By Shirley Shuman
Toward the end of 2023, Nick Long learned that he had been named among the top 100 individuals in real estate in the United States. The story of Long’s career in real estate appears in a publication called “The Top 100 Magazine.” Joseph Nunziato, the Head of Business Development for the magazine, nominated him, Senior Editor Staci Coppola interviewed him. Now working as a real estate appraiser, Long owns Proficient Appraisal Services along with Property Central LLC, both located in Sutton.
Long first became interested in the real estate business during his early college years at Glenville State University. A business major, he was uncertain about his career path until he happened to see a book on real estate. He began reading and, before long, decided to dig deeper into the subject. The result is the field in which he has pursued his career for the past 15 years.
After two years at Glenville State and two years at Marshall University, Long graduated with a business degree. In the early years of his work in real estate, he worked as an agent. To qualify as an agent, he spent hours in classes, passed the state exam, and worked under a licensed real estate broker for one year. Still very much interested in appraisal, at 22, he started working toward that goal. Then, at 23, he began work as an appraiser. Long explained the intensity of the training to obtain a state license in that field. “I took 200 hours of classes and then worked under a professional for two years to become an appraiser,” he said. “I then took and passed the difficult national exam.”
In the time he has worked as a real estate agent and then as an appraiser, Long has trained “a lot of people in real estate and in appraising, mostly people coming into the basics.” He also spent a period in which he worked for a lender who did VA loans. In this role, he explained, “I reviewed appraisals to make sure they were compliant with VA standards.”
Long works five, sometimes six, days a week “depending on the demand,” and he is currently the only appraiser for Proficient Appraisal Services. However, he does have an apprentice appraiser who will become part of the company.
Although he spends long hours in his work, this young man has time for other interests. He enjoys hunting and fishing, playing video games, and spending time with friends and family. He noted that he “also likes to travel whenever [he has] a chance.”