According to a VanEd article on real estate appraisers, experienced residential appraisers are likely to procure “between two and three appraisals per day.” They usually hire real estate appraisal support staff or appraisal assistants who are paid around $15 per hour to help them produce these appraisals, which are in the form of either form or narrative reports.

Your Time is More Valuable

Imagine hiring an appraisal assistant who is as competent, hard-working, and intelligent as the rest but willing to work for less than $15 an hour. This opportunity to cut down costs while maintaining the same quality in appraisals is irresistible to many professionals working in real estate. It’s also a delicious opportunity to increase their productivity and connect with more potential customers.

But, you’re not just hiring staff for appraisal support because you want to cut costs. You’re hiring them because your time is infinitely more valuable than your staff’s. If you can delegate non-profitable tasks to your appraisal support staff, then you’ll have more time to spend on what you do best and profit from it.

So, how do you hire staff for appraisal support at a more affordable rate? Simple: outsource to the Philippines. We have many trained professionals who can help real estate appraisers realize their goals without overspending.

Top Qualities of Real Estate Appraisal Support Staff

When looking for qualified candidates to hire, we make use of the following list of qualities most desired in a real estate appraisal assistant:

Research skills. Assistants to real estate appraisers need to use many information sources when researching a residential or commercial property. They must carefully research and uncover pertinent information about the property before producing a final report.

Writing skills. Appraisal assistants are tasked to complete more than a hundred pages of an appraisal report. Therefore, it’s required that they shall have college-level education and impressive academic or technical writing skills.

Customer-service skills. Appraisal assistants regularly interact with their boss and their clients. And so, being polite and friendly is essential. In addition, these characteristics may help real estate appraisal assistants expand their opportunities for professional growth.

Organizational skills. Appraisal support staff need good organizational skills and experience in using spreadsheet tools, such as Google Spreadsheet and MS Excel, to accomplish all the tasks assigned to them.

Problem-solving skills. Doing work for a real estate appraiser may involve unexpected problems. Therefore, an appraisal assistant must have the ability to develop and apply an alternative solution to complete the appraisal report and submit it on time.

Time-management skills. Assistants to real estate appraisers often work under time constraints, sometimes producing multiple reports of different properties in a single day. As a result, managing one’s time and meeting deadlines are essential.

Although they’re not necessarily considered skills, an open mind and a willingness to learn are also important. Real estate appraisers often use MLS or appraisal software. Real estate appraisal support staff must be trainable and self-motivated to excel in anything they do.

How to Delegate Tasks to Your Real Estate Appraisal Support Staff

There are two main barriers to effective delegation. One is the fear of losing control over the quality of work produced. The second is simply poor planning. REALTOR Mag advises real estate professionals to keep the following tips in mind when delegating tasks to your support staff:

• Don’t expect the assistant to do the job exactly as you would do; what you want is a positive result.
• Match the jobs you delegate to the skills and experience of the assistant.
• Spend enough time training the assistant to ensure that they understand the job well.
• Don’t be concerned if it takes the assistant longer to do the job, at least at first. In learning a new task, most people concentrate on quality first and then work on speed.
• Discuss scheduling with your assistant to make sure you’re not delegating too much work.
• Monitor your assistant’s work and offer constructive feedback to improve performance.
• If possible, delegate tasks that are of interest to your assistant.

At first, delegate the less important tasks to your real estate appraisal support staff. As time goes by and as your staff gradually proves themselves competent in handling the tasks you’ve assigned to them, hand over more of those tasks you need to be done.

Sage Advice from Thought Leaders and Experienced Appraisers

Gary Kristensen, a real estate appraiser who lives in Portland, Oregon, told The Appraiser’s Home blog that:

“If I need to pay my virtual assistant for two hours to save me one hour, that’s money well spent because my time is much more valuable. You should pay your virtual assistant what she’s worth and make sure that her pay is competitive for the location. Also be sure to pay for customary days off or bonuses based on the location. In the Philippines, good virtual assistants can be found for around $3 per hour plus bonuses. That’s a pretty good income: My virtual assistant lives in a middle-class home with an extended family.”

In the same article, the blog author quoted a well-known real estate expert who gave this insightful observation:

“Do you know what your time is worth on an hourly basis? Are you spending your time on minimum-wage activities? Know how you’re spending your time, so you know what you can or should outsource. Ask yourself, ‘How can I use virtual assistants to grow my business?'”

“If your virtual assistant is saving you 10 hours a week, and your time is $50 an hour, you’re saving $2,000 a month. And if the time you’ve saved enables you to land a new client, well, what’s the lifetime value of that new client?”

Wondering how you can get started with outsourcing and hiring quality support staff for your real estate appraisal business? Visit our Get Started page and fill out the form. Someone from Fair Trade Outsourcing will get back to you ASAP.