(**) Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning our company, JCHQ Publishing will get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through the links, but at no additional cost to you.
Are you thinking to become a real estate appraiser in New York? If so, this is the perfect guide for you!
As a real estate appraiser, your role is to provide an unbiased estimate of a property’s fair market value. You could be appraising properties for a family looking to buy their first home, a mortgage lender who wants to know the value of their loan collateral, or institutional investors looking to invest in real estate.
Regardless of who you are serving, your job is to provide a professional and unbiased opinion of different properties.
To become a real estate appraiser in New York, applicants must complete the pre-licensing appraisal education, pass the appraiser exam, fulfill the mandatory work experience hours, and obtain the real estate appraiser license from the NYS Board of Real Estate Appraisal.
There are four license levels of appraisers in New York,
- Appraiser Assistant
- Licensed Residential Appraiser
- Certified Residential Appraiser
- Certified General Appraiser
The New York State has over 19 million people. With such a massive population, it is not hard to imagine there would be great volumes of real estate transactions and refinancing every year. All these would create an enormous demand for appraisals work.
If you’re wondering what a real estate appraiser does and if it might be a good career for you, keep reading. I’ll explain all the steps to obtain a real estate appraiser license. Plus everything you need to know about this important profession. So whether you’re just starting out in your career or you’re looking for a new challenge, read on!
The first step to your appraisal career is to complete the pre-licensing courses from a trusted education provider. McKissock received an incredible rating from its students, and their online lessons are taught by instructors who have actual experience in the appraisal industry. You may click here to find out more about their courses. (**)
How to Become an Appraiser Assistant in New York?
Becoming an Appraiser Assistant is the first step into the real estate appraiser industry. Most other states would call this entry level to be Trainee Appraiser.
As an Appraiser Assistant, you will work under the supervision of a certified appraiser. Your job could involve researching properties, working on reports, or inspecting properties together with the supervisor.
Having a good mentor would give you a good head start in this career. The supervisory appraiser should educate you with practical appraisal methods, how to properly research a property, how to analyze the data to assess the fair market value of the property.
The best way to advance your knowledge is to go through every step in the appraisal process, observe carefully to how your supervisor assesses properties, and always raise your questions or concerns.
Step 1: Meet the eligibility requirement:
- You must be at least 18 years old
- Have a valid Social Security Number
- No prior related experience is needed
Step 2: Complete the pre-license education
You need to complete 154 hours of qualifying appraisal-related education. (Which includes the 4 hours of Supervisory/Trainee Appraiser course.) Note that the NYS Board does not accept courses that were taken more than 5 years before the application.
Step 3: Register to be an Appraiser Assistant with the NYS Department of State
Now you’ve fulfilled the education requirement. It’s time to get your license as an Appraiser Assistant. Here are the details of the registration process.
Step 4: Find a Certified Appraiser to be your supervisor
In the New York State, to make sure Appraiser Assistant can get the help and attention they need, a supervisory appraiser cannot supervise more than three trainee appraisers at any given time.
Some people might wonder how to find a mentor. Here is the list of approved supervisory appraisers we found from the Department of State website. Although it only contains their name and Unique ID #, you could try to connect with them on LinkedIn.
Start off by building a friendly relationship. Let them know that you are interested in entering the appraisal industry and ask them how could you be useful to as an Appraiser Assistant.
Many people would be happy to share their experience and insights. As the relationship established, ask them if they know anyone who is willing to supervise an Appraiser Assistant. The more appraisers you can connect to, the higher the chance you could find a supervisor.
Remember to maintain good record of work logs
If you are planning to advance your career in the future, you’ll need to show your appraisal experience upon upgrading your license. To do so, you’ll need to complete the Appraiser Experience Report. You could find this in the “State Licensed/Certified Real Estate Appraiser Application” Form #DOS 1432-f-a.
It is a summary of your work experience, which shows the total # of appraisals you have done or reviewed and the total appraisal hours you have accumulated. Page 9 is for Residential Category, and Page 10 is for General Category.
You could find the “Appraiser Experience Log” on Page 12. This is where you enter more details into each specific appraisal work.
You should also keep an organized filing of the documentation such as copies of the actual appraisal reports, supporting details or data to develop the appraisals. Although it is not mandatory to show them during the licensing upgrade application, they could be needed upon request.
Here’s a snippet of what a Certified General Appraiser recommends when looking for a supervisor
“Along with the PROFESSIONAL resume you send by snail mail and email, enclose a document that thoroughly describes your house (or someone else’s house). I am talking about a thorough description.
