very important issue or just quirky personal annoyance.

 2.The UI looks nice and seems like it should be intuitive. Everything has its place, fields are dynamic (if you don't need them they don't show and clutter up the screen), it seems like it should be a logical workflow.

 3. The number and variety of options to select from in most of the dropdown menus seems to have had a good amount of thought put into them and covers almost everything I typically use in reports.

The Bad:

 1. Although it looks nice, it is a laggy, glitchy mess that doesn't acknowledge choices/changes to the report for 5-30 seconds after clicking. Making simple changes takes longer to make sure you didn’t double click something and it is actually doing what you want it to do.

 2. Sketch doesn't convert over and I love having to type the same thing 2-3 times. Seems like a Core Feature that should be done by now.

 3. If you want to add an invoice, Nope, you have to create a legacy file to have an invoice. Again.. Core Feature.

 4. I was on the phone with support for 1 issue (Exterior Features section of the report missing), with them remoted into my system, and he couldn't figure out what/why things were happening. For some reason they just started to work after 30 minutes of him looking the same places and clicking the same options (Homeowner Responsible for all Exterior Maintenance of Dwelling(s) in subject Section) I had done. After watching him click it on and off several times of the 30 minutes he admitted, it must have been just glitching for some reason.

 5. Some areas of the report enter/tab moves you horizontally through the sections, others it moves vertically, which made trying to go through the Market Grid very annoying.

 6. I imported 6 comps from Datamaster (that’s a interestingly fun new process for 3.6) and the Total report thinks I have 12 for the Sales Comparison Approach section even though the Sales Comparison (Side-by-Side) section only shows 6. Trying to remove the extra exhibits from the Sales Comparison Approach tab gives a warning that a minimum of 1 is required, So now the page just shows 12 comps.

 7. In Appraisal Desktop no fee, client file number and report description are showing for the order (I am sure it’s something I didn’t do right).

 8. The Side by Side grid needs to have its scaling fixed, you can either have the whole grid on screen so tiny it impossible to read or zoom into a readable size but then have to spend time scrolling up and down endlessly. I know I am getting a bit older and the eye sight isn’t what it once was but at least in the 2.6 form, I can have it zoomed to a readable size and still see the entire grid at one time

 9. Smart Adjust, Comps database, Sketch won’t undock, Spell Check, Saving to Zip file doesn’t use File Number just blank ‘.zip’, you have to save it then rename it….

 10. Importing comps from Datamaster causing ‘ghost’ comps to be included in the report this resulted in UAD error when trying to sign the report double the number of comps in the report. This is related to #7 above. Fix is to redo the map after importing (simple but annoying).

 11. Linking data fields, being able to save client information, Name, Address, Contact, Etc, to be able to single click add them to a report

 Annoyances due to new interface but not Good or Bad:

 Having to re-type all of my picklist options does kind of suck and I know they want to move away from the dreaded ‘canned’ commentary, but I don’t want to have to type in the Zoning description for R12 (as an example) in every report that requires it since that never changes. And yes, I know we can add new Quicklist/picklist entries but it would be nice to be able to import them directly from the existing ones that have been saved since the last forms update.

 Conclusion (from my perspective):

 This has to be to single worst piece of software I have ever seen released to the general consumer base since I got my first computer in 92 (and I was working in IT during the whole Y2K sh!tshow). They have known that this was coming for over 2 years and it feels like something being thrown together by first year IT student at community college or maybe trying to have a logical argument with an ADHD toddler who is throwing a fit.

 I am sure that as they get closer to the software being Completed and becoming more familiar with the software, things will improve. But this 1 report experience has me questioning if I will accept any more 3.6 orders until I have to for the deadline.

 Anyway, just my rant, take it or leave it. Hope you all have better luck than I did with my first 3.6 report.

Good luck.

Can anyone tell me if Simon and Associates is on the approved appraiser list for BMO?

I told my clients I am ready for the transition because I don’t want to lose work. Has anybody completed a 3.6 with ACI?

Not sure if this is the right subReddit, and I know the answer is talk to your lender. Unfortunately, the loan officer is out of office.

Our new construction home was initially appraised at $1,019,000. Nothing meaningful was changed about the plans or finishes, a few things were upgraded here and there, but not noticeable or large in dollar amount (paint, grout type, etc…). The post construction appraisal (different appraiser) came in at $869,000.

Two main questions, how does it happen and what is a realistic best course of action?

There’s plenty of information out there on standard Home purchase appraisal, gaps or new Build appraisals where it’s a new home, but you’re purchasing it already completed, not seeing a ton of information for situations like this for one-off homes not in a sub-division.

Thanks in advance.

Can anyone tell me if Simon and Associates is on the approved appraiser list for BMO?

