NJ real estate appraiser

[Kaoru Kitabayashi]

Hello, 

My wife and I have 3 family rentals in Newark for quite some time.   It went through good time and bad time as usual.  Since I read several books here in Bigger Pockets,  would like to expand more rental apartments.  To do so, I think to take real estate appraisal course for better understanding of house values and also it may help to change my day time work since current daytime work is bit shaky.     

My question is 1) is the knowledge of real estate appraisal help investment? Is it worth $750? 2) does real estate appraiser have a good job opportunity? 

If some knows, please advise.

Thank you.

[Ray Reed]

Hello Kaoru,

I cannot answer the second part of your question but any knowledge you gain can be helpful.  Since the appraisal is mainly to satisfy the bank before they give you a loan, I would not do it.  There are a lot of free online tools to help you determine whether a house is a sound investment or not.  I recently purchased a property cash with no appraisal because i know the rents in the area and how much i can cashflow.  An appraisal wouldn't of swayed me one bit.  Of course if i was going for a mortgage, the bank would of required it but since i know my market, the appraisal would of satisfied the bank.

Would you consider getting a Real Estate License? It seems like that would be more beneficial. You would be able to get comps (like an appraiser), have quick access to the MLS and therefore identify the deals early, and you can make money representing the seller, buyer or landlord.

Good luck on your investing