In appraisal, we start with the big picture and work our way down to the details. So start with the community you live in and tell your prospective mentor about the community…”
Timothy S. Evans, SRA, Certified General Appraiser at Monroe Valuation, Inc
Still unsure how to find a supervisor? No problem, here’s another post for you: “How to Find a Supervisory Appraiser? (Tips from CG Appraiser and Trainee).” In there, you will find full details of Timothy’s recommendation and 11 incredibly helpful ideas in finding a supervisory appraiser.
How to Become a Licensed Residential Appraiser in New York?
Being a Licensed Residential Appraiser could be your second step to advance your appraising career.
As a Licensed Residential Appraiser, you can appraise for any non-complex residential properties with 1-4 units, but given the transaction value is no more than $1,000,000.
For complex 1-4 family residential units, the limit of transaction value is up to $250,000.
Some licensed appraisers could be working for an appraisal firm, where you will have a stable salary or even health benefits. While some decide to run their own appraisal practice, where they could choose their working hours and the type of clients to work with.
Your clients could be individuals, mortgage lenders, banks, or appraisal management companies (AMC). At this stage, most of your work might involve home purchases and mortgage refinancing.
Your daily routine could include doing research online, going on the field to inspect properties, and writing the appraisal reports.
Step 1: Meet the eligibility requirement:
- You must be at least 18 years old
- Have a valid Social Security Number
- Hold an Associate’s degree or higher/ 30 semester credit hours from an accredited college or university
Step 2: Complete the required hours of working experience
You must have at least 2000 hours of acceptable appraisal experience where they need to be acquired for over a 24 months period.
Step 3: Fulfill the education requirement
You’ll need to complete 150 hours of qualifying appraisal education from an approved course provider.
You should have completed some of the courses when becoming an Appraiser Assistant. Therefore, you only need to take the additional courses.
Step 4: Register to Become a Licensed Residential Appraiser with the NYS Department of State
The next step is to submit your application, education and working experience to the NYS Department of State. Whenever possible, I would prefer to submit the application online. It eliminates the mailing time, and less paper consumption is good for the environment.
Step 5: Pass the Licensed Residential Appraiser Exam
After the board review and accept your application, they will send you an exam admission notice. It would provide you with instruction to register for the exam writing.
The Licensed Residential Appraiser Exam is a 4 hours exam, which comprised of 125 questions. Only 110 questions will be scored, the other 15 are pretest questions.
Here’s a guide on how to pass the real estate appraisers exam in New York. In there, you’ll find the exam content, weighting of each topic, and sample questions.
How to Become a Certified Residential Appraiser in New York?
A Licensed Residential Appraiser has some limitations in the transaction value of the properties that can be appraised. With the Certified Residential Appraiser designation, it would bypass some of the limitations and provide you with greater business opportunity in the appraisal industry.
As a Certified Residential Appraiser, you can appraise for:
- family properties with 1 to 4 residential units regardless of the transaction value or complexity.
- vacant or unimproved land that is for 1-4 family residential unit with no limitation on the value or complexity
- (But keep in mind that you cannot assess for a residential subdivision, unless it is for individual properties within it.)
When we were searching online for the type of real estate appraiser jobs available in New York, many companies do require you have the certified credential, and not just being licensed. In fact, many larger financial institutions and lenders only work with certified appraisers to assess their desired properties.
Similar to a licensed residential appraiser, you could be providing your appraisal service to individuals, lenders, banks, or appraisal management companies (AMC). Your daily routine could include doing research online, going on the field to inspect properties, and writing the appraisal reports.
To give you a better idea, at the time we were writing this post, there was a job opening for Valuation Appraisal Manager in the New York Metro area. It is from a national lender who provides bridge loans, construction and renovation financing.
The key responsibility of the Valuation Appraisal Manager is to evaluate the “as is” and “after repair” value for properties. Getting the value right is the top priority.
The duties also involve preparing a detailed analysis, explain your findings and present your conclusion to the company’s executives. The role requires a minimum of 5 years in the real estate appraisal industry, and have advanced knowledge in evaluating both single family and multi-family properties.
Step 1: Meet the eligibility requirement
- You must be at least 18 years old
- Have a valid Social Security Number
- Hold an Bachelor’s degree or higher
Step 2: Complete the required hours of working experience
You must have at least 2500 hours of acceptable appraisal experience where they need to be acquired for over a 24 months period.
There is a maximum amount of credit hours you could claim for each appraisal work. It would depend on the category that a property is fallen into.
