Tuesday, June 19, 2012

How to Become a VA Appraiser

By Marlon Trotsky

Buying a home is a decision that most Americans face at some point. Property appraisers play a vital role in this process by appraising, or valuing, both residential and commercial properties. Virginia has three classes of appraisers: a certified residential real property appraiser may value any residential property whose loan amount is greater than $250,000; a licensed residential real property appraiser is certified to appraise both complex and non-complex one-to-four residential units, with certain valuation transaction value restrictions. Meanwhile, a certified general real property appraiser may work on any property, regardless of classification or loan amount.

Receive a college degree from an accredited college or university in a real estate-related field. While a degree is not required to receive your licensed residential real estate appraiser license, it will become a prerequisite when considering career advancement. An associate degree is required for a certified residential real estate appraiser license, while candidates for certified general real estate appraiser licensure must possess a bachelor's degree.

Complete 150 hours of classroom instruction from a board-approved pre-licensing education provider. Students will be instructed in such topics as site valuation, market analysis and report writing. Pass the corresponding finals exams.

Gain practical experience in the field by conducting appraisals independently. To receive your licensed residential real estate appraiser license, you must accumulate 2,000 hours of appraisal experience over at least one year.

Record each hour of experience appraising homes into your experience log, noting such factors as the date, type of property, its value and your involvement in the appraisal. Your supervisors must then sign each page.

Submit a license application (which can be downloaded from the Virginia Real Estate Appraiser Board's website) and your signed experience log to the board. After reviewing your application packet, the board will request five sample appraisal reports to ensure that they comply with Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) standards. After this process is complete, and you have paid the $191 application fee (as of July 2010), the board will issue your license.

Consider pursuing a license as a certified residential real estate appraiser and certified general real estate appraiser by meeting the education and experience requirements. For the former license, you must have 2,500 hours of experience, while to become a certified real estate appraiser you must obtain 3,000 hours (half of which must involve nonresidential appraisals). A new experience log and application must be filled out and submitted at each level of licensure.


http://www.lenderva.com

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