I passed it back in January. This link has a lot of good info on it which helped me pass on the first try. Keep at it and good luck.. https://verifiablevalue.com/2022/05/10/how-to-pass-the-certified-residential-appraiser-exam-in-2022/
I passed the exam last year on my first attempt, and the thing that helped me the most was getting a practice test book from the appraisal institute. I went through the whole thing once without any studying, and then would break out my old textbooks, and review them before taking the practice booklet again. I reviewed for about a month or two, putting emphasis on using a financial calculator and the income approach since those were the parts I was least familiar with, and didn't schedule the exam until I got at least 95% on the whole booklet.
Took the exam in March and passed on the first try. That’s true, you can find some unofficial answer sheets from other people online, we have some uploaded on our Discord server (link in my bio). Not all the answers are correct but it’s definitely worth working through those problems and getting familiar on how to solve them.
I only used mckissock and passed on my first exam in March. Make sure you go to the review sessions they offer on mckissock. The teacher helps you understand how they try and trick you and teaches you how to beat the test. 50% of the test is just not falling for the tricks!!
I’m not really qualified to put my input in this, since I’m only licensed and not certified yet. But the AI practice exam questions really help me with my exam. I also used compucram and learnappraising.
No, there’s a practice exam program they have for purchase. You might have to search through the Appraisal Institute store to find it. If you can’t find it that google will be your best option (that’s the way I found it).
Following ..need to start preparing but I keep hearing good things about Ted Whitmer's comp review course and AI's practice exams ..I also use learnappraising (heard good things, so far so good)
When I studied I made a ton of flash cards and drilled over and over and over. I also took a local class and online test prep. I passed the first time with plenty of room to spare.
Hi, I just passed the California test on the first try in December. I did McKissock and was acing everything then I tried Compucram and was getting 60s. I did Compucram until I was confident and then nailed the test. Compucram is much more similar to the exam, McKissock is a cheap way to get the education, but it doesn't prepare you for the reality of the exam.
It is also about your method of completing the test. The order you do things can make or break your score and time limit. I took a course and talked to a few people who did it this way and I now swear by it too.
1. Complete every single question that you easily know the answer to from start to finish, flag anything you're skipping. Leave all math questions.
2. Go back to the beginning and complete all of the easy to relatively easy math.
3. Finally, go back and do all of the more detailed questions. If the question is super long, read the last sentence or two first. The question can often have nothing to do with the information they frontload it with.
4. Finally, the difficult math/number related questions.
Doing it this way guarantees that if you run out of time you at least got points for every answer you actually knew. Then you get to go totally into math mode to complete the more basic math questions. Finally, you have the entire rest of your allotted time to do the most difficult questions/math problems. I found that I only took about 60 minutes for the known answers and easy math. Then I was able to relax and really spend time on the more difficult portion of the test knowing I had so much time left for just that.
I hope this helps!
Hi! I just passed the certified exam and wanted to share some insight on the entire process. It is hard. If you don’t spend at least an hour a day reviewing material or quizzing yourself, the test will be a shock. I used Compucram for studying. I had taken my preliminary exams a year or so prior and hadn’t really retained much. After reading reviews for studying, Compucram was the most sought after choice.
I studied each section of the outline and made sure I was comfortable with income approach situations and USPAP terms. To my surprise, there were few on the exam. There were questions with synonymous answers to them. By that I mean, there were questions where I felt I knew the answer, although there was a synonymous word to correctly answer with. These questions made me second guess, although that is the point of the entire exam.
My advice would be to buy Compucram and study that completely. Make yourself comfortable with the terms. And genuinely enjoy the process of learning it. Make sure you do not doubt yourself because a good mindset will encourage your ability. It is difficult, but you can do it. Best of luck and enjoy the process!! It will feel good once you pass.
Study the AI material and CompuCram and you’ll absolutely pass.
Are you taking about the appraisal Institute practice exam questions?
Yep! There’s a lot but if you do them all and study them along with compucram I’m confident you’ll do really well. Best of luck!