Below is the chart of the maximum hours that can be claimed per appraisal. This is for the Residential Category.
| Type of Properties | Standard Work (Max Credit Hours) | Review Work (Max Credit Hours) |
|---|---|---|
| Residential Single-Family (Single Co-op or Condo) | 6 | 1.5 |
| Residential Single-Family Complex (Waterfront or Unique) | 20 | 5 |
| Residential Single-Family Complex, (Over $5,000,000) | 40 | 10 |
| Residential Multi-Family (2-4 units) | 12 | 3 |
| Vacant Lot Residential (1-4 units) | 6 | 1.5 |
| Farm (Less than 100 acres, with residence) | 18 | 4.5 |
Step 3: Fulfill the education requirement
You’ll need to complete 200 hours of qualifying appraisal education from an approved course provider.
You should have completed some of the courses while you were an Appraiser Assistant or Licensed Residential Appraiser. Therefore, you only require to take the extra courses.
Step 4: Register to become a Certified Residential Appraiser with the NYS Department of State
The next step is to submit your application, education and working experience to the NYS Department of State. Here are the details of the registration process.
Step 5: Pass the Certified Residential Appraiser Exam
After the board review and accept your application, they will send you an exam admission notice. It would provide you with instruction to register for the exam writing.
The Certified Residential Appraiser Exam is a 4 hours exam, which comprised of 125 questions. Only 110 questions will be scored, the other 15 are pretest questions.
Here’s a Snippet of What Jamie Owen Thinks About Being a Real Estate Appraiser!
“The more you learn, the more you will enjoy being an appraiser.”
“I think that humility and honesty are the most important attributes. Humility is important because if we think we know it all, we are going to be in trouble. Being appraiser requires not being thin-skinned and defensive. Others have their opinions and we have ours. Both may be supportable in one way or another.
Being humble helps us to respect the views of others and not be offended if others have a different view. Humility also helps with business relationships, as well as accepting guidance and reminders when we need them, from peers and others.”
– Jamie Owen, Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser at Aspen Appraisal Services
Here’s an exclusive interview with Jamie. He shared with us his journey and valuable experience in the appraisal industry. You’ll also learn what it is like to be a real estate appraiser nowadays.
How to Become a Certified General Appraiser in New York?
The Certified General Appraiser credential is the highest one you could get in this appraisal industry. Simply speaking,the scope of your practice is unlimited, as you could appraise for all types of real estate regardless of the transaction value or complexity.
We just saw a job opening from a reputable and global financial services firm. They were looking for an Appraisal Manager for Commercial Real Estate. Their proposed annual salary is very attractive, ranged from $130,000 to $194,000.
The primary responsibility for the role is to oversee the appraisal management process. The appraisal reports will be used during the underwriting of commercial real estate transactions across the US.
The Appraisal Manager needs to make sure the appraisal process is complying with the regulatory requirements and consistent with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).
Although this type of job opening might not be conventional, as you can see handling appraisal works for commercial properties could advance your career to the next level.
Of course, the first step would be to become a Certified General Appraiser.
Step 1: Meet the eligibility requirement
- You must be at least 18 years old
- Have a valid Social Security Number
- Hold an Bachelor’s degree or higher
Step 2: Complete the required hours of working experience
You must have at least 3000 hours of acceptable appraisal experience where they need to be acquired for over a 30 months period. They must include at least 1,500 hours of on-residential appraisal work.
Once again, there is a maximum amount of credit hours you could claim for each appraisal work. It would depend on the category that a property is fallen into.
Below is the chart of the maximum hours that can be claimed per appraisal. This is for the General Category.
| Types of Properties | Standard Work (Max Credit Hours) | Review Work (Max Credit Hours) |
|---|---|---|
| Residential Multi-Family (5-12 units - Apartments, condominiums, townhouses and mobile home parks) | 36 | 9 |
| Residential Multi-Family, (13 or more units - Apartments, condominiums, townhouses and mobile home parks) | 48 | 12 |
| Commercial/Industrial Single-Tenant (Office buildings, R&D, retail stores, restaurants, service stations, warehouses, day care centers, and other similar buildings.) | 48 | 12 |
| Commercial/Industrial Multi-Tenant (Office buildings, R&D, shopping centers, hotels, warehouses) | 60 | 15 |
| Land (Farms of 100 acres or more in size, undeveloped tracts, residential multi-family sites, commercial sites, industrial sites) | 30 | 7.5 |
| Complex Farms (100 acres or more in size, multi-building with Processing facilities) | 40 | 10 |
| Manufacturing Plants | 48 | 12 |
| Institutional (Rest homes, nursing homes, hospitals, schools, churches, government buildings) | 48 | 12 |
Step 3: Fulfill the education requirement
You’ll need to complete 300 hours of qualifying appraisal education from an approved course provider.
You should have completed some of the courses from the previous license(s). Therefore, you just need to complete the extra courses.
