New York State of Opportunity

Real Estate Specialist 2 (Conservation)

Written Test To Be Held
February 5, 2022
You may be assigned to either Saturday or Sunday to take your test.
You cannot request or change your scheduled day.
Applications Must Be Submitted or Postmarked By
December 22, 2021

 

Exams Included on This Announcement
Exam Number Exam Title Salary Salary Grade Non−Refundable Processing Fee (Waivers available)
26-799 Real Estate Specialist 2 (Conservation) $77,770 SG-23 $40

Please be advised that effective December 1, 2021 the New York State Department of Civil Service will have a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination/testing policy for in-person examinations administered at a New York State test center. For more information, you can access the full policy on the Department of Civil Service website.

Due to current testing space limitations, candidates may need to travel to one of the following test sites to take this examination: Albany, Buffalo, Nyack, Port Jefferson, Poughkeepsie, Syracuse, and an additional downstate location. Candidates will be notified of their test site location on their admission notice.

Appointees who work in the five boroughs of New York City or in Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, or Westchester Counties will receive an additional $3,026 annual downstate adjustment. Appointees who work in Dutchess, Orange, or Putnam Counties will receive an additional $1,513 annual mid-Hudson adjustment.

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Minimum Qualifications

On or before February 5, 2022, you must have:

Either A. a bachelor's degree* AND three years of experience performing inspections and/or appraisals of environmental or recreational lands to include writing detailed original appraisal reports or appraisal reviews, leasing, financing of real property with banks, lending institutions, mortgage organizations, or other financial organizations, OR writing detailed original appraisal reports or appraisal reviews in connection land acquisition for a Public land acquisition agencies, utility companies, or Not for Profit conservation organizations;

Or B. a New York State Land Surveyor's license with current registration AND two years of experience performing inspections and/or appraisals of environmental or recreational lands to include writing detailed original appraisal reports or appraisal reviews, leasing, financing of real property with banks, lending institutions, mortgage organizations, or other financial organizations, OR writing detailed original appraisal reports or appraisal reviews in connection land acquisition for a Public land acquisition agencies, utility companies, or Not for Profit conservation organizations.

Non-Qualifying Appraisal Experience: Preparing Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) reports.

Non-Qualifying Work Experience: Work as a Real Estate Agent or Real Estate Broker.

*If you expect to meet the educational requirements by September 30, 2022, you can be admitted to the written test, but you cannot be considered for appointment until you submit proof of successful completion of the educational requirement to the Appointing Authority at the time of the employment interview. Failure to meet the educational requirements by *September 30, 2022 may result in your removal from the eligible list.

Notes

  1. Your degree must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education/U.S. Secretary of Education. If your degree was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to the Examination Information Desk of the NYS Department of Civil Service for a list of acceptable companies who provide this service. This information can also be found on the Internet at http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/degrees.cfm. You must pay the required evaluation fee. If you are applying on the Internet, you must mail the independent verification of equivalency to the New York State Department of Civil Service, Albany, New York 12239. Attention: S2LAK.
  2. A promotion examination is also being held for these positions. If you are eligible for appointment from a promotion list, you may not be appointed in your own agency from the list resulting from this examination open to the public.
  3. Although promotion examinations are being held, it is expected that appointments will be made as the result of these examinations open to the public.
  4. Appropriate part-time and volunteer experience, which can be verified, will be accepted on a prorated basis.
  5. New York State residence is not required.

The Positions

These positions exist in the Department of Environmental Conservation statewide and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in Albany.

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Duties

As a Real Estate Specialist 2 (Conservation), you would supervise staff, including coordinating the work flow of a unit and/or provide oversight and direction to outside consultants. You may be responsible for an agency's statewide or regional program, serving as the agency's expert for negotiations, valuations, or property management. You would also be responsible for performing the more complicated real estate transactions.

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Subject of Examination

There will be a written test which you must pass in order to be considered for appointment. The written test is designed to test for knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such areas as:

  1. Preparing written material - These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.
  2. Principles and techniques of real property appraisal - These questions test for a knowledge of principles and practices used in the appraisal of agricultural, commercial, and residential real property including knowledge of the three approaches to value; sales comparison, income, and cost estimation.
  3. Supervision - These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of a work unit toward predetermined objectives. The concepts covered, usually in a situational question format, include such topics as assigning and reviewing work; evaluating performance; maintaining work standards; motivating and developing subordinates; implementing procedural change; increasing efficiency; and dealing with problems of absenteeism, morale, and discipline.
  4. Understanding and interpreting tax maps and site plans - These questions test for the ability to read, analyze and perform computations based on various types of maps and plans, and may include tax maps, deed descriptions, site plans, survey maps and building layouts. All the information needed to answer the questions will be provided in the maps, plans, layouts or related written material. A calculator and magnifying glass may be helpful for answering some of these questions. Candidates may bring their own calculator and magnifying glass if they so choose.
  5. Real property acquisition, appraisal, negotiations, relocation, property management and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations - These questions test for knowledge of terms, principles and processes relating to the State of New York's ability to acquire real property. They cover such subjects as the role of negotiators in real property acquisition; right of landowners and tenants when the State acquires property; factors influencing property value determinations and rent determinations; types and characteristics of leasing agreements; eligibility for relocation payments and calculation of payment amounts. The information needed to answer some of these questions can be found in the Eminent Domain Procedure Law, Environmental Conservation Law and Public Lands Law.

