The honest and lonely truth about Commercial Appraisal as a Valuation Analyst (at the Green Machine)
Pros
Large Company Environment (If that is what you like) 'Success' is largely determined by how many hours you want to put into the job/and how hard you want to work. Extensive learning about the valuation of commercial real estate fundamentals Ability to commiserate with other employees who are not extremely happy with their jobs. This job is a great fundamental job to understand the general business world, cash flows, Market Fundamentals, etc. I wish I would have gotten this job at a younger age because of the pure basis of understanding the valuation of assets... As a mid-career change, this job made me feel more like a rented mule than a valued team member.
Cons
Sink or Swim Environment Very little training, and there is nobody to go to for support. MINIMUM 45 hours per week. With a high emphasis on MINIMUM. That does not include lunch, or any other breaks. On a regular basis, you will not leave until after 6 pm or 6:30 pm (after arriving at 8 AM or earlier and taking a minimal lunch breaks). Long hours wouldn't be a problem if the pay for valuation analysts wasn't so low. Despite this, once you graduate to working on commission only, the pay is still very low until you are a certified general because of the splits that you share with the company and the MAI (senior appraiser) whom you work for. When I say the pay is very low for commission work, I mean you likely won't make 50K even after WORKING A MINIMUM of 45-50 hours per week as a Valuation Analyst that is working on a commission basis. You make +/- 30K to start out as an analyst not on commission. Environment is very much 'solo'. Despite having co-workers, there were many days that you would have minimal interaction with other people because of the intensity of the work. From my experience the company was very much like a bunch of independent contractors working within the same office environment. This can be fine if you are a seasoned appraiser who doesn't need any assistance with getting started. (I was also told that this is somewhat unique to our specific office, but cannot confirm this) As a valuation analyst, much more support is needed to promote success among the valuation analysts' which makes for a difficult environment to work in. While I would comment that the majority of the personnel in the office were very affable, there were a couple/few who made the environment very difficult to work in based on their strong and condescending personalities. If it is possible to steer clear of these people, the job might not be so undesirable. If you cannot steer clear of such personalities than this job is like an emotionally abusive personal relationship. Discussions with some other commercial appraisers seemed to confirm that commercial appraisal is a job which can be difficult to leave once you have made it to a certain level because the pay can be so good, and the hours at that time can be 'flexible' (despite the fact that they are many)...So, despite not loving one's job, it can be difficult to leave because of the hardship one has to go through to get to that level. I am sure this is not exclusive to commercial appraisers, but many other professionals probably find this; I believe it is referred to as the sunk-cost-fallacy. In any case, this job might be great for somebody who is just out of college, willing to work ridiculous hours for menial pay, so that by the time they realize that they have been underpaid/over worked, they are within reaching distance of their Certified General Certificate; and then are able to break free. Breakdown of time generally - 25% writing the front end of a report & researching environment, 30% confirming comparables, 25% analyzing value, 10% Reviewing report, 10% looking for resources that should have been made more easily available.