I included some details which could be helpful to your studying on our education resources page. Be sure to check it out.
Step 4: Register to Become a Certified General Appraiser with the NYS Department of State
Once you fulfill the education and working experience requirement, you could submit the application, education and working experience to the NYS Department of State. Here are the details of the registration process.
Step 5: Pass the Certified General Appraiser Exam
Once the board review and accept your application, you will receive an exam admission notice, where you’ll be given instructions on how to register for the exam writing.
The Certified General Appraiser Exam is a 6 hours exam, which consists of 125 questions. Only 110 questions will be scored, the other 15 are pretest questions.
Be sure to check my other post: 10 practical tips on how to pass the real estate appraiser exam!
NYS Real Estate Courses Requirement
The core curriculum should include the following:
| Appraiser Assistant | Residential Appraiser | Certified Residential Appraiser | Certified General Appraiser | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supervisory Appraiser/Trainee Appraiser Course | 4 hours | |||
| Basic Appraisal Principles | 30 hours | 30 hours | 30 hours | 30 hours |
| Basic Appraisal Procedures | 30 hours | 30 hours | 30 hours | 30 hours |
| Residential Market Analysis and Highest & Best Use | 15 hours | 15 hours | 15 hours | |
| Residential Appraisal Site Valuation and Cost Approach | 15 hours | 15 hours | 15 hours | |
| Residential Sales Comparison and Income Approaches | 30 hours | 30 hours | 30 hours | |
| Residential Report Writing and Case Studies | 15 hours | 15 hours | 15 hours | |
| National USPAP Course or Equivalent | 15 hours | 15 hours | 15 hours | 15 hours |
| Statistics, Modeling and Finance | 15 hours | 15 hours | ||
| Advanced Residential Applications and Case Studies | 15 hours | |||
| Appraisal Subject Matter Electives | 20 hours | |||
| General Appraiser Market Analysis and Highest & Best Use | 30 hours | |||
| General Appraiser Sales Comparison Approach | 30 hours | |||
| General Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach | 30 hours | |||
| General Appraiser Income Approach | 60 hours | |||
| General Appraiser Report Writing and Case Studies | 30 hours | |||
| Fair House, Fair Lending and Environmental Issues | 15 hours | |||
| Specialty Appraisals | 15 hours | |||
| Total | 154 hours | 150 hours | 200 hours | 300 hours |
- To fulfill the Certified Residential Appraiser course requirement, you have the option to take the 20 hours of “Fair House, Fair Lending and Environment” instead of the “Introduction to Residential Income”
- To fulfill the Certified General Appraiser course requirement, you have the option to take the 15 hours of “Using the HP12C Financial Calculator” instead of the “Specialty Appraisals”
Study tip: Whenever possible, I prefer to take online courses. You can study at your own pace at the convenient of your home, library, or wherever there is internet access. Here’s an article review of an online school that I like.
Here is how you submit the appraiser license application to the NYS Department of State!
To do so, you’ll need to complete the “State Licensed/Certified Real Estate Appraiser Application” Form #DOS 1432-f-a.
This form has 18 pages and is applicable to all level of licenses. It consists of sections where you fill out personal information, some background questions, education completion, experience log, etc. However, not all parts are relevant to the license you are applying, so only fill out the ones that are. Here is the link to download the form.
In addition to the application, you’ll also need to provide:
- Fees: ($250 for Appraiser Assistant; $355 for Licensed Residential Appraiser; $355 for Certified Residential Appraiser; $355 for Certified General Appraiser)
- The payment could be made with a cheque, money order or even a credit card. Here’s their credit card payment form.
- The fee already includes the $25 examination application fee.
- Supporting legal documents
- Evidence which shows you have completed the required hours of Board-approved appraisal courses. (i.e., Official transcripts, course completion certificates). You are also required to fill out the Real Estate Appraiser Education for that, which is on page 7 of the application.
- Proof that you have fulfilled the specific requirement of college level of education for your license (i.e.: Diploma, official transcripts, certificates.)
- If the license you are applying for requires an exam writing, you should also fill out the Real Estate Appraiser Examination Application.
- Appraiser Experience Report and the Appraiser Experience Log which shows your working experience.
Then simply mail the entire package to the NYS Department of State, Division of Licensing Services. Their mailing address is on the first page of the application.
Don’t forget to renew the NYS appraiser license and complete the continuing education
All real estate appraisers in New York are required to renew their license every two years regardless of the level of license.
To do so, you need to submit the renewal application form, and complete the continuing education requirement. There will be a $250 renewal fee.
To have your license maintaining in good standing, you are required to take:
- 7 hours of National Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) update course every 2 years.
