After completing your appraisal pre-licensing courses, you’ll need to provide proof that you are working with a Certified General or Certified Residential Appraiser to act as your supervisory appraiser or appraiser mentor. Your supervisor’s role is to provide you with the hands-on training and knowledge you need to successfully work independently after completing the minimum experience hours required by your state.
Both you, the trainee, and the supervisor are required to sign all appraisal reports and submit them to your state’s licensing board prior to taking the National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examination.
How do I find a real estate appraiser supervisor?
Ideally, you’ll have a friend or family member who is a certified appraiser, and you can work with them to meet your experience hours. If that’s not the case, you can also check job boards, look for companies hiring trainee appraisers, or begin networking to connect with possible supervisors. Let’s dig a bit deeper to explore your options.
Contacting banks and real estate companies
Banks often have property appraisers on staff to determine the market value of a home or other property for new mortgages and refinancing properties. Real estate agencies, especially larger ones, may also accept trainee appraisers to work with the certified appraisers they have on staff. Consider reaching out to these companies to see if they have any openings or opportunities.
Checking job boards
Use LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, or Indeed to search “appraiser trainees.” If real estate companies, banks, or other organizations are hiring trainees, you may be able to secure a supervisor through them.
Consider commercial appraiser companies
While most people automatically think about residential properties, you may want to consider commercial real estate appraisal firms. The assignments are usually on a bigger scale and more complex, so they’re more likely to need people to complete research and field work which are exactly what a trainee appraiser needs.
An added bonus to working for a commercial real estate company is they may provide higher compensation than working for a sole proprietor appraiser or a residential real estate company.
Consider local government entities
City or county tax assessors perform may have a demand for appraisers including trainees, especially in high-growth areas where they need to assess all properties to determine the property tax.
Check the registry
If you want to meet local certified appraisers and contact them directly, search the National Registry of Appraisers on the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) website to search your state and county. From there, you may be able to see if any appraisers in your area are looking for trainees.
Branch out your options for finding a supervisory appraiser
In many states, you can work with more than one supervisory appraiser, which may be helpful to get a wider variety of hands-on experience as well as increase your income. Many smaller companies may not have the budget to take on a full-time trainee, so you may need to work with several to fulfill your experience requirement in a faster time frame while also earning more during this period.
Get ready to take the National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examination
Once you complete your state’s education and experience requirements, you can take the National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examination to become a Licensed Residential Appraiser or Certified Residential Appraiser. With our comprehensive exam prep materials, you’ll have the experience and confidence you need to tackle the exam.
Check out our appraiser exam prep solutions and find the right option to meet your career goals
