I am asking this question for my mom. She is 46 year old and thinking of getting into real estate school. Here in Tennessee, she can get this in 6 weeks. She does not know much about the work, but likes that it is quick. she really wants to make money. though we are hearing that they make pay on commission and that in the long run she may not make much money. She was thinking about the option of a real estate appraiser. Does anyone know about this career and if it is based on hourly pay or commission also? Will it take long in school for appraiser? Thank you.
Your mother should check to see what is required to be a real estate appraiser in Tennessee. Every state has different requirements. In Texas, the Texas Real Estate Commission web site would have that information. Perhaps the same is true in Tennessee. Here an appraiser has to take quite a few courses, and pass the tests, and then has to take a licensing test. After that, you become an apprentice and have to work under a fully licensed appraiser for a period of time before you can do work on your own as an appraiser. I would not recommend that she pursue a career as a real estate agent unless she has researched it thoroughly. It can be a very rewarding career, and there are some that can earn a good living. But, there are many more licensed agents that drop out the first year because it takes a while to get established enough to earn a decent living. If your mother has always been a salaried employee, she may find the stress of being an independent contractor too much to handle.
The first answer to this question is very good. All I have to add is that appraisers are generally paid per job while agents are paid on commission. Neither one has a guaranteed salary. Also, appraisers may have to do things like go into crawl spaces/horrible basements and attics, where agents don't, so if your mom is the type who calls for someone else to come kill a spider, appraisal probably isn't her thing. The entire real estate industry is tough right now.
none! it all depends on how much work you want to do. They all require a lot of work and a lot of time. With a lot of money up front and very little payback for a while. If you stick with any of it the rewards will come but you have to work at it. I've been a real estate agent for years my husband an appraiser for not quite as long. You can make good money but it takes a lot of work. The last time I sat down and figured my hourly wage I made less than $5 an hour. If your in it for the money go work at walmart, you'll do better. If you really want to help someone get in the home of their dreams any of the above will get you there. I've never seen a statistic on it but I suspect most who got into real estate exclusively for money failed miserably. This is a people business. You have to love the people otherwise you'll give up and move on to something else. Oh and for the person who thinks an agent guess what if the home is listed at 6% the agent only gets approximately 1% of that. The rest goes to advertisement that the agency does, if the agent does any it is out of pocket and if the home doesn't sell they get nothing. It's a tough business and I love it but unfortunately everyone thinks we make such big money and we don't.
