10 Career Opportunities In Real Estate After Getting Your License

One of the most unique aspects of the real estate industry is the fact that once you have obtained your real estate license, a whole world of career opportunities in real estate are available to you. Depending upon your interests and your skills, you are sure to find real estate jobs that are perfect for you. The fact is, there is more than property buying and selling in real estate.

We have put together a list of possible career options which you can consider once you have obtained your real estate license. Some of these professions require further learning and training, yet all of these are fulfilling and rewarding vocations for those who wish to become a part of the real estate industry.

Career Paths To Consider After You Get Your Real Estate License — In The Initial Years

1. Real Estate Agents

The most come career path chosen by those who wish to work independently is that of a real estate agent. It is one of those few professional careers where a college degree is not mandatory. Moreover, the low cost of the training, examination, and license application costs makes it a very attractive vocation for many. Added to this is the fact that the aspect of making money is entirely in your hands.

No wonder, over the years, becoming a real estate agent has consistently ranked in the top ten professions chosen by young men and women in America. However, there are two distinct types of real estate agents, and awareness about them would help you to choose better between the two.

A. Residential Real Estate Agent

The first category of an agent is the most commonly seen — a residential real estate agent. Think Phil Dunphy from the hit sitcom 'The Modern Family'. You may have dealt with such an agent, or you have surely met your neighborhood agent. They are the ones with ads on bus benches.

The residential agents basically help people buy and sell homes. You have a choice of becoming a buyer's or seller's agent. The primary challenge in this profession is generating leads. This has been eased by the online lead generation platforms, which help new and experienced agents.

For instance, Dorrmat, a leading online seller lead generation platform, has helped many residential agents by providing them with a steady supply of quality seller leads. This helps the agents focus on the actual buying and selling of the property.

B. Commercial Real Estate Agent

The other category of an agent is that of a commercial real estate agent. These agents help businesses buy and sell properties. The work involved in this is more technical and demands a more in-depth understanding of commercial business.

Commercial agents are expected to help their clients purchase, sell, or lease properties that would help them enhance their business and, in turn, boost their property margins. These agents would help with finding the perfect office space, warehouses, or new store locations.

2. Real Estate Broker

After working as a REALTOR® for a few years, an agent would generally decide to gain further career growth by becoming a real estate broker. Even though the terms agent or broker is used, most often, interchangeably, there is a considerable difference between both types of real estate professionals.

A real estate broker is an individual who has obtained further education, undergone more qualifying examinations, and is qualified to start and manage his or her independent real estate office and employ other real estate agents.

This is the reason this category of an agent is called a managing broker, too. After gaining a broker license, they can set up a real estate office and hire other real estate agents to work for them. It is mandatory for all new agents to work with an experienced broker. For both agents and brokers, this is a profitable arrangement. The former gets more practical knowledge and experience as they will be working as part of a team. The latter would be making money, as each successful deal by an agent working for them would earn the managing broker a share of the commission.

3. Leasing Consultant

A leasing consultant is an agent who is charged with the responsibility to ensure that all the homes or properties he is handling are occupied at all times. They are the ones in charge of bringing in new tenants. This is an occupation that requires excellent people skills, communication skills, and patience. These skills are needed, as the profession requires communication and negotiating with people.

Within these career opportunities in real estate, this is a profession where you have a relatively high degree of flexibility. You may need to work on occasion during the evenings or the weekends.

4. Real Estate Marketing Specialist

Now, if you are looking for a real estate career that does not involve a daily commute, going all over the city showing houses, and basically allows you the convenience of working from home, then you must consider becoming a real estate marketing specialist.

A real estate marketing specialist is a professional who works with agents and brokers to help them be seen by their target audience. They are marketing experts who specialize in the real estate segment. They formulate and create the print publicity materials, such as brochures, business cards, door-hangers, or pamphlets. Furthermore, they are responsible for designing the digital marketing content for the real estate website and also handle social media marketing.

The primary role of a real estate marketing professional is to make sure that the brands of agents and brokers are seen by the public. Brand visibility among the target audience is the key to help generate new business leads. Therefore, this role is a highly crucial one for the real estate business.

5. Property Manager

In simple terms, a real estate property manager is somewhat similar to that of a leasing agent, however, the key difference is the added responsibilities that a property manager has to fulfill. Once a property — whether residential or commercial — has been purchased, there is a requirement to have a person in charge to take care of the day-to-day affairs of the property.

