Real Estate Archive

Breaking Into the Real Estate Industry: Real Estate Careers for You

The housing industry plays an important role in the quality of our lives. The industry weaves the tapestry of our lifestyles and maps the blueprint of our cities. Thus, it only makes sense to populate the industry with smart, aggressive and creative people who are concerned and responsible not just because their contracts require them so but because they are of service to the general public as well.The market industry is not just composed of real estate agents who you think do no more than bug you with untimely phone calls or hand you leaflets. The problem lies in the fact that people are misinformed about the profession and the whole industry in general. Unbeknownst to them, there’s more to the industry than making a sales pitch. In fact, the real estate industry provides a wide range of opportunities for all sorts of individuals.Thinking of getting into the housing market? Here are some careers to choose from after completing your online real estate courses:1. Salesperson/BrokerForbes.com has recently ranked the job of a real estate agent as the number one happiest job in America. Scoring 4.19 percent on CareerBliss’s rankings, survey participants deemed the job as very rewarding due to the amount of control they had over their work, flexibility and everyday tasks.Being an agent largely involves helping people buy and sell homes. Agents or brokers are adept in carrying out the process of purchasing and selling properties, loan documentation and the policies governing the processes, saving clients their precious time and money. Through training and education, agents become knowledgeable on RE laws, fair housing law and contracts as well as various financing options available to consumers.Different types of brokers exist in the field:
Commercial BrokersCommercial brokers specialize in finding a market for revenue-generating properties like apartments and spaces found in malls, shopping centers, office buildings and warehouses. To qualify as a commercial broker should have a keen understanding of the investment value of properties in terms of location, taxes, and market activities.
Industrial or Office BrokersIndustrial and office brokers are in charge of developing, selling or renting out properties for office headquarters and manufacturing. Industrial or office brokers should be keen of zoning laws, tax regulations, and even property management to be able to relate valuable information on the property they’re marketing to buyers.
Land BrokersLand brokers specialize in brokering land deals for farm, residential, commercial and industrial lots. This kind of broker has a knack for looking for lands that have a potential to be developed or to generate revenues. Land brokers have to be knowledgeable about agriculture and local market economics as well to be able to successful in closing land deals.
2. Land DeveloperLand developers are very important in the said industry since without them, there’s no money to be made on real estate. They conceptualize the blueprint for projects and offer a keen insight on whether a property (residential, commercial or industrial) is worthy of being developed for profit or not. Basically, they conduct site selection and cost analysis. Land developers also coordinate with construction companies and oversee the property construction. Sometimes, land developers are also involved in financing the project.3. Office ManagerThe job of a real estate office manager involves meeting with prospective clients, managing a realty or real estate business, marketing, financial management and brokerage. They are also involved in hiring real estate agents to work for a firm. Real estate managers can be self-employed or work full-time for a real estate firm.4. Property ManagerA property manager plays an important role in-well, you guessed it right-managing and maintaining the structural integrity and usefulness of a property-whether residential (e.g. apartments, houses and condominiums); commercial (e.g. shopping centers, retail stores, offices) or industrial (e.g. factories, manufacturing plants). Their end goal is to ensure a positive cash flow for property investors and make sure they’re making most of their investments. Often times, property managers are on-call 24/7 to attend to emergencies and problems arising from the properties they handle.5. AppraiserAppraisers essentially evaluate property values. Their job involves assessing the profitability of properties as well as tax values, rental, insurance and accounting values. Someone who is good with numbers, has a keen knowledge of accounting and economics principles, real estate education and insight of local housing market activities are a good fit for this type of work.6. Mortgage SpecialistMortgage specialists help potential owners choose the right kind of loan for them. They also help businesses collect loans they’ve provided to customers. They can work for a firm or independently.7. Copywriter/Technical Writer/ResearcherResearchers are usually part of the business development department of a real estate firm. They are either technical writers or journalists who have ventured into real estate. Brokers, developers and other types of real estate professionals depend on the data provided by researchers.Researchers create two types of report on a prospective property: physical, which concerns the building makeup and structures; and economic, which provides forecasts or insight on industry trends, market behavior and financing.Technical writers are involved in documenting project developments. They have to be adept with construction and planning terminology and concepts.Copywriters are employed usually by the corporate communications department or business development department of a real estate company.8. Urban PlannerAn urban planner is someone who plans urban development with civic groups, nonprofits and state agencies to improve on the lives of the general public. They design new pathways, buildings and transportation terminals to ease the lives of the city’s inhabitants and to increase tourist receipts in the area.9. RE CounselorAn RE counselor is not necessarily considered as a career but it is a specialty as well. Counselors are involved mostly in research and analysis and creating economic, fiscal and feasibility studies, but they also perform brokerage, management and appraisal duties. Consultants come in handy for foreigners who wish to invest locally.10. Real Estate EducatorReal estate educators are crucial in producing the nation’s top real estate agents. They are cogs in the seemingly vast system of the housing industry, keeping it running. Without educators, the industry will be lost, don’t you think?Like other realtor professionals, educators have would need a real estate license as well. Generally, educators are required to meet the following requirements:
Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited educational provider
Must be licensed as a real estate broker
Have been licensed as a broker and practicing for three consecutive years
Was able to meet the credit hour requirement for real estate education
Educators find work in career training providers, institutions and colleges. Seasoned ones can land a job as a subject-matter expert or even author a book on practice.