Your final score must be 70 or higher in order to pass. Your final score on the eligible list will be determined after adding any wartime Veterans' and Civil Service Law Section 85-a credits.

Note: The Department of Civil Service may administer tests either online or with paper booklets and answer sheets. Online tests may be administered using Remote Proctoring. The announcement will indicate if remote proctoring is being offered. Information on remote proctoring is available on our website at:www.cs.ny.gov/testing/remote-proctoring.cfm.

Admission to the Test: If approved, you will receive an admission notice which will indicate your assigned test date and the way your test will be administered. Your test may be administered with paper and pencil, online at a state test site using a State-provided Chromebook, or online at home on your personal equipment using Remote Proctoring Software. You cannot request to change your scheduled day or request a specific type of test administration.

Applicants are required to have a Personal NY.gov account and keep their email address up to date. The Department of Civil Service and other state agencies will communicate with you through email correspondence. This may include the notification of your test arrangements, examination results, and canvassing you for interest in appointment. It will be important for you to keep your email address, phone number, and mailing address current by logging into https://www.cs.ny.gov/home/myaccount.

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How To Apply

This announcement is for viewing purposes only.

Important: Unless waived, you must pay the non-refundable processing fee. For information on fee waivers, visit https://www.cs.ny.gov/examannouncements/types/oc/appinfo.cfm##Fee. Any past due application processing fees must be paid in full prior to submitting an application. Please email FeeUnitMail@cs.ny.gov regarding inquiries about any past due fee. It is important that you verify that you entered the correct examination number and title on your online or paper application prior to submitting. If you apply online, you should immediately review your email confirmation notice to verify that you applied for the correct examination.

Additional Information

New York State is an Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the policy of the State of New York to provide for and promote equal opportunity employment, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment without unlawful discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, veteran or military service member status, marital status, domestic violence victim status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, arrest and/or criminal conviction record, or any other category protected by law, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception.

Appointment to many positions in State government require candidates to undergo an investigative screening. This may include a thorough character investigation, a Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Record History Check, a Child Abuse Registry clearance, or other similar procedures. Candidates may be fingerprinted and may be required to pay any necessary fees for that procedure. Depending on the nature of the job, the criminal convictions discovered, or any falsified or omitted information revealed, the investigative findings may bar appointment or result in removal after appointment.

Eligibility for Employment

You must be legally eligible to work in the United States at the time of appointment and throughout your employment with New York State. If appointed, you must produce documents that establish your identity and eligibility to work in the United States, as required by the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Religious Accommodation

Most written tests are held on Saturdays. If you cannot take the test on the announced test date, due to a conflict with a religious observance or practice, check the box under “Religious Accommodation.” We will make arrangements for you to take the test on a different date (usually the following day).

Reasonable Accommodations in Testing

It is the policy of the Department of Civil Service, in accordance with the New York State Human Rights Law and the Americans with Disabilities Act, to provide qualified persons with disabilities equal employment opportunity and equal opportunity to participate in and receive the benefits, services, programs, and activities of the Department. It is the policy of the Department to provide such persons reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications as are necessary to provide equal opportunity. Persons with disabilities who require an accommodation to participate in an examination must note this on their application. Further information is available from the Test Administration Unit of the Department of Civil Service. In the Albany area, call 518-457-2487. Outside of the Albany area, call toll free at 1-877-697-5627. For TDD services, call NY Relay at 711 (requires a fee) or 1-800-662-1220.

Other Accommodation

Individuals who apply to take an in-person Civil Service examination and who wish to request an exemption to the Department's COVID-19 vaccination/testing policy due to a medical reason or sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance, must check the box on the application under "Other Accommodations" and will be required to provide appropriate documentation. Candidates granted an exemption will be offered the opportunity to take the examination via Remote Proctoring - a secure, web-based test delivery method that uses professional test proctors and technology to monitor applicants using a web camera as they complete an examination.

Admission to Examination

Notice to appear for the test may be conditional as review of applications may not be made until after the test. If you have not received your notice to appear for the written test three days before the date of the test, email us at AdmissionNotices@cs.ny.gov. Please provide your first and last name, address, and the last four digits of your social security number, and we will provide you with the information you need to attend your written test. If you have an issue other than not receiving your admission notice, please contact our office at (518) 474-6470 in the Albany area or toll free at 1-877-697-5627. Please leave a clear concise message and provide your first and last name, last four digits of your social security number and a daytime phone number.

Taking State and Local Examinations Scheduled for the Same Day

If you have applied to take a written test announced by either one or several local jurisdictions (county, town, city) scheduled to be held on the same test date as this written test, you must notify each of the local jurisdictions no later than two weeks before the test date to make arrangements for taking all tests at one test site. All tests will be held at the state examination center. For your convenience, contact information for all local civil service agencies is available on our website at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/local.cfm.

Cell Phones or Electronic/Communication Devices at the Test Site

The use of cell phones, beepers, headphones, or any electronic or other communication devices at your personal testing site or in the test room, hallways, restrooms, building, grounds, or other areas, except as expressly authorized by the Department of Civil Service, could result in your disqualification.

S2/TA1 LAK-dah
Issued: 11/19/21

This announcement is subject to amendment or cancellation without notice. Do not copy it, or post it to any other site, but link to it instead.

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