How to Become a Real Estate Appraiser in Indiana?

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To become a real estate appraiser in Indiana, you need to fulfill the qualifying appraisal education, and work experience requirement. Also, you are required to register with the Indiana Real Estate Appraiser Licensure & Certification Board.

It is the regulatory agency which governs individuals and companies that appraise the value of real estate, and also appraisal management companies (AMCs), in accordance with federal guidelines.

As a real estate appraiser in Indiana, your primary goal is to come up with an appraisal report which determines the market value of a property. Your assessment could be used by a home buyer or seller, a mortgage lender who wants to understand the value of the collateralize assets, an individual who needs it divorce settlement or estate arrangement.

Regardless of who is in needs of your appraisal services, your main focus is to provide an independent, unbiased estimate of value of a real property.

There are 3 types of appraiser license in Indiana, which are the Appraiser Trainee, Certified Residential Appraiser, and Certified General Appraiser.

This is a complete guide for those who are considering to become a real estate appraiser in Indiana. Here, you’ll find the step by step instruction to obtain the IN appraiser license, the income details, the format of the exam, and many practical career tips.

How to Become an Appraiser Trainee in Indiana?

Becoming an Appraiser Trainee is the first step to your career.

At this stage, you will be trained and supervised by a certified appraiser. An experienced supervisor could guide you into the right direction in this career. The supervisory appraiser should provide you with practical appraisal methods, how to conduct research on a property, how to extract important information from the data.  Of course, how to determine an unbiased estimation of the property’s market value.

Your daily routine could include doing property research, working on appraisal reports, or inspecting real estate together with the supervisor.

To get out the most from this trainee stage,  it is recommended you to walk through each and every step in the appraisal process, observe carefully on how your supervisor inspect and evaluate real estate, and always raise your questions.

4 Steps to Become an Appraiser Trainee in Indiana

Step 1: Meet the Basic Requirement:

• You must be at least 18 years old
• Have a valid Social Security Number
• No prior related experience is needed

Step 2: Complete the Pre-License Education

You need to complete the 90 hours of qualifying appraisal-related education, and AQB Supervisor/Trainee Course. 

Study tip: Whenever possible, I prefer to take online courses. You can study at your own pace at the convenient of your home, library, or wherever there is internet access. Here’s an article review of an online school that I like.

Step 3: Submit Application to the Indiana Real Estate Appraiser Licensure & Certification Board

Now you have completed the education prerequisites, your next step is to register with State Board. If the Appraisal Board in your state has the online submission available, then I would strongly encourage you to use that option. Not only this is the quickest and most convenient way, but less paper mailing is also good for the environment.

Here are more details about the submission process.

Step 4: Find a Certified Appraiser to be Your Supervisor

As an Appraiser Trainee in Indiana, your assignment could also involve appraising commercial property, but only given your supervisor is a Certified General Appraiser.

So where can you find a qualified mentor? Here are The Top 10 Tips to Find a Supervisory Appraiser!

Once you start working alongside with a supervisor, you need to keep track of your working hours with the board-approved experience log. This document is important for the purpose of upgrading your appraiser license in the future.

Also, keep in mind that you and the supervising appraiser are required to sign on every page of the experience log.

How to Become a Certified Residential Appraiser in Indiana?

As a Certified Residential Appraiser, you can assess for:

• residential properties with 1 to 4 residential units regardless of the transaction value or complexity.
• non-residential 1-4 units property given that the transaction value is no more than $250,000

Just like a Licensed Residential Appraiser, you could a self-employed appraiser running your own practice, servicing clients such as individuals, lenders, banks, or appraisal management companies (AMC).

Alternatively, you could work for an appraiser firm or financial institution to become their in-house appraiser, where you could enjoy the stable income and company’s benefits.