The primary responsibility of property managers is to ensure that the real estate investment is making money for the owners. The main responsibilities of a property manager are to take care of the leasing and staffing. They also have to handle the contracting for services, repairs, and maintenance of the property.

Depending on the size of the property, the property managers can hire others and outsource the individual tasks. In such cases, they would have to merely coordinate and ensure everything is running smoothly. This generally happens with large commercial properties, such as malls, office buildings, etc.

Opportunities In Real Estate — After Gaining Experience

6. Real Estate Investor

Real estate investors are those individuals who invest in a property to earn income from it. Their goal is to maximize their profits from the property. If you wish to become a real estate investor you can choose to be either an active investor or a passive investor.

A. Active Investor

If you become an investor in the active capacity, it would be your full-time occupation. These real estate investors are fully involved in the property project from start to finish or are engaged in the major portions of it, such as remodeling or purchasing.

B. Passive Investor

The role of a real estate investor in that passive capacity is, however, limited to investing the funds. These investors contribute the money to a group that then handles the purchase and sale of properties. This category as the name suggests this is for those who wish to make money passively without having much involvement.

Still, it does require choosing the organizations where the money is invested carefully. Moreover, having some experience in the real estate business is always helpful in making these business decisions accurately.

7. Foreclosure Specialist

A foreclosure specialist is an agent who specializes in dealing with foreclosed properties. These are real estate properties where the borrower of the loan has defaulted on the repayments. Therefore, the bank or the lending agency decides to sell the property to reclaim their dues.

A foreclosure specialist can choose to work with homeowners, banks, or private lending agencies. This agent has to handle a lot of vital responsibilities in terms of analyzing the financial documents, liaising between the different stakeholders, and ensuring that the deal fulfills the requirements of all the concerned parties.

8. Real Estate Attorney

Becoming a real estate attorney is a professional path that combines the knowledge and skills of both the real estate industry and the laws governing property deals. The job of a real estate attorney is to ensure that the sale and purchase of a property are legal in all terms. They need to minutely check the title deed, transfer papers, and other property-related documents. They also have to help facilitate the resolving of any disputes or issues arising in the sale or purchase of a property.

In this list of real estate career opportunities, becoming a real estate attorney is probably the one that requires most in terms of educational qualifications. These attorneys would need to earn a bachelor's degree, take the LSAT, earn a Juris Doctor degree, clear the bar exam, and acquire experience as a lawyer.

Although the process is long and would take around 7-8 years, this is a highly lucrative career option, especially for those who opt to work in the commercial real estate space.

9. Real Estate Appraiser

A profitable real estate career to choose is that of a real estate appraiser. This job basically involves identifying the true value of a property — both commercial and residential. This value is determined by studying the location and characteristics of the property and by comparing it to similar properties in that neighborhood that have recently sold or are for sale.

As this is a technical vocation where you need to determine the value of properties, you need to have an educational background in finance and economics. You would also need to undergo around 75+ hours of appraiser training and clear the examination to obtain your appraiser license.

You have the freedom to either work independently or as part of a large organization. Again you have the opportunity to choose to work either as a residential property appraiser or commercial property appraiser.

10. Home Inspector

Although many people consider a home inspector and a real estate appraiser to be the same, they are in fact entirely different occupations. Home inspectors are crucial to the sale and purchase of a home. Mostly in a property deal, both the sellers and the buyers have their home inspectors examine the home in detail.

A home inspector has to examine the physical structure in detail. They have to examine the condition of the roof, check for any plumbing or electrical issues, and ensure that the HVAC systems are working properly. Then they need to present their recommendations to the property owner or prospective buyer. These items they are checking are just a small list. They may recommend a more qualified specific inspector for certain items such as a pool, roof, HVAC, etc.

This job requires a lot of meticulous checking and examining. Now in some states, you may not require a real estate license but having one will certainly be an added benefit.

Summary

Many people want to become a real estate agent, however, getting your real estate license is merely the first step. Once you have obtained your license and gained a few years of work experience, you are in a position to move ahead. Individuals can either continue as agents and brokers or they can choose to pursue one of the other lucrative real estate professions discussed above.

A career in real estate is indeed a satisfying professional choice. As a licensed real estate agent, you will be helping individuals and organizations achieve their property-related dreams. Your advice and guidance will help them at an important junction of their progress.