I currently hold the SRA and my broker is encouraging me to go for the RAA. I've been appraising residential properties for 8 years and figured the exam would be mostly a formality but I'm hearing it's actually pretty involved. Can anyone compare the two in terms of study time required?
I've budgeted 6 weeks at 1.5 hours a day, which gets me to about 63 hours total. The areas I'm least confident about are the investment analysis questions and the advanced adjustment methodology stuff. My day-to-day work is mostly standard residential so I don't do a lot of complex income approach work.
My firm is covering the exam fee which is nice, but I don't want to waste a test attempt. What score range were people hitting on practice exams before they felt ready to sit? And is the NAI exam format multiple choice or does it include case studies?
Coming from the SRA it's a step up but not a massive jump. I'd say 6 weeks is plenty if you're already practicing. The adjustment methodology questions just require you to think through your reasoning carefully - not trick questions exactly but they reward systematic thinking.
I passed the RAA on my first try after about 55 hours of prep. The investment analysis questions were challenging but they're not the majority of the exam. Mostly it's applied appraisal methodology and USPAP compliance scenarios.
The USPAP sections are worth reviewing carefully even if you think you know them. They test specific ethics rule details you might not recall from memory - I missed 3 of those on my first attempt and failed by 2 points. Drilled them specifically and passed the second time.
It's all multiple choice. I was scoring around 74% on practice and passed comfortably. If you're in the 70s on practice exams you're probably ready - the real exam felt slightly easier than the harder practice sets I found online.