r/appraisal

Can someone please decipher the following comment in a listing? "Solar Panels $228 a month for 20 years (owned)." I interpret this to mean there is a large loan on them, therefore they are not "owned" and I should not assign them any value, correct?

I hate, hate when you spend hours on a report. Take your time reviewing comps, figuring out adjustments, and end up using 6 comps because everything actually fits and brackets well.
Then a reviewer comes in with 4 random comps like “why didn’t you use this one, this one, or this one?”😡😡😡😡

I am doing an appraisal where the owner is insisting that garage be included in the GLA because it is heated. Garage is finished but still a functioning garage with overhead doors. The owner called me and wants me to use larger comps in my report. I told the owner that I couldn’t respond to their request directly but ask the bank to submit a ROV and I will give a formal response. To try and fend off the ROV I stated that my response would be that per guidelines, the heated garage would not be included in the GLA and would not change my report. She then texts me a message from the LO that the bank is not allowed to talk to me and that she needs to submit the ROV directly to me. I told the owner that is not how it works and the bank would submit the ROV to the AMC, the AMC would submit it to me and I would do a formal response. So a week goes by and yesterday I get an email from the AMC with one comp attached and the message “the bank wanted me to send this to you”. I know what this is about, but I am playing dumb at this point. I respond to the email and tell them my report is complete, I don’t know why you are sending me this. The response was “please put it in your report” nothing else. I responded and said please call me so we can discuss. I haven’t heard anything yet, but I feel like this incompetence is ridiculous and wonder why am I spending my time educating them on how to create more work for me.

Residential high rise condo. Colorado. Refi, no cash out. Not a new build.

I’m getting the runaround so far. I am baffled. The appraiser listed 2 bedrooms instead of 3, and I have no idea where they got their square footage number (lower than actual). So those two items of course are causing an inaccurate low appraised value.

I pointed out that it’s public information on the county site that they can independently verify. Nothing.

I am just dumbfounded that this wasn’t met with “We’ll get that corrected” rather than getting passed around and now ignored.

Thoughts? Experiences? I’m at a loss.

Edit to add: I expected this post to get zero comments lol. Surprised at the volume and some of the negative/harsh comments. Either way, tried to provide explanatory comments that could’ve been better included in my original post. Not here to argue (it probably appears that way right now). Just frustrated, and I’m apparently doing a piss poor job explaining the circumstances here.

Edit 2: The appraiser was onsite for 5 minutes, was present with her the entire time. No measuring was apparent, just took iPhone photos of the unit.

Edit 3: I forgot to mention, they also overstated our HOA dues by $600. Not that that impacts much of anything, but an example of the “weirdness” of this appraisal.

Edit 4: Was apparently a “property data collector”

Hey everyone :)

I’m considering studying real estate appraisal and wanted to ask people in the field if you would recommend this career today.

Is it worth it in the long term? How stressful is the job, and what are the main pros and cons? Also, how difficult is it to get licensed and build a stable career?

Would you recommend this profession to someone starting from scratch?

Thanks for any honest advice!

Litigation appraisers, how did you get into it ? How lucrative is being an expert witness for court cases ?

For context I’m in my mid 20s and have been working in the field for about 5 years. I currently work for a smaller private company (all commercial) and it’s a 50% fee split, probably averaging out to about 80-100k per year. I have an opportunity to work for the city where my starting salary would be about 100k and it’s partly remote which is nice. Is it worth going to the city for the pension or do I stay private and eventually try and become partner?

Looking for any advice here.

Thanks

How do I “reverse engineer” what the appraiser deemed the value of the home? I assume it was a mostly mathematical determination of the value based on the comps? Or is there a lot of opinion involved?

I thought it was a weighted function of the adjustments but I could never get my math to add up. For example, comp 1 is the closest “gross” to the home so it would hold more weight than the other 2. He didn’t show any math or weighting on the report as to how he determined it.

Either way, for rough numbers for easy math, here is what he determined. Can anybody give me an idea how the value was derived from this?

Home value $100
Comp 1: $146, 1.3% net, 9.1% gross
Comp 2: $101, 4.6% net, 16.3% gross
Comp 3: $92, 0.1% net, 14.2%

Hi! I’m considering a career change and thinking of becoming an appraiser in California (SF Bay Area/Sac).

Both my parents are Certified Appraisers— first in Ohio, and now in Florida where they currently live. They work for themselves under their own company. In Ohio as a teenager I’d ride around with them on appraisals while they inspected foreclosures (very common in Ohio due to poverty), and I used to love walking around the empty houses with them and helping them do inspections. Now in Florida they’re doing less foreclosures but still focused on residential properties rather than commercial.

But surprisingly, they don’t think it’s a good idea for me to become an appraiser, even though it allowed them to climb out of poverty themselves (they also started it as a career change in their 30s/40s).

They keep saying “With California homes being so expensive, you’re more likely to be sued if someone doesn’t agree with the valuation of their home, and California doesn’t protect appraisers like Ohio and Florida does. Plus, you need a college degree now (this wasn’t required when they became appraisers) so you’ll have to invest a lot of time and money before you can even work and make a decent wage from it. And, it’s so hard to find someone to supervise you, even out here it’s hard to find appraisers who are taking apprentices and trainees. If we were appraisers in California we could take you on, but we’re not and we don’t want to be. We hear so many horror stories from appraisers who worked in California and they all say they would never go back.”