However, there is no restriction on the transaction value of residential properties you could assess. The scope of your practice and business opportunity would be a lot wider than being a Licensed Residential Appraiser. In fact, many reputable lenders and financial institutions in Indiana only accept assessment work from Certified Appraiser.

5 Steps to Become a Certified Residential Appraiser in Indiana

Step 1: Meet the Basic Requirement:

• You must be at least 18 years old
• Have a valid Social Security Number
• Hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher

You need to complete a minimum of 2500 hours of acceptable appraisal experience in not less than a 24 months period.

Step 3: Fulfill the Education Requirement

You’ll need to complete 200 hours of qualifying appraisal education from an approved course provider. Since you should have taken some of the courses when becoming an Appraiser Trainee or Licensed Residential Appraiser,  you are only required to complete the extra classes.

Click here to view the specific courses requirement.

Step 4: Submit Application to the Indiana Real Estate Appraiser Licensure & Certification Board

Once you have fulfilled the education and working experience requirement, it’s time to submit the license application. The Licensing Board in some states may require you to apply within a specific period after you complete the pre-licensing education. Therefore, don’t wait till it expires!

Here are more info about the registration process.

Step 5: Pass the Certified Residential Appraiser Exam

Doing multiple sets of practice questions is an excellent way to prepare for the exam and also boost your confidence.

To increase your chance in passing the exam on the first time, make sure to check out our exam hacks. In there, not only you will find the content of the exam, but also 10 effective tips on how to prepare for it.

How to Become a Certified General Appraiser in Indiana?

So you want to explore appraising for commercial real estate? Then becoming a Certified General Appraiser would be the way to go!

This designation is the highest credential you could get in the appraisal industry. You could assess all types of real estate regardless of the transaction value or complexity. There is no limitation on the scope of your appraisal work.

Although you still could evaluate for residential properties, you could also be appraise a portfolio of commercial real estates for institutional investors.

Since your clients depend on your appraisal reports in making an informed investment decision, you must be extremely careful and responsible when handling your work. Extensive research and site inspections are often required. It is your responsibility to provide your clients with an objective appraised value as accurate as possible.

Due to the requirement of low margin of error in your work products, the amount of work experience and education required to become a Certified General Appraiser is the most challenging among all the levels of licensing.

Of course, the first step is to become a Certified General Appraiser, so let’s go through the steps to obtain this designation.

5 Steps to Become a Certified General Appraiser in Indiana

Step 1: Meet the Basic Requirement:

• You must be at least 18 years old
• Have a valid Social Security Number
• Bachelor’s Degree in any field of study; or higher

Step 2: Complete the Required Hours of Working Experience

You must have at least 3000 hours of acceptable appraisal experience where they need to be obtained for over a 30 months period. Also, a minimum of 50% of working hours must be devoted to non-residential appraisal work.

Step 3: Fulfill the Education Requirement

You’ll need to complete 300 hours of qualifying appraisal education from an approved course provider.

You should have completed some of the courses when the previous license(s). Therefore, you are only required to complete the extra classes. Here are the specific courses requirement.

Step 4: Submit Application to the Indiana Real Estate Appraiser Licensure & Certification Board

Once you have completed all the education and working experience prerequisites, you should fill out the license application.

Most State Boards allow you to apply through their website. Some would even charge a lower registration fee by doing online. You should definitely check out this option.

Click here to view the submission steps.

Step 5: Pass the Certified General Appraiser Exam

The final step is to pass the Certified General Appraiser Exam. Get enough sleep the night before the exam and have a good meal before it. Managing your stress level during the test is another key to passing it.

Here are the details to schedule an exam writing.

Which Pre-Licensing Appraisal Courses Do You Need to Take?

