What does an appraiser do?
An appraiser is someone who assesses the monetary value of a property such as an automobile, real property, and personal claim. His/Her or her responsibilities include resolving disparities between a property's monetary values and preparing narrative reports for projects. The essential skills that an appraiser should possess to accomplish such responsibilities include a keen eye for details, strong communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills, and the ability to work under pressure. The education requirements for the job vary depending on the area of focus.
Appraiser responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real appraiser resumes:
- Cross-Train in numerous banking/lending fields relate to real property appraisal such as underwriting, loan processing, and loan origination.
- Experience in appraising single family residences, condominiums, raw land, develop lots, construction appraisals, and final inspections.
- Complete commercial appraisal assignments in Illinois under a supervising MAI.
- Prepare analysis of valuation issues for federal agency rent appeals, federal acquisitions, and litigation.
- Provide oversight of the appraisers, to insure they are FHA approve.
- Handle total losses by obtaining CCC reports, obtaining DMV documents and contacting lien holders.
- Perform bookkeeping, payroll, tax preparation, marketing, hiring and training of employees.
- Provide services to investors in site selection, liquidation of non-performing loans and provide litigation support.
- Employ as general real estate appraiser, training with Ben Frederick, Jr., MAI, CRE.
- Advance from register to license appraiser and are accepted to the FHA roster and are approved to perform FHA appraisals.
- Perform complex assignments, including luxury homes, vacant lots, REO residential properties, base floor plans and model homes.
- Supervise payroll and develop employee work schedules
- Perform all task require for comparison of comps.
- Create significant finding letters for mortgage repurchase litigation.
- Respond to taxpayer questions concerning tax calculations and inconsistencies in report information.
Appraiser skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Appraisers are proficient in Commercial Property, Appraisal Reports, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Problem-solving skills, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Appraisers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Commercial Property, 13%
Performed vehicle and heavy equipment damage analyses and prepared detailed loss estimates related to personal and commercial property claims.
- Appraisal Reports, 12%
Reviewed and analyzed appraisal reports from internal staff and outside fee vendors to ensure accuracy and integrity in determining property valuations.
- Customer Service, 7%
Maintained these relationships by providing credible data reports and excellent customer service while offering industry leading turnaround times.
- MAI, 6%
Completed commercial appraisal assignments in Illinois under a supervising MAI.
- Discounted Cash Flow, 5%
Review operators reported lease operating expenses and gas pricing for discounted cash flow analysis.
- Market Research, 4%
Prepared extensive property and market research; presented findings and recommendations to senior management and clients.
Most appraisers use their skills in "commercial property," "appraisal reports," and "customer service" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential appraiser responsibilities here:
Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for an appraiser to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what appraisers do because "because appraisers must regularly interact with clients, being polite and friendly is important." Additionally, an appraiser resume shows how appraisers use customer-service skills: "communicate with customer throughout repair process. "
Problem-solving skills. Another essential skill to perform appraiser duties is problem-solving skills. Appraisers responsibilities require that "appraising or assessing a property's value may involve unexpected problems." Appraisers also use problem-solving skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "consulted with investor relations for resolution of investor bulk sale kickouts and reo asset management issues. "
Time-management skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of appraisers is time-management skills. This skill is critical to many everyday appraiser duties, as "appraisers and assessors of real estate often work under time constraints, sometimes appraising many properties in a single day." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "worked all appeals and board of review files within defined neighborhoods and deadlines. "
Analytical skills. For certain appraiser responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "analytical skills." The day-to-day duties of an appraiser rely on this skill, as "appraisers and assessors of real estate use many sources of data when valuing a property." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what appraisers do: "review and analyze formal reports and supporting documentation prepared by external appraisers, on residential properties. "
Math skills. Another crucial skill for an appraiser to carry out their responsibilities is "math skills." A big part of what appraisers relies on this skill, since "accurately analyzing real estate data includes such steps as calculating square footage of land and building space, so workers must have good math skills." How this skill relates to appraiser duties can be seen in an example from an appraiser resume snippet: "measured quarterly real estate market trends and statistics in midamerica's product markets. "
Organizational skills. Lastly, "organizational skills" is an important element of what an appraiser does. Appraiser responsibilities require this skill because "to successfully accomplish all the tasks related to appraising and assessing a property, appraisers and assessors of real estate need good organizational skills." This resume example highlights how appraiser duties rely on this skill: "established strong organizational skills and customer service skills dealing with homeowners and multiple clients on a daily basis. "
The three companies that hire the most appraisers are:
- BGC Partners71 appraisers jobs
- CBRE Group43 appraisers jobs
- GEICO27 appraisers jobs
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Compare different appraisers
Appraiser vs. Valuation consultant
A claims analyst specializes in processing medical insurance claims. They are primarily responsible for verifying the authenticity and eligibility of claims, analyzing the billing, communicating with policyholders, and ensuring adherence to all the policies and regulations during the entire procedure. Furthermore, a claims analyst is also in charge of administrative tasks such as keeping and updating records, reaching out and sending reports to creditors, setting appointments and schedules, processing paperwork, coordinating with key personnel, and discussing terms and necessary information to clients.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an appraiser are more likely to require skills like "appraisal reports," "customer service," "mai," and "market research." On the other hand, a job as a valuation consultant requires skills like "real estate," "business valuation," "derivative," and "valuation reports." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that valuation consultants earn slightly differ from appraisers. In particular, valuation consultants are 18.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an appraiser. Additionally, they're 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Appraiser vs. Claims analyst
A Claims Representative is an agent who works for insurance companies in order to investigate and settle claims. The agent acts as an intermediary between customers and insurance companies by evaluating the customers' facts surrounding claims and determining whether the loss is covered or should be compensated. Such a role is important because an agent makes sure that no fraud claims are being paid out. It is also highlighted that an agent works in compliance with state regulations.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, appraiser responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "commercial property," "appraisal reports," "mai," and "discounted cash flow." Meanwhile, a claims analyst has duties that require skills in areas such as "medical terminology," "cpt," "process claims," and "medicaid." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Claims analysts earn similar levels of education than appraisers in general. They're 1.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Appraiser vs. Claims representative
A Claims Processor is responsible for processing and verifying insurance claims, in adherence to the policies, laws, and regulations of the company involved. Aside from examining its authenticity, they must also oversee new policies and recommend modifications should it be needed. Moreover, it is also the task of the Claims Processor to prepare the necessary documents and guidelines for the policyholder, process reimbursements upon approval, provide answers to inquiries, and report issues and updates to the management.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from appraiser resumes include skills like "appraisal reports," "mai," "discounted cash flow," and "market research," whereas a claims representative is more likely to list skills in "taking care," "judgment decision making," "quality standards," and "policy coverage. "
Claims representatives earn the best pay in the government industry, where they command an average salary of $45,430. Appraisers earn the highest pay from the insurance industry, with an average salary of $48,145.claims representatives typically earn similar educational levels compared to appraisers. Specifically, they're 2.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Appraiser vs. Claim processor
Types of appraiser
Updated January 8, 2025