My question is: is it really that stressful being an appraiser in California compared to other states? Is it truly that difficult to get started and find someone to take me on as a trainee? I appreciate any feedback anyone has for me! ❤️

hello. I am past burnout so this post is going to wreak of cynicism.. I'm an Mai. I've been in this field 22 years. I make $135,000 a year and I work anywhere between 50 to 80 hours a week. every vacation I've ever tried to schedule has been a nightmare where I have to work 80 hours the week before and 80 hours after to go on the vacation. I do have some 40-hour work weeks but they are getting fewer and far between .My benefits suck and just got cut back. most people I know in corporate America who've been in their fields, as long as I have make significantly more money and have much better benefits. I work in an office where I'm basically making money for the person above me who works 40 hours a week and is never stressed out. I am done with being a fee appraiser.

Being a review appraiser seems completely boring to me, and most I've come in contact with seem to be in that position because they could never survive as an actual appraiser. (Don't get me wrong. there are some excellent reviewers out there ) I would like to know of other jobs in this industry where I won't lose my entire history of experience in the transition. I called the appraisal institute today and they are basically clueless on The variety of careers that their members have. I'm at a point where I believe that I have wasted my life in one of the worst fields that anyone could go into. I spend my days answering emails from Bank clients who don't understand the first thing about appraisal. can't review reports, and can't even email or read attachments correctly. All I care about at this point in my life is a work-life balance and being able to take a vacation. I'm willing to take a 30% pay cut to do anything besides work 12 to 15 hours a day while I'm receiving 200 emails a day trying to wrap up reports. Right now I'm focused on looking up career counseling, but the main reason I've stuck with this for so long is because I don't know what else to do. I'm sure you've had a much better or different experience than me as a fee appraiser. I'm not interested in hearing about that. I want out a fee appraisal work and I want to know what you do if it's something else .

edit.... this post has been up for approximately 1 hour and those of you who've taken the time to comment have helped me so much and have given me a sense of hope. I don't know who gave me the impression that government jobs did not pay a living wage, but I'm so glad that is not the case. I also had no idea that review appraisers could make significantly more than six figures. Thank you so much for your input!!!!!!!

State boards require a certain number of CE hours between license renewals. Most online courses are 7 hours, but can be completed in significantly less time than that.

Has anyone ever gotten pushback from their board about the "actual" hours, or does completing a course billed as 7 hours in 4 hours suffice?

Private appraisal for family sale. Last MLS sale shows the area is an enclosed porch behind the dining area and kitchen (12’x20’) separated by a sliding glass door. Paneling on three walls and vinyl siding on the fourth wall, which is the rear wall of the house, kitchen window looks into the EP; open joists ceiling, carpeted floor, no ductwork, insulation level unknown.

Fast forward 15 years and the ceiling has been drywalled and the sliding glass door removed and an existing heat duct on the floor a few inches from where the sliding door was in the dining area back wall is the only heat/cool source to that 12’x20’ space. Insulation level still unknown.

Homeowner says that duct sufficiently heats/cools the EP which is now being used as a family room/kids play room, which is a questionable claim IMO. 20 degree winter days and 90 degree summer days can be common in my midwest state. Strictly following ANSI, I plan to call it an enclosed porch and expect homeowner pushback. ANSI also says it must be finished in a similar manner to rest of the house, which is debatable. Paneling is acceptable, per ANSI, and so is vinyl on the walls but can I interpret that as including exterior vinyl siding being an acceptable interior wall covering? The rest of the house is recently updated…new paint, new LVP, remodeled kitchen. It’s very nice, in contrast with this room.

I believe I know the answer here, but I’m looking for further ammunition to dispute the expected pushback and would appreciate any helpful input. I also don’t have enough data to say, one way or another, if the market would view this space as equal, temperature wise, to the rest of the house. In the spring and fall, maybe; harsh summer or winter, likely not. I say this assuming most buyers are unaware of our ductwork requirement saying the duct needs to be in the room and not just “near” it.

The entire room is also on 4 x 4 beams, 18 inches off the ground, with no footer or even skirting to enclose it to make it appear as if it’s over a crawl space, which further makes it look like an enclosed porch from the exterior.

So after averaging 5-8 assignments per week for over 3 years with UWM, all of a sudden I haven't been awarded an order after 25 straight bids and going on 12+ days. I spoke with someone there and they tell me my score is great with no red flags on my profile. For information purposes, I have never submitted a report late and only occasionally get a revision request.

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar with this company.

I currently live in a condo complex and will be putting my home up for sale in the next few weeks. My complex is relatively small so the comps inside the actual complex are few and far between, the last sold was in January 2026 ($152,000) and October 2025 ($149,900) Another resident did just list their condo for sale today ($148,000), but I don’t know that it would actually be sold by the time we are hopefully under contract.

The realtor i’m working with wants to list at $165,000, but anticipates it’s likely it will sell / appraise for $160,000 - $162,000 given recent comps inside the complex. I’m trying to wrap my brain around how much interior quality and condition get taken into an account when an appraiser is determining value. My condo is significantly more updated than those that have sold. The others that have sold look like they haven’t been updated in 30+ years where i’ve redone the entire kitchen, new front and storm door, new electrical panel, new hot water heater, etc. but i’m concerned how these will affect my appraisal value. Will I be “penalized” by an appraiser for having a nicer, more updated interior compared to others that have sold recently? They are all the same size and layout so I understand there’s not much they can do about that, but how much will the quality and condition of the interior come into play when an appraiser is determining the value?

I’m appraising an owner-occupied vet clinic in So. Cal. The comps that have sold in the last two years within a 15-mile radius are very limited (2 or 3 at best). Would you expand the radius, go further back, or do something different? The property is in escrow so I need to make sure my conclusion is tight.

I am inky looking for sale comps and don’t need to provide the Income Approach. Thank you in advance!