	Trainee Appraiser (Credit Hours)	Certified Residential Appraiser (Credit Hours)	Certified General Appraiser (Credit Hours)
National USPAP Course or Equivalent	15	15	15
Basic Appraisal Principles	30	30	30
Basic Appraisal Procedures	30	30	30
Residential Market Analysis and Highest & Best Use	15	15
Residential Appraisal Site Valuation and Cost Approach		15
Residential Sales Comparison and Income Approaches		30
Residential Report Writing and Case Studies		15
Statistics, Modeling and Finance		15	15
Advanced Residential Applications and Case Studies		15
Appraisal Subject Matter Electives		20	30
General Appraiser Market Analysis and Highest & Best Use			30
General Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach			30
General Appraiser Sales Comparison Approach			30
General Appraiser Report Writing and Case Studies			30
General Appraiser Income Approach			60
Total	90 hours	200 hours	300 hours

In addition to the above course work, Trainee Appraisers are required to complete the AQB Supervisor/Trainee course.

Interested in becoming a real estate appraiser? Here is an Education Resources Page which could be helpful to you in getting the appraiser license.

How to Register at the Indiana Real Estate Appraiser Licensure & Certification Board?

Once you have fulfilled all the prerequisites, you could submit your application to the “Real Estate Appraisers Licensure & Certification Board“.

Here are the links to download the:

• Appraiser Trainee Application
• Certified Residential/General Appraiser Application

In additional to the form, you must provide the following:

• Application fee (Here’s the fee schedule)
• Supporting legal documents
• Evidence which shows you have completed the required hours of Board-approved appraisal courses. (i.e., Official transcripts, course completion certificates).
• Proof that you have fulfilled the specific requirement of post-secondary education for your license (i.e.: Diploma, official transcripts, certificates.)
• Stated Approved Appraiser Experience Log  (Only if you are applying to become Licensed/Certified Appraiser)

If you have any questions, you could also contact the Indiana Real Estate Appraiser Licensure & Certification Board at  (317) 234-3009 and pla9@pla.in.gov

More Details about the Indiana Appraiser Exam

Once the Indiana Real Estate Appraiser Licensure & Certification Board  approves your application, they will send you a notice with instruction to schedule the exam. Pearson Vue will administer the exam, where you can take it on a computer at their examination center.

• Certified Residential Appraiser Exam is a 4 hours exam;
• Certified General Appraiser Exam is a 6 hours exam

The licensed and certified exams consist of 125 questions. Only 110 questions will be scored, the other 15 are pretest questions. The required passing score is 75. You will immediately know your score once you finish writing the test.

There will be a $71 exam fee. You could find out more details in the Indiana Real Estate Appraisers Licensing and Certification Candidate Handbook.

Also, remember to check out my other article: “10 Practical Tips to Pass the Appraiser Exam on the First Try“

Appraiser License Renewal and Continuing Education Requirements

All real estate appraisers in Indiana are required to renew their license every two year.  In addition to the renewal application, below are the requirements to renew your appraiser license:

• Finish 28 hours continuing education every 24 months, of which must include 7 hours of National USPAP Update course.
  • Also, starting on September 27, 2013, the Real Estate Appraiser Licensure & Certification Board requires you to take the USPAP no later than 6 months after the newest version is released, which is typically around October of the odd year.
• Pay the renewal fee. ($110 for Trainee Appraiser, $190 for Certified Appraisers)

To prevent interruption to your appraisal practice, you should renew it and complete all continuing education requirement before the license expiry date.  The appraiser license renewal can be done online.

How Many Real Estate Appraisers are in Indiana?

According to the Appraisal Subcommittee, there are 2210 in total. The breakdown is as follow:

• 961 Certified General Appraiser
• 1046 Certified Residential Appraiser
• 203 Licensed Residential Appraiser

Indiana is the home to an estimate of 6.7 million, with Indianapolis as the largest city and Marion as the largest county by population. When you are deciding the regions to conduct your appraisal business, you should target areas that have a high population. After all, transactions can only occur when there are people.

Is real estate appraiser a good career? This is one of the common questions I hear a lot. Therefore, I spent months and months in connecting with different real estate appraisers. Here are their valuable insights about this profession. Make sure to check it out!