- 28 hours of approved appraiser Continuing Education courses every 2 years.
The renewal application will be posted to you 3 months prior to the license expiration. You should do your best to renew it on-time, else, there could be an additional $200 penalty fee, and additional continuing education requirement.
Video Summary on Obtaining a Real Estate Appraiser License in New York
Things you would want to know before becoming a real estate in New York
How long does it take to become a real estate appraiser in New York?
It takes 2,000 hours of work experience to become a Licensed Residential Appraiser in New York and 2,500 hours to become a Certified Residential Appraiser, and 3,000 hours to become a Certified General Appraiser.
Depending on which appraiser license you are pursuing, there is a minimum period for the work experience, which ranges from 24 to 30 months.
How much does it cost to become a real estate appraiser in New York?
It costs between $1,430 to $1,880 to become a real estate appraiser in New York, Here’s the breakdown:
- Pre-licensing education: $950 to $1,400
- Application fee and annual license fee – $355
- Exam fee $125
In addition to the above, there will be other expenses such as continuing education courses, E&O insurance, and business supplies such as a laptop, cell phone, and measuring device.
Some companies may pay or reimburse you if you work as their employee. But if you are running your own practice, these are the cost you need to account for yourself.
How much do real estate appraisers make in New York?
Your earning ability really comes down to the licensing level, the type of properties you are specialized in appraising, your experience, the location and size of the company, and whether you are working part-time or full-time.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2021), the average annual income of real estate appraisers in New York is $79,060. The income range typically ranges between $48,970 and $100,620. Top earning NY appraisers make over $128,620.
If you want to know more about the income potential of real estate appraisers in New York, here’s a guide for you. In there, you’ll find the updated income figures of trainees, residential real estate appraisers, and commercial real estate appraisers. You’ll also learn which cities have the highest earnings.
Helpful Tips for New York Real Estate Appraisers:
- Keep in mind that working experience must be gained within 5 years prior to the application submission.
- All experience claimed must be recorded in chronological order
- Not all experience are acceptable. For example, Market Value Estates, Business Appraisals, and Personal Property Appraisals could be unacceptable. You could read the definition of each on Page 3 of the “State Licensed/Certified Real Estate Appraiser Application” Form #DOS 1432-f-a.
- For all your appraisal reports, you must include the title of “State Certified General Real Estate Appraiser,” “State Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser” or “State Licensed Real Estate Appraiser.” with your license number written adjacent or below the title.
As your practice continues to grow, you should consider specializing in appraising for a particular type of properties or focusing on servicing a specific region.
When I was researching online, I noticed many appraisers were hesitant to tap into unconventional market such as appraising for a cemetery due to the complexity involved. However, the fees for one appraisal work like this could be in the five figures.
This could be a potential market that is being under-served. But you definitely would need an appraiser that is experienced in this type of property to guide you through.
In conclusion, I like the flexibility and different opportunity that the appraisal career can offer. Your earning potential really depends on how much work you are willing to put into.
If you are unsure whether to become a real estate appraiser or not, you could talk to a career counselor at an appraiser education provider.
I hope you do find this post helpful.
Is real estate appraiser a good career? This is one of the common questions I hear a lot. Therefore, I spent months and months in connecting with different real estate appraisers. Here are their valuable insights about this profession. Make sure to check it out!
Here are some incredible resources to learn about the New York real estate appraiser career!
To help you get to know what it is like to be a real estate appraiser in New York, I did extensive research through different sources. In the “New York Real Estate Appraiser Career Series.”, you’ll learn the following:
- How Much do Real Estate Appraiser Make in New York? (Trainee| Residential| Commercial)
- How to Pass the New York Real Estate Appraiser Exam? (+ Sample questions)
Disclaimer: The information in this post is for general information only, and not intend to provide any advice. They are subjected to change any notice, and not guaranteed to be error-free. For full and exact details, please contact the NYS Department of State.
(**) Affiliate Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you. Our company, JCHQ Publishing will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking on the link. Please understand that we include them based on our experience or the research on these companies or products, and we recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make if you decide to buy something through the links. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.
Reference:
- Department of State
- sokanu- How much does a Real Estate Appraiser make in New York?: (source)
- salary.com- Salary for Appraiser (Commercial Real Estate) in New York: (source)
- salary.com- Salary for Appraiser (Residential Real Estate) in New York: (source)
Author
To become a real estate appraiser in New York, applicants must complete the pre-licensing appraisal education, pass the appraiser exam, fulfill the mandatory work experience hours, and obtain the real estate appraiser license from the NYS Board of Real Estate Appraisal.
