Your Guide to an Appraisal License Upgrade

Your Guide to an Appraisal License Upgrade

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Introduction

As of December 31, 2018, only 42% of the 78,000 statecredentialed appraisers in the United States were certified general appraisers. This special group of appraisers, sometimes referred to as commercial appraisers, enjoy more stable fees, a higher income and more choices for the assignments they decide to take on.

If you're tired of appraising simple properties or are looking for more complex assignments with more income potential, upgrading your appraisal license could take your career to the next level. An upgrade can give you a much-needed advantage in the local market in addition to offering greater control over your fees and more stability in your work.

Breakdown of Appraisal License Levels

8%

? Certified Residential

? Certified General

? Licensed

50% 42%

Source: Appraisal Institute December 2019 Fact Sheet

Section 1 An appraiser's career path

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Section 2 Top reasons to upgrade your appraisal license

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Section 3 How to upgrade your appraisal license

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Section 4 Self-evaluation

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Section 5 Resources and helpful info

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Section 1: An appraiser's career path

Once you have your appraisal qualifying education and trainee hours under your belt, you'll want to consider which license level is right for you. Each level requires you to develop new skills that allow you to appraise different types of properties. You don't have to follow a linear progression to upgrade. In fact, you can choose to upgrade from trainee directly to certified general, or upgrade incrementally to each license level. It's really up to you.

Section 1: An appraiser's career path

Choose the path that's right for you

Trainee

Licensed Appraiser

Certified Residential

Certified General

Fast track your career to the next level! With the Appraisal Licensing Unlimited Learning Subscription, you'll get access to over 300+ hours of online qualifying education courses for 12 months. Visit appraisal/subscription to learn more!

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Section 2: Top reasons to upgrade your appraisal license

Since 1990 we've helped over 15,000 appraisers upgrade their appraisal license. Along the way they shared why they chose to upgrade. Here are some of the top reasons:

1. Earn more

Each appraisal license level you upgrade, you'll usually see your earnings increase. In 2019, certified general appraisers' average salary was 22% more than certified residential appraisers' average salary.

Certified Residential Appraiser

Certified General Appraiser

Average Salary

$71,667

$87,685

Source: McKissock 2020-2021 Appraisal Income Guide

Did you know?

75% of certified general appraisers earned more in 2019 than they did in the previous year.

Section 2: Top reasons to upgrade your appraisal license

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Spotlight: David Wimpelberg, president of Peconic County Appraisal Service

"I work in the Hamptons, so I appraise a lot of higher-value residential properties that bring in good fees--but if your business is mainly cookie-cutter residential, getting a certified general license can represent a substantial boost in your income and an expansion of your base," says David Wimpelberg. "A lender might be looking at an investment that involves multiple properties, or a mix of residential and commercial, and might handle the transaction through its commercial lending department--which would naturally assign the

job to a general appraiser. The fees that come through the commercial department may be higher than you'd get from the residential department, and you'll have a chance at assignments you wouldn't even have known about otherwise. Recently a lender's commercial department needed a portfolio of residential properties appraised, so they sent me 14 appraisal orders that I would never have seen if I'd been a Residential Appraiser."

David Wimpelberg, president of Peconic County Appraisal Service (Mastic Beach, New York), specializes in the five eastern towns in Suffolk County, i.e., the eastern portion of Long Island. He says that in his market, the mixture of high-end residential, land, and commercial property favors the certified general appraiser, and notes that he has found many more opportunities to obtain assignments since he obtained that license.

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