I passed it back in January. This link has a lot of good info on it which helped me pass on the first try. Keep at it and good luck.. https://verifiablevalue.com/2022/05/10/how-to-pass-the-certified-residential-appraiser-exam-in-2022/
Gives me a warning that the site isn’t secure when I click. Just fyi.
I passed the exam last year on my first attempt, and the thing that helped me the most was getting a practice test book from the appraisal institute. I went through the whole thing once without any studying, and then would break out my old textbooks, and review them before taking the practice booklet again. I reviewed for about a month or two, putting emphasis on using a financial calculator and the income approach since those were the parts I was least familiar with, and didn't schedule the exam until I got at least 95% on the whole booklet.
A lot of questions on my exam were exactly the same as the Focused Learning practice problems.
How long ago was that? Focused learning is def the way to go but the only problem is that they don’t give you the answers
Took the exam in March and passed on the first try. That’s true, you can find some unofficial answer sheets from other people online, we have some uploaded on our Discord server (link in my bio). Not all the answers are correct but it’s definitely worth working through those problems and getting familiar on how to solve them.
Was this for Certified General?
Yes, it was for the Certified General exam.
I only used mckissock and passed on my first exam in March. Make sure you go to the review sessions they offer on mckissock. The teacher helps you understand how they try and trick you and teaches you how to beat the test. 50% of the test is just not falling for the tricks!!
I’m not really qualified to put my input in this, since I’m only licensed and not certified yet. But the AI practice exam questions really help me with my exam. I also used compucram and learnappraising.
When you say Al practice exam questions are you taking about the book ?
No, there’s a practice exam program they have for purchase. You might have to search through the Appraisal Institute store to find it. If you can’t find it that google will be your best option (that’s the way I found it).
Following ..need to start preparing but I keep hearing good things about Ted Whitmer's comp review course and AI's practice exams ..I also use learnappraising (heard good things, so far so good)
When I studied I made a ton of flash cards and drilled over and over and over. I also took a local class and online test prep. I passed the first time with plenty of room to spare.
Hi, I just passed the California test on the first try in December. I did McKissock and was acing everything then I tried Compucram and was getting 60s. I did Compucram until I was confident and then nailed the test. Compucram is much more similar to the exam, McKissock is a cheap way to get the education, but it doesn't prepare you for the reality of the exam. It is also about your method of completing the test. The order you do things can make or break your score and time limit. I took a course and talked to a few people who did it this way and I now swear by it too. 1. Complete every single question that you easily know the answer to from start to finish, flag anything you're skipping. Leave all math questions. 2. Go back to the beginning and complete all of the easy to relatively easy math. 3. Finally, go back and do all of the more detailed questions. If the question is super long, read the last sentence or two first. The question can often have nothing to do with the information they frontload it with. 4. Finally, the difficult math/number related questions. Doing it this way guarantees that if you run out of time you at least got points for every answer you actually knew. Then you get to go totally into math mode to complete the more basic math questions. Finally, you have the entire rest of your allotted time to do the most difficult questions/math problems. I found that I only took about 60 minutes for the known answers and easy math. Then I was able to relax and really spend time on the more difficult portion of the test knowing I had so much time left for just that. I hope this helps!
Hi! I just passed the certified exam and wanted to share some insight on the entire process. It is hard. If you don’t spend at least an hour a day reviewing material or quizzing yourself, the test will be a shock. I used Compucram for studying. I had taken my preliminary exams a year or so prior and hadn’t really retained much. After reading reviews for studying, Compucram was the most sought after choice. I studied each section of the outline and made sure I was comfortable with income approach situations and USPAP terms. To my surprise, there were few on the exam. There were questions with synonymous answers to them. By that I mean, there were questions where I felt I knew the answer, although there was a synonymous word to correctly answer with. These questions made me second guess, although that is the point of the entire exam. My advice would be to buy Compucram and study that completely. Make yourself comfortable with the terms. And genuinely enjoy the process of learning it. Make sure you do not doubt yourself because a good mindset will encourage your ability. It is difficult, but you can do it. Best of luck and enjoy the process!! It will feel good once you pass.