Loan Officers analyze risks in mortgage lending situations, including the characteristics of loan applicants and properties, to determine whether the lending institutions they represent should lend funds for the purchase of residential or commercial real estate. New graduates typically are hired as Loan Originators, who meet with loan applicants and initiate the process of collecting the information on which lending decisions are made. After gaining experience they may move up to Loan Underwriter positions, in which they organize and analyze borrower information, before eventually being promoted to Loan Officer positions with greater decision-making responsibility.
Mortgage Bankers provide financing for real estate transactions by making mortgage loans and then selling the right to collect payments in the secondary mortgage market. In addition to processing and closing the loans they make, mortgage bankers often service (manage the collection of payments on) loans for the investors that purchase the mortgage notes. Mortgage banking can involve sophisticated securitization activity that rearranges loan payments and risks to meet the needs of diverse investors.
Appraisers use financial and other market-derived information to estimate the value of real estate. Clients might include real estate purchasers or sellers, mortgage lenders, insurance companies, and attorneys dealing with inheritance issues. A special branch of appraisal is property tax assessment; Tax Assessors use statistical models and other valuation techniques as a basis for determining the real property taxes that residential and commercial real estate owners should pay to their local governments.
Property Managers handle all business aspects of real estate investments for property owners. A manager locates tenants, negotiates leases, collects rentals, and provides for maintenance and improvements. Property Managers' tasks can range from replacing leaky faucets to negotiating complex leases with major commercial tenants. A Property Manager might work for a single company or property owner (an example would be a resident manager in a large apartment facility), or as an independent professional managing properties for many clients.
Investment Analysts who specialize in real estate investments might work for insurance companies, pension funds, or real estate investment trusts (REITs); or they might work independently for a range of clients. Whereas a Property Manager makes decisions regarding an individual property, an Investment Analyst decides what collection of buildings (or other real estate-related assets, including mortgage loans) should be included in a portfolio of investments.
Brokers bring together buyers and sellers of residential and commercial real estate. In most cases they represent property sellers, and are paid by commission. New graduates typically begin as real estate Salespeople, working under the supervision of experienced Brokers. Realtors ® are Brokers or Salespeople who have joined the National Association of Realtors ® professional organization. Understanding the intricacies of real estate finance has become increasingly important to real estate Brokers and Salespeople in today's world of complex transactions.
Developers buy land, arrange for access and necessary utilities, and sell parcels to be improved in conformity with local zoning regulations and other legal restrictions. Contractors organize and supervise the construction of buildings or essential systems within buildings, and handle major repairs. A larger construction company might be involved in both development and contracting activities, buying a large parcel of vacant land and then selling smaller individual lots on which it has built houses or other types of structures.
Urban Planners work for city or county governments, analyzing expected needs for various kinds of land uses within their communities. They advise elected officials on such issues as how many buildings should be built on an acre of land (density), and where developments of various types should be permitted (zoning).
