The Average Appraiser Is Aging Out Of The Workforce. A Crippling Labor Shortage Looms Beverly Varallo was one year into her first mentorship to become a licensed appraiser when she realized that the woman under whom she was training wasn’t keeping up her end of the deal. 
Varallo had spent the year going on inspections with her mentor, helping with record-keeping and learning the appraisal business. She was also racking up the minimum 2,000 hours of training needed to get licensed. Or so she thought. She eventually discovered her hours weren’t being properly tracked, and none of them counted toward her goal. She switched mentors, started over counting her hours and this year, after nearly five years of training, became a licensed appraiser. She remained at her new mentor’s firm as a partner, but she still faces clients questioning her experience. “I've been working for five years, I haven't had a single order come in my name,” said Varallo, 41, who works at Zen Appraiser in Philadelphia. “I'm still working under my supervisor, signing as a co-appraiser.” Her story is playing out on repeat among a sorely needed new generation of appraisers. The certification process requires an apprenticeship program, thousands of hours of on-the-job training and online or in-person courses. It can be a daunting series of hurdles that is only exacerbated by a reluctance across the industry to take on new trainees. The dynamic has created a demographic crisis across the industry. Read Full Story. | 
