Is It Better to be a Real Estate Agent or Appraiser?

Real estate appraisers and agents have a huge influence when it comes to the selling and buying of properties. Oftentimes, you might find them performing similar roles but do not be surprised when they come up with different reports about the same property.

These two professionals might pull data about properties from the same database, but they view the data differently and use it in different ways. This can be explained by the fact that appraisers are required by law to provide an unbiased opinion with regard to properties.

On the other hand, real estate agents can be biased when providing their opinion about a certain property. This is because they might want to convince a person to either buy, sell, or even rent a property.

That notwithstanding, real estate agents and appraisers will work on different properties throughout their careers. Both of them can use multiple listing services to obtain data about properties but appraisers are required to look for more information from different sources.

Real Estate Appraisers

A real estate appraiser is tasked with evaluating a property to come up with its value during development or when it is on sale. Getting the market value of properties requires them to inspect the properties physically while gathering information such as;

The intended and current use of the property.

The architectural quality of the property.

The state of the exterior and the interior of the property.

The amount of space occupied by the property as well as its measurements.

The surrounding characteristics that might have an impact on the value of the property.

For one to qualify to be an appraiser, they are required to get training from appraising schools for them to be certified. The requirements might vary from one state to another, but most of them demand that one obtains a certification.

When appraising a property, appraisers are also required to examine the market conditions in the location of the property. This might involve looking at things such as properties that have been sold in the area and other factors that can be compared with the property they are appraising.

Finally, real estate appraisers are required to work on a single property at a time. This ensures that they focus on the same property and the factors that affect its value before working on any other property.

Even though you might find them in offices, most of their work requires them to be in the field collecting and analyzing data.

Real Estate Agents

A real estate agent is tasked with helping their clients sell or buy residential and commercial properties to avoid common mistakes with real estate. Most real estate agents work with licensed brokers who manage brokerages or real estate companies. Others are even brokers on their own but prefer to take on the roles of an agent.

This is because of the work that comes with managing a real estate company or a brokerage firm, which requires a lot of time and commitment. Working as a real estate agent means that you earn a commission from the properties that you sell or rent.

Depending on the property that they are working on, a real estate agent might work for the seller or the buyer of a property. However, a bigger percentage of real estate agents have specialized on either the buyer or the seller’s side.

This explains why some of them refer to themselves as listing agents while others as buying agents.

When working for a buyer, a real estate agent is tasked with making sure that they understand what their clients want and the amount of money they are willing to spend. They can even work closely with mortgage providers to ensure that the buyers get affordable payment plans.

Working for sellers requires real estate agents to ensure that their clients understand the market value of their properties. They should also provide them with the asking price for their properties to ensure that they do not ask for a price that is too high or too low.

Finally, real estate agents are supposed to help their clients when closing a deal. Whether buying or selling properties, a real estate agent should guide the buyer or seller with all the paperwork that is involved in the process.

Which One is Better?

Depending on what you like and the tasks that you might want to perform, you can choose to either become a real estate agent or appraiser.

In addition, you might want to consider things such as the education requirements for each and the potential to earn more. According to UnionTestPrep, regardless of whether you settle on becoming a real estate appraiser or agent, you'll first need to pass your real estate license exam. Both topics are covered on the exam, although they do vary by state.