Become a New York Home Appraiser
Becoming a licensed home appraiser in New York may be just the career path to change your life!
The real estate industry offers a wide breadth of interesting professions you can explore for your future career choice. One important and lucrative specialty is the state licensed home appraiser. The sharp technical and comprehensive writing ability of a reliable, licensed and professional home appraiser is instrumental (and required) in any financed real estate transaction. When the value of any property needs to be established, the home appraiser can provide the unbiased information necessary to determine a valuation. This is used to determine the amount of a loan that can be given on a residential or business property.
What Does a Home Appraiser Do?
Listing prices of real estate in New York, and elsewhere, are set by the owner and their agent. Did you know the lender or bank does not accept that listing price as a valid number to obtain a mortgage? Even if the buyer wants to offer a higher dollar amount for a property, if there is a loan involved, the sale cannot be approved by the bank unless a professional real estate appraiser agrees that the property is worth the offer price. That’s right. The appraiser – not the buyer, seller or agent – determines the actual fair market value of the property and the bank will not approve a loan if the appraiser says the valuation range is actually lower than the price on the table. Also, a home appraiser is not the same as a home inspector, but they can work in tandem to provide a robust report for proper valuation. A home inspector studies details on the actual home, such as plumbing, heating, and water systems, cracks in walls, poor ventilation, etc. A home appraiser looks at the broader picture and studies not only the home features, but also the land, the neighborhood, market trends, and all paperwork – historical and current – on the property.
A home appraiser analyzes a number of criteria of the property, such as the overall real estate market in the area or region, renovations/improvements, any flaws in structural integrity, current assessments made by town/city, and neighborhood data. Then, the home appraiser will use the analysis to develop an opinion of fair-market value based on one of three possible methodologies: cost approach, sales comparison approach, and income approach. Lastly, the appraiser will document everything in a comprehensive report that clearly communicates the data and analysis used to support the determined valuation of the property.
How to Become a Home Appraiser
Lenders require a home appraiser to provide accurate values to approve loans.
According to the New York State Department of State: “A ‘State certified real estate appraiser‘ means “a person who develops and communicates real estate appraisal and who holds a current, valid certificate issued to him or her for either general or residential real estate under the provisions of this article”.
There are three basic requirements for a license/certification:
1) education, 2) state examination, and 3) experience. Home appraisers need to know acceptable principles of appraisals, valuation methodologies, and a host of very technical skills plus strong practical experience and good judgment to become a reliable professional with a solid reputation. For more on this, please see our Appraisal Career Overview.
Choosing the Right School
Something very important to consider before you sign up for a New York real estate appraiser’s licensing course is which type of appraisals you wish to perform and whether or not you qualify from an experience standpoint to hold that type of license. Once you determine which type of appraisals you wish to study (residential, commercial, or both) whether you qualify from an experience standpoint to hold that type of license (different levels of classes require certain amount of experience in field), you must decide how to receive your education. Taking an online course may sound attractive, but local, convenient courses taught in a traditional classroom environment with an instructor who can interact with you can be more beneficial in making sure you are learning both the academic and real life experiences.
Once you have completed the education and experience requirements and passed the examinations, you can begin your exciting career as a New York licensed home appraiser. You may consider working with a loan broker, attending networking events, and seeking a mentor to help boost your initial entry into the market with added confidence and exposure. Good luck and much fortune in your career path. Feel free to contact REEDC if you have any specific questions about the real estate home appraiser course or want to speak to one of our career advisors at 800-547-6020. Also, check out our Appraisal Course Comparison and FAQs.