Getting out of Valuations
I came out of UG with a soft resume but was able to land at a "valuation & advisory" group (appraisals) at a CBRE, NKF, JLL in a top 5 market NYC, LA, DWF, CHI etc. I'm trying to find a way out and would appreciate anyone's opinion. Eventually, I would like to end up in REIB or REP. I just want to see if I should try to find a job that would allow me to lateral into those positions, or wait out in my current role until I can get straight into one of those roles.
Pros to this job:
I have a soft ass resume and I'm getting name brand experience
I work on Class A and Trophy buildings. Our dealflow is insane.
Cons:
I'm working 70hrs+ a week for $50k. I'm lucky to leave the office by 8pm and routinely work weekends.
While I'm certainly gaining valuable skills, appraisal is not exactly "high level" skills that are easily transferable
What would you do?
How long you been working there?
it'll be a year next month
I'd start transitioning out. Focus on the property's and buildings that you've helped provide valuation for. Talk about the clients. I am assuming your fairly good with Argus, hopefully Argus software certified, which is great.
You can try for the REIB's but those might be tougher. I spent a year in valuations out of school and then jumped into lending. It's been an easy transition, but I don't use Argus much anymore. I'd recommend just looking at what opportunities are available out there and make a transition. Even if it's for another year doing something, just keep finding tools to build your skillset and throw into your tool box.
Get out while you still can. Pursuing the certified general/MAI path provides additional compensation but the time and effort put into achieving those designations makes it tough to move on at that point.
Also, play up the skills you are learning and the deals you are exposed to rather than framing appraisal as not "high level."
If you have been at your current job for about a year out of school, I would leave now. The RE job market is hot right now and if you play your cards right you should be able to get to an acquisitions role at a small shop or dev. Highlight modelling/valuation experience, ability in excel/Argus and specific projects that you have worked on in your resume.
Why are salary so low in valuations? In Australia i barely hear people doing commercial valuations under 120k and like 50% bonus?
Because it is low-value work. No one actually gives a shit what an appraiser thinks, but we all have to get them for loans or mark-to-market. The skill set is good for young folks learning the business, but I'm hopeful most of this shit gets automated over the next several years. Frustrating that a need some widget to tell me what the market value is when I am literally buying it and thus creating the market. Some silly ass bullshit.
How exactly would you automate it? That would also imply that analyst positions at investment groups can be automated, since it's essentially the same type of analysis. Zillow often even gets the value estimate wrong for single family homes which are far less complicated. Costar is often completely wrong about the market rent estimates.Yeah if you are literally buying a property and creating the market the appraiser is not going come in at a different value as long as the purchase price is supportable by market data, but that's a really small percentage of the total assignments that appraisers work on.For example, what if a developer is seeking a construction loan based on the projected stabilized value and they have these pie in the sky projections that are not realistic? What if you are trying to refinance a property and the market has changed since you acquired it? What if you need an appraisal for litigation, estate planning, arbitration, etc.
This.
There isn’t a group of people in this industry I can’t stand stand more than Appraisers. They are fucking useless and think they are the smartest guys when in reality, they are just plugging in growth rates projected by some research report and inflating expenses. Zero actual knowledge or anything into a standard valuation.
They can be low at first but there is big upside potential once you go on fee split ( typically after first year). In a big city you can be making 200k+
I was kind of in your shoes not so long ago. Joined a well known commercial appraisals company and got tons of great exposure to huge funds and the assets within them.
But I always wanted to be on the principal side. The pay situation was a bit different, however. I landed an acquisitions role at a great shop focused on office and mainly industrial. Almost the same pay, way more hours, and harder work. But I feel like I’m contributing more to the deal process and my work is actually meaningful to someone.
Best thing to do is to tell your story right. Emphasis on all the experience and exposure you’ve gotten and the skills you’ve learned.
Why do so many of yall on the forum want out of valuations? Chill WLB, good pay and upside, etc. I'm on the banking side and personally considering moving to valuations.
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