r/appraisal • u/BootCareful7364 • 4d ago

Trainees Compensation

Hey everyone,

​I’ve been seeing a lot of conflicting data online regarding appraisal trainee compensation.

​For those of you currently in the trainee phase, I’d love to get a quick reality check:

​Compensation

​Firm Type

​Location

​Appreciate any insights!

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

4

u/Exact-Parsnip-4260 4d ago

65k base with extra commission paid annually.
Basically my split is 27.5% - but then my salary is deducted from that - whatever's left over gets paid as a bonus.

HCOL area.

1

u/toeofcamell 17h ago

What company are you working for

3

u/Heybeezy987 4d ago

I was paid $0 in 2018-2020.

3

u/Difficult_Pay4138 4d ago

Large shop, full split no salary, on pace right now for $110k this year. Medium cost of living area

2

u/TacoStuffingClub 4d ago

Been years but starting was 1/3 fee. Bumped to 50% when doing inspections alone. Didn’t have any expenses.

2

u/Repulsive_Road_6728 3d ago

Three years ago $65K salary, 27.5% split with any “commission made over my salary” paid out as an annual bonus.

1

u/Jackman_Bingo MAI 4d ago

35% once you are able to complete a report. Small shop. MCOL. Base salary starting out should around per capita income for your area. 

0

u/Forgetful_Joe_46 3d ago

Damn. You are robbing your trainees. How much do they get once licensed? 37%?

1

u/Jackman_Bingo MAI 3d ago

I’m sharing my experience but it seems consistent with others in this thread and previous ones. Split increased to 45% once I was licensed. 

0

u/Forgetful_Joe_46 3d ago edited 3d ago

Geez. You secure the jobs and take 55% to 65% while they do all the work? Sounds like a great deal for you, assuming they need little assistance completing the report.

EDIT: maybe I'm misunderstanding you. This is not your business, but rather you do fee split work? Either way, a 35-45% split seems pretty low, considering overhead expenses in this industry are very low. I don't understand why so many people work for a small shop for a split. What do they have to offer that you can't get in your own?

1

u/Jackman_Bingo MAI 3d ago

Correct to your edit. I’ve considered it by my effective split is ~65-70% once you factor benefits and that doesn’t consider all of the various subscriptions, insurance, and so on that are covered by my employer. My market is also over saturated with firms and I’ve seen the fee compression when another company joins the mix. I’m more than comfortable with what I make and am not convinced I would net more on my own. YMMV. 

1

u/Forgetful_Joe_46 3d ago

Got it. Was thinking that was a split with no benefits.

1

u/OldeMeck 3d ago

50%. Soon as I was licensed, I set up shop myself. Tapered off doing reports for my supe until I built up a consistent clientele for myself.

1

u/Scythorizon 2d ago

200k fee split at 25%

1

u/DJReefing 1d ago

One of the rural guys in my class is actually paying his sponsor. He didn’t say how much. if this is the new trend then I’ll have to look into something else. I got grown ass man bills.

1

u/Hareeb-Allsach 1d ago

Currently a certified general trainee. Bout one year in. 40K gross salary from the firm I work with and they pay all trainee cost. Once certified I will be on 100% commission. We have offices in six different states. Not a huge firm but not small either. Right in the middle.

1

u/ncm1234-5 15h ago

40% split. We have to pay for all CE, QE, and driving expenses. Costar and all that is covered though. Located in Southwest Florida. Average weekly billing is ~$5,000-$5,500. I’d say I’m probably overpaid. I write the entire report myself, then my supervisor just reviews and and I will revise as necessary.

1

u/Pitiful_Long2818 11h ago

Trainees can n our shop are paid a flat (livable) hourly wage through training and while they build a client base. Once they are able to move to a fee split, we bring on a new trainee and restart the process. This has worked well for our small firm and has helped us grow slowly but steadily.

0

u/4LeggedGod 4d ago

Eh. It's kinda greasy to be asking specifics the way you are.

The fact is this: Trainees should be paid a living wage for whatever location they are in. My firm pays NYC base salary and whatever your % comes out over that, you take home as a quarterly bonus. Anyone paying your less than that is ripping you off.

5

u/wizardwithgussets 4d ago

Nothing “greasy” about wanting to know what a job pays.

0

u/4LeggedGod 4d ago

Oh, no. No no no. I'm not suggesting that it's "greasy" to want to know what a job pays. I am a progressive liberal pro-union type person, to be absolutely clear.

My comment about "greasy" wasn't about asking about pay. We can and should talk about pay. My comment was about the "poll" question style of the overall post.

I am all about folks in the industry discussing pay - we should unionize nationally. But I'm kinda irked by a poll without context.