Career Spotlight: Your Day as a Residential Appraiser

Summit Search Group has recently partnered with a residential valuation firm who is growing their business, and searching for a new Junior Residential Appraiser to join their team in Manitoba. This is a unique career, and the best fit for those who are passionate about real estate, analytics and enjoy working with people. To help clarify what a typical day looks like for a Junior Residential Appraiser with this firm, together, we’ve put together a highlight piece – Day In The Life: A Residential Appraiser.

7:00 a.m. – I check my emails and see that a client has sent me some additional photos of a property I saw a few days ago, I should put these in the file right now before I forget. I take a quick look through the schedule the office manager sent me for the day, 3 inspections today, a lighter day. I think I’ll run through the park today for my morning workout.

8:30 – Today’s run is done and I’m ready for the day. I usually like to go to the coffee shop to work but today I think I’ll hit that café with the patio – our summer has been so great!

9:00 – I get my coffee and breakfast and start plugging away at the 4 files I received from the office assistant yesterday afternoon. This shouldn’t take long, she is very thorough so all I need is to reconcile values and give them a final touch. This gives me just enough time to get these to the senior appraiser before I go for inspection.

10:05 – I review the schedule from the office manager again to see where I am going today – I  start in the North part of Winnipeg, then one in the West and finish just outside the city.

10:30 – I get to my first inspection, the second I pull up I have a feeling this one is going to be great. The home owner meets me at the front door. She is holding her dog on a leash, better move slowly. She tells me he is fine just a little rambunctious and likes to jump up on people. We exchange pleasantries and I ask her if she would mind if I start in the basement. I always like to start on one end of the house and work my way through to other. I take photos and notes and she follows me and we chat about the weekend and the weather.

10:52 – I jump in my car and review my notes quickly to make sure I didn’t miss anything through my inspection. I figure out where I am headed to next and see there is a note that I am to call the next homeowner to let them know I am on my way – he is leaving work to meet me.

11:10 – Appraisal #2 for the day. I meet the home owner at the front door.  He asks me what I need from him and I tell him I just need to take photos and make some notes to help my valuation. We head inside. He’s asking me about the market and if it’s a good time to buy. He seems to know his stuff. Turns out he is in the banking industry and we have a good chat about how home sales are going. We talk for a long time, and I notice the time – yikes!  I better wrap this up, I have a lunch meeting with a lender.

12:05 – I meet the lender at restaurant. She is a big client but I’ve gotten to know her well and we have a lot in common. During lunch she tells me she has a lot of work coming in for me – which is exciting, she is so easy to work with and her files are always so smooth. I make sure to grab the bill (I love having an expense account)!

2:00 – Appraisal #3. I get to the out of town property on my schedule.  There are children playing in the yard when I pull up. They run up to my car and ask me who I am. The youngest one is holding her doll. Their Mom comes out and she starts showing me around the yard (guess I’m not starting in the basement this time). It’s a beautiful site, huge oak trees and very seculuded but on a paved road and only 5 minutes from the town nearby. I really love this site! I finish up and get in my car. I know it was a short day, but I could sure use a coffee!

3: 15 – I stop at a little coffee shop close to home. It’s gotten to the point that I probably don’t even have to tell the server my order, he’s starting to prepare it as he’s asking me if I’m having my usual. I sit down and start reviewing the inspections I did today – and starting my research on current market values in Winnipeg (one of my favourite parts of the job).

5:20 – Just about to close my day, but first I call my senior appraiser to check in and let him know how the day went (we did chat a few times, but those were for quicker questions). He asks me about my lunch and shares that the lender just sent us a lot of work! These relationships really matter to me.  He also tells me the house I am going to in the morning might be a bit challenging to get into since there are some issues with coordinating the keys. Tomorrow I plan to explore a new development as we’ll likely have some appraisals to do on some new builds as well.

I love that every day is different as a Residential Appraiser.

For more information on this career opportunity, please contact Jessica Willis, at [email protected]

*If you experience trouble submitting your resume' here, please email the recruiter directly, you can find the recruiter's email address next to photo of the recruiter above, or contact your our local office.