How To Become a House Appraiser

Of all the industries in the United States, real estate is one that generally remains pretty steady. Becoming a house appraiser is a great way to supplement your income, especially if you already work part-time, go to school or work in the arts (e.g. are in the process of writing a novel). The job itself is fun and the hours flexible — essentially you make your own. Home appraisal, however, is not for everyone, so be sure you consider the following before you dive on in.

First of all, there are certain steps one must take to become a house appraiser, and combined, they could take a long time to complete. The first step is checking your state's licensing board to see about getting a "trainee" license. There are certain classes you'll need to take to get this license; find out what they are and if you can take them online. If not, or if you simply prefer not to, see where you can take them locally. Do research to make sure the classes are reputable — you'd hate to have wasted all that time and money for a class you can't even use toward your license.

After you've completed the proper courses, you can take the test to get your trainee license. Depending on what state you live in, you might also need to get some appraisal experience under your belt. Once you have your license, you need to find a professional house appraiser to be your mentor, or "supervising" appraiser — someone who will bring you around on jobs and show you the inner workings of the home appraisal business. You'll need to accumulate a certain number of hours of experience to get your certification, and this is the best way to go about it. Find a supervising appraiser who lives in your area and is easy to get in touch with. This person will also need to sign off on the hours you spend with them.

Find work at an appraisal office. You might have to settle for an internship or office assistant position to start off with — just make sure you're getting an idea of what the business is like so you can determine whether or not it's really for you. Network as much as you can — this will help you when it comes time to find a set job, and later on once you've become a full-fledged member of the appraisal community.

Find a second job. Because you're in training, your pay will be minimal. Unless you have enough in savings, you'll need a way to subsidize your income for the time being.

So, there you have it. Though the road to becoming a house appraiser might be a long one, it's certainly worth it. You'll never have to worry about an industry dive — people are always looking to get their homes and other real estate appraised.