Real Estate: Sales Careers and More

When the average person thinks of real estate, they almost always think residential sales, and although that field is probably the most heavily populated, it is by no means the only career choice available.

Residential sales can be interesting and rewarding work. After all, you are helping folks fulfill one of the most basic human needs--shelter. If you don’t like emotional and sometimes irrational sales situations, this is probably not the branch of the real estate family for you. You are usually dealing with consumers’ largest single expenditure and it will be ‘home,’ so people often become emotional over the selection process. On the flip side of the transaction, you will also be selling someone’s home, and that too can become emotional.

I think the most frustrating aspect of residential sales is that buyers seldom seem to know what they want. I have had instances where the buyers told me that they would only accept a two-story, brick colonial in a specific location. Then they end up buying something completely different. Getting to the heart of the matter is often a task worthy of Dick Tracy.

Often what people say they want and what they actually buy are quite different, so it takes a skillful interviewer to learn the truth. In order to become a successful buyers’ agent, it is imperative that you learn the art of questioning: what would they like in a home, but more importantly, why? If the buyer says they must have a five-bedroom home, the inexperienced agent might spend endless hours hunting for it. But if the agent had asked, he or she may have found that the family needs four bedrooms and plans to use the fifth as a den. So a four-bedroom with a first-floor den would work just fine.

If this doesn’t sound like you, you may be more interested in commercial real estate sales. An entirely different skill set is required for this profession. One must have a fairly good grasp of business practices and financial statements. It certainly helps to be a quick study, as in order to sell your commercial customer you should understand their business and associated needs. Retail customers may be interested in traffic counts. Restaurants will have a different set of concerns, such as liquor licenses. Businesses utilizing office space will have needs revolving around the comfort and convenience of their employees and customers. The better you understand their businesses, the more likely you will be to succeed.

Commercial sales are far less emotional, which is not to say a buyer never picks a location because of the way they feel about it; however, they would seldom select a location that isn’t good for the business.

A career that is slightly more detached from the buying zone and strictly analytical would be the field of appraisal. This is the closest anything in the real estate industry comes to resembling a ‘normal’ business, with regular hours of operation. (That’s not to say my hard-working friends in this field don’t go the extra mile when they have to, so appraisers, don’t be offended.)

The appraiser’s function is vital to the success of the other branches of this industry. Very few transactions can be completed without an appraisal. Commercial buyers often involve an appraiser earlier in the process than residential buyers, as their opinion may be instrumental in assisting the buyer with the offer. Residential buyers are generally required to have an appraiser by their mortgage lender, so their appraisal, rather than helping formulate value for the offer, is used to confirm that the price they have negotiated is valid.

Real estate property management is another field in which the licensee may find an interest. In this segment of the profession, you will be managing the investment property of others. This, too, can be a residential or commercial specialty, each with its own series of pluses and minuses. Once again, residential management can be quite emotional; if a tenant has a roof leak, they want it repaired yesterday, and vacancies are often a tense event for the property owner/ property management relationship.

On the other hand, commercial relationships tend to be more professional and tenant issues are often less emotional (my office toilet can run for weeks without me threatening to stop the rent.) Long-term vacancy appears to be the greatest concern and there may be an extremely limited market for any given commercial location.

Finally, an excellent career opportunity associated with the real estate business is mortgage lending. Although a real estate license isn’t required, the experience is very useful, particularly for empathizing with the customer.

Today the majority of mortgage work being done is through brokers or mortgage banking concerns that represent products from more than one source, therefore providing customers with a better fit for their needs. This environment is very competitive; for that reason, good loan officers are in demand and cater to the needs of the customer.

If any of these ideas sound interesting to you, you can obtain further information from the following organizations: For real estate brokerage, property management and appraising, contact the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh. For mortgage loan officer information, contact the Mortgage Bankers Association of Southwestern PA.

Gary Straub is an independent real estate consultant who has been a real estate professional for 36 years.