How to Become a Certified General Appraiser
The certified general appraiser credential is the highest level of real estate appraiser license. Though individual state real estate appraisal divisions or boards are responsible for granting appraiser licenses, the basic requirements for certified general appraisers are uniform across the United States. Unlike certified residential appraisers and licensed real estate appraisers, certified general appraisers do not have any limitations regarding the type or value of properties that they appraise. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean annual salary for real estate appraisers and assessors, as of 2009, was $53,520.
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Instructions
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Complete a bachelor's degree. You must have a bachelor's degree, in any discipline, to qualify for a certified general appraiser license. You do not need to complete this degree before your pre-license real estate appraisal training, but you must complete it before you apply to write your certified general appraiser examination. If you do not have a bachelor's degree, you may still qualify for licensure if you have completed at least 30 college semester credit hours in English, economics, mathematics, real estate law and business.
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Complete your pre-license training. You must complete at least 300 hours of real estate appraisal training to qualify as a certified general appraiser. You must take courses in at least 10 of the core subjects of real estate appraisal. Though you have choice in the courses you complete in your pre-license training, every applicant must complete the 15-hour USPAP course. Check with your state's real estate appraisal division for information on approved course providers.
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Complete your experience requirement. You must gain at least 3,000 hours of real estate appraisal experience over a period of no less than 30 months. Some states require that you get a trainee license or certification before beginning to gain work experience in the real estate appraisal field. Also, many real estate appraisers apply for a lower certification, such as certified residential appraiser, after completing part of their pre-licensing education and then apply to upgrade to certified general appraiser after they have acquired enough experience. At least 1,500 of your 3,000 hours of experience must involve non-residential real estate appraisal.
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Apply to write your exam. Once you have completed your pre-license training and gained the required experience, you must apply to your state's real estate appraisal board to sit for your exam. With your application, you must include proof of your completed education and experience requirements as well as electronic fingerprints for a background check. Application fees vary from state to state.
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Take your certified general appraiser exam. Pearson VUE examination services administers these exams at locations throughout the United States. The exam consists of multiple-choice questions covering appraisal practices, law, ethics and principles.
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References
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Comments
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The exam is rigged. The questions are taken directly from Appraisal Institute classes. If you have taken their (expensive) classes, it's easy. If you have taken any other preparation classes it's really difficult. Spend the money with them, they run the show! The fix is in.