How Much Does a Real Estate Appraiser Make in Indiana?

Your earning ability as a real estate appraiser is subjected to many variables such as your experience, licensing level, the type of properties you specialize in appraising, the company size, its location, and most importantly, the amount of effort you are willing to put into this career.

According to the figures on sokanu.com, the starting annual salary is only around $24,730 , and it has the potential to go up to $70,500 for top producers. Of which would consist both full-time and part-time appraisers.

The average annual income of real estate appraisers in Indiana is $42,860.  which is 67% more than similar careers in this state.

Based on the Oct 31, 2018 figures on Salary.com, appraisers who specialize their practice on commercial properties tend to have a higher earning than residential real estate appraisers.

The average annual salary of appraisers who focus their practice in the residential real estate is $49,478. The range typically falls between $40,773 and $57,167.

Whereas, an appraiser who specialize in appraising commercial real estate has an average annual salary of $92,174. The range is mostly between $79,281 and $105,737

Can real estate appraisers earn six-figures income annually? Here’s an article that talks about the different factors that could affect an appraiser’s earning.

Helpful Career Tips for Appraisers in Indiana

Tip#1: Take the appraisal courses asap

You could read as much about the appraisal career as you want, but your journey would not begin unless you start taking action.

Taking the real estate appraiser classes would be your first step. Not only you could gain valuable knowledge and practical skills, but you will also have a better understanding about what is like to be an appraiser.

Besides, most states would require you to complete all the trainee education before your working experience could count toward the licensing requirement.

I included some details which could be helpful to your studying on our education resources page. Be sure to check it out.

Tip#2: Build your network with other real estate professionals in Indiana

Networking with other appraisers in Indiana is a good way to gain a better understanding about  the appraisal industry. You could do so by joining industry affiliations, online forums or even LinkedIn groups. For instance,

• Hoosier State Chapter of the Appraisal Institute
• AppraisersForum.com

Here’s a list of real estate professional groups on our resource page. Remember to check it out!

Begin with a friendly conversation. Let them know that you are starting your career as an appraiser, ask them if they have any tips or advice for newbies to the industry.

In addition, you should network with other professionals in the real estate field. Mortgage agents, lenders, and realtors can all provide you with valuable insight, which could be very helpful to your career building in the long haul.

Tip#3: Consider the commercial real estate route

Just like many other states, the business to appraise for residential properties could be quite competitive. Well, as you could imagine, there is a considerable overlap of targeted customers for the first three levels of licensing.

To differentiate your skills and broaden your scope of practice, you could consider pursuing the Commercial General Appraiser designation as your long-term goal.

Here’s an article you might be interested: “Is Commercial Real Estate Appraisal a Good Career?” In there, a CRE appraiser shared his view on what he thinks about this profession.

Current Real Estate Appraiser Jobs Opportunity Available in Indiana

[Note: The list of Appraiser Jobs Opportunity is coming soon. Please stay tune

Disclaimer: The information in this post is for general information only, and not intend to provide any advice. They are subjected to change any notice, and not guaranteed to be error-free. For full and exact details, please contact the Indiana Real Estate Appraiser Licensure & Certification Board.

Reference:

• Mckissock Learning- Indiana Appraisal License Requirements: (Source)
• Mckissock Learning- Learn Appraisal Educational Requirements for Indiana (Source)
• The Appraisal Foundation- National Uniform Licensing and Certification Examinations: (Source)
• sokanu – How much does a Real Estate Appraiser make in  Indiana? (Source)
• salary.com- Salary for Appraiser (Commercial Real Estate) in Indiana: (Source)
• salary.com- Salary for Appraiser (Residential Real Estate) in Indiana:  (Source)
• Indiana Real Estate Appraiser Licensure & Certification Board (Source)
• Appraisal Subcommittee- Active Appraiser Credentials Summary Report (Source)