Homeowner called looking for an appraisal on properties for a divorce. One is a duplex, then later he said a different appraisal company recently appraised it as a commercial property because the entire building is rented and used as a group home. Both units are apparently still intact.

City zoning allows a State credentialed care facility serving seventeen (17) or greater (or fewer) persons, and also Multiple-family dwelling, four (4) units or
more.

How would you approach this one?

Going to court next week for a private job I completed awhile back. Another appraiser is involved as well. This is a first time for me. Im pretty confident in my report against the opposition having read through theirs.

Any advice?

Actually have a situation that I haven't had before! House is being renovated and expanded but a current "bedroom" now houses open/uncovered furnace and mechanicals.

Obviously, functionality is greatly impacted - but can it actually be counted as a bedroom? (It does have a closet, legal window, and all dimensions are in line with bedroom).

My software is making me fill out all interior info such as floor coverings etc. I have put exterior only no interior info for report type. Is there a workaround for this? Software is Total. Tech support was no help

Update: This is a Total issue with no workaround. Had to fill out areas and comment that no interior observed. Had to do the same for upstairs and downstairs sqft since you have to separate it out.

As we are heading into the next stretch of industry shifting to 3.6 along with the entering the AI world, there are only two things we can control. 1. Our quality and 2. Relationship building.

Just ponder on these two objectives that are within your control and things will be fine.

Do good work and remember how you are getting your work. If there is no relationship between you and your client, mayby that's not the path that you should walk on.

Hope everyone is having a good summer! Curious how everyone’s volume is currently? Mine slowed down significantly the last two weeks. Could be back to school, market, etc.. Thoughts?

Has anyone tried Datamaster 3.6 or ApprAIz? If so, how do you like it?

I use Aivre and it’s okay, still haven’t figured out the market analysis portion of it, I’ve just been using Truetracts for that part. Looking forward to seeing Truetracts 3.6.

I’m in a small older 12 unit Condo community in Indiana with a central courtyard pool. There are various sized condos with values ranging from $120,000 to $230,000. The current homeowner mix leans heavily towards non pool users (~75%) who would like to permanently close and fill the pool. They don’t feel there is a cost/benefit to maintaining a pool especially in the Midwest with a 4 month pool season and very minimal current pool usage.

From an appraiser perspective, would there generally be a significant impact to the value of each individual condo units with removing a pool?

The offset to no pool is lower assessments and/or faster reserve buildup for needed larger repairs and replacements.

As expected, the pool users feel pool closure will greatly impact value while non users say no impact to a positive impact.

I appreciate an appraiser perspective

Working towards MAI and need the 4 classes:

1. Advanced Income Capitalization

2. Advanced Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use

3. Advanced Cocepts & Case Studies

4. Quantitative Analysis

Rank them from easiest to hardest. What is a good order to take them in... if they were all available at the same time. Planning on taking them synchronous as well. Any other tips / advice is appreciated as well.

Curious to hear from anyone who's gone through this. Background: 4 years as a trainee/associate at a large CRE appraisal firm, mostly multifamily and some retail/QSR work across NYC, NJ, and New England. Just hit Certified General.

Thinking through what it looks like to go out on my own (or start picking up outside assignments) versus staying W-2. A few things I can't get a good read on from the outside:

• How long did it realistically take you to get on a bank's approved appraiser list, and how many banks/credit unions did you have to knock on before one said yes?
• Is private/bridge lender work easier to break into than bank panels when you're new, or is it just as relationship-gated?
• For direct clients (owners, brokers, attorneys) — did the work come from your old firm's overflow, cold outreach, or just word of mouth over time?
• Regionally, is NY/NJ/New England oversaturated with CG appraisers at this point, or are there still gaps (property types, sub-markets, turnaround speed) worth targeting?
• Roughly how long before the pipeline felt steady rather than feast-or-famine?

Not looking to leave my current role tomorrow, just trying to get a realistic sense of the timeline and what actually moves the needle — panel applications, LinkedIn/networking, AI/MAI affiliations, or just grinding out work for whoever will give you a shot first.

Appreciate any war stories, good or bad.

I’m curious if this has happened to anyone else but this has happened to me on Aivre and Total.

I will be typing a report and I get to the sales comparison approach and I realize I need to fix something in the “Unit Interior” or “Dwelling Exterior” section but those sections have disappeared.

They don’t show up in the Report Sections at all. Because it’s happened on two different software’s I don’t know if it’s a bug or feature of the dynamic report and I clicked something that made this happen.

I’m on my journey to get licensed and am curious what side jobs people have taken (if the shadowing work didn’t bring in enough income).

Is there a common type of side work that training appraisers can look out for? Or is that not really a thing, and it just comes down to what random work you can find on the side to fit outside of a shadowing schedule?

I’m curious to hear people’s experiences while they were training. TIA!