Natalya Stilin

I started in the appraisal field in 2019, and it's been a challenging but rewarding journey. Before finding my passion in appraisals, I worked in restaurants - bartending and waiting tables - and even tried being a realtor. The beginning was really hard because nobody wanted to take me on as a trainee. It took me a year after getting my license to find someone willing to take me under their wing, and as a single mom at the time, I had to keep working in restaurants because that was the only thing I could do to support us. I became a Certified Residential Appraiser in 2023. Now I have my own company and I'm thriving more each year. My typical day involves appraisal evaluations where I go to homes - sometimes I might have two appointments, sometimes five - then I come back home, take care of the kids, and work in my home office. My hours are usually from 10 AM to 10 PM, and sometimes if I get swarmed with work, I'll start at 8 in the morning and go until 10 or 12 at night. The job has flexible hours, but not really, because of all the deadlines. My weekends are my catch-up days because I know no new orders are going to come in. I've come a long way, and my most notable achievement is being able to be on my own and not have to work for a company anymore.