The appraisal business launch plan
Every step from deciding to opening, in the order it happens, shaped to your situation, with your own numbers beside it. About 43 steps in 8 phases, 19 of them specific to an appraisal business. Free to read; ticking steps off and putting in your own numbers come with membership.
The plan43 steps
- 01Not started0/6Fold
Decide with the numbersa week or two
Before a dollar is spent. Most expensive mistakes happen here, and this phase costs nothing.
An appraisal firm makes money one report at a time, and the fee per report swings widely with complexity.
Typical for one unit is $150,000 to $1,500,000 a year; the owner keeps 18 to 30% of it before paying themselves. If that band does not cover what you need, that is the signal to pause and look again.
~50% survive 5 years. Roughly half of all new U.S. businesses reach five years.
Twelve questions about your money, time, experience and temperament, scored. Then the 5 questions this business asks of its owner, about the hours and the work. Answer both before you spend a dollar.
Rule of thumb: if you can buy a firm with transferable lender relationships and a certified roster likely to stay (ideally with the seller helping through a transition), buying buys you years of... Answer it in your situation above and the plan reshapes.
Customers, prices, rent, staff pay, what it costs to open. We filled in typical numbers; change what you know and everything on this page follows.
- 02Not started0/5Open
Plan the moneya week
What it costs to open, where the money comes from, and the cushion that keeps you alive until the business pays for itself.
Appraisal is capital-light to start compared with a fixed-location business: there is no , because the work happens in the field and at a desk.
The itemized cost to open7 lines
- Computers, field tablets, laser measures and office tech: $6,200 to $21,700Dual screens for report writing, tablets and Bluetooth laser measures in the field
- Office furniture, locked files and shredder: $3,100 to $16,400A desk for each person and secure storage for workfiles
- Licenses, qualifying education and training: $3,800 to $4,300State credential and National Registry fee for each appraiser, coursework to certify, new-form training
- E&O and other insurance: $2,600 to $6,700First premiums; E&O is required to join lender and AMC panels
- Website, signs and lender outreach: $1,800 to $12,800How the orders start coming in
- Legal setup and office deposit: $400 to $7,500Entity, engagement letter review and a small office lease deposit
- Initial working capital: $25,000 to $105,000Two weeks to two months of appraiser pay and overhead while lender and AMC payments come in; less when appraisers are paid on fee splits
Costs start on day one; customers take months. Map the first twelve months of cash so the business does not run out of money while it is getting going.
The business has to earn your pay like any other bill. Set it in your numbers and watch the month it move.
How deals in this business are financed4 lines
- SBA 7(a) loan (Up to 10 yr · 75-85% government-guaranteed)The workhorse for buying an existing appraisal firm or funding a startup’s software, working capital, and ramp.
- Seller financing (Often 10-25% of price · 3-7 yr)Very common when buying a firm whose value rides on relationships.
- Working-capital line (Secured by receivables / firm assets)A line of credit to float compensation and overhead through the slow side of the rate cycle.
- Equipment & software financing (Secured by the assets)Finance the software, data subscriptions, and field equipment as you add appraisers.
Most new shops pair an with 10 to 20% of your own cash. Know the monthly payment before you look at a single space.
Before you shop. A lender tells you what they would fund, what they need from you (credit, your cash in, a plan with numbers), and a pre-qualification letter makes a landlord or a seller take you seriously.
- 03Not started0/4Open
Set up the companya day or two
A day of paperwork, and it has to come before the space: a lease, a loan application and every permit are in the company’s name.
Your state’s business name search, the trademark register, and the domain, before the name is on a sign, a van, or a lease.
A , an , and the S-corporation election each change what you keep and what you are exposed to. Compare them with the numbers, confirm with a CPA and an attorney, then file with your state.
After:The is free from the IRS in minutes once the company exists. The bank account needs both. Keep business money separate from day one.
After:Pick the accounting software and connect the bank account now, so every cost of opening is captured and the numbers you later are real.
- 04Not started0/4Open
The territory and the vehiclea week or two
Appraisal has no storefront: your "location" is the market you are competent and credentialed to value.
What decides it for this business: steady transaction and lending volume, direct lender and amc relationships available, property variety for complex / commercial work, adequate geographic density (drive time), not oversaturated with appraisers.
Mobile businesses still answer to city rules: where the vehicle can be kept overnight, whether you can run the business from home, and what the state licenses.
The van or truck is the shop. Price it, outfit it, insure it, and brand it before the first job. The quotes go into the loan application.
Commercial auto for the vehicle, for the work. Customers and any lender will ask for the certificate.
- 05Not started0/2Open
Get the loanfour to eight weeks
Four to eight weeks with an SBA lender, longer if the file is incomplete. Everything else waits on this, so send a complete file.
Your plan with numbers (download it as a PDF from this page), the company’s papers, the vehicle and equipment quotes, your personal financial statement, and proof of the cash you put in.
The lender funds against the quotes and the insurance; the money goes to the vendors and the build.
After:
- 06Not started0/8Open
Permits and the vehicletwo to four weeks
Appraisal is a licensed profession: a state-certified appraiser must sign every report, and the work is governed by uniform standards.
Bind the policies you had quoted before a contractor, a vehicle or a customer is in play. Keep the certificates; the landlord, the lender and the city will ask.
After:With the money in hand: the vehicle, the , the branding, and the state inspection most cities require before it can work.
After:Register your or corporation and obtain a city or county operating license.
With your state, before the first taxable sale. Usually free and online; check your state.
The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice govern how every report is developed and reported, with continuing education.
E&O coverage is commonly to hold lender panels and AMC positions and to protect against valuation claims.
To take AMC order flow, the firm and its appraisers must be approved onto each management company’s panel.
States require ongoing appraisal and USPAP continuing education to renew certification.
- 07Not started0/8Open
Set up to runduring the build
During the build, so the business runs from day one: the systems, the prices, the people and the routine.
The backbone: writes UAD-compliant reports, runs the sketch and value reconciliation, and delivers through lender and AMC portals.
Comparable and property records are the evidence behind every opinion of value.
A dedicated account keeps lender, AMC, and private-client separate from personal money: essential for clean books and any future sale.
A signed opinion of value carries real liability.
See the price the the business needs implies, then check it against what the market pays.
Order intake: New orders arrive from lenders and AMC platforms. Scheduling inspections: Appraisers route inspections by area to keep drive time down. Field inspection: The appraiser measures and photographs the property, notes...
Opening, closing, the sale, the complaint, the cash. One page each. This is the manual a franchise would have sold you.
Free, and it is how most people will find you. Address, hours, photos and the menu or price list, live before opening day; then the sign, the soft opening and the first regulars.
- 08Not started0/6Open
Open and measurethe first ninety days
You own it. Now run it on the numbers.
Friends, neighbors and a short menu or list. Find the problems while the room is forgiving.
Enter the real numbers and see every cost line against the for this business.
Appraiser compensation; AMC fee splits; Turnaround and revisions.
Wages are the start: , insurance, training time and the hours you stop billing. Register as an employer and carry workers’ comp before the first payday.
Growth consumes cash before it produces it. Find the rate your own cash funds before you push.
Appraisal firms sell on the strength of their relationships and their roster.