What are careers in real estate appraisal?

Real estate appraisers, real estate agents, and real estate developers are careers in real estate appraisal. Here are some details about these careers and others in real estate appraisal:

• Real estate appraiser: A real estate appraiser assesses the value of the real estate. Most appraisers specialize in either residential or commercial real estate. Their duties include thoroughly inspecting, photographing, and sometimes taking videos of the property. They may use the pictures and footage to determine the property's value.

  Another critical component of their job is to compare real estate properties in the surrounding area. They research the values of the surrounding properties to help with evaluating and quoting values on specific real estate properties.

  If they work in the residential field they will look at other homes in the area, and if they specialize in commercial real estate, they look into other commercial business properties in the local surroundings.

  An appraiser's assigned value to a property is used to determine pricing when the property is insured, mortgaged, taxed, sold, or developed. Most real estate appraisers start as real estate agents. The average salary of a real estate appraiser in the United States is $56,119 per year.

• Real estate developer: A real estate developer oversees real estate development and makes real estate sales to clients. They might purchase land or property, help with the financing of a real estate transaction, consult and hire a builder and construction team to design and build a structure, and then figure out how to market it to clients.

  Real estate developers often assume the most risk in real estate deals because they have invested capital into a specific plot of land or property. They also take existing structures and convert them into different functional spaces. In addition, they may destroy or level an existing structure to construct a new building in its place.

  Real estate developers tend to collaborate with engineers, architects, contractors, city planners, inspectors, leasing agents, surveyors, and attorneys to do the job.

  In most states, a real estate developer must hold a state license to legally perform their job. There are many different pathways to becoming a real estate developer, some have worked in construction, law, architecture, urban planning, and finance.

  The average salary of a real estate developer in the United States is $77,310 per year, however, there are real estate developers that can make more.

• Real estate investor: A real estate investor is very similar to a real estate developer in some ways, however, they generally do not take on the size of projects some real estate developers do.

  Real estate investors buy properties with the intent of reselling them or renting them out. Certain real estate investors may lack the personal amount of capital it takes to buy properties, so they perform their jobs on behalf of an individual or company that has adequate funds to do so.

  Real estate investors come in three different forms. Wholesalers are real estate investors who buy property at a discounted rate, and then sell it for a higher price.

  House flippers are real estate investors who buy a home and renovate it, and then move to resell it at a higher price.

  Landlords are real estate investors who buy homes, apartment buildings, or other living dwellings with the intent to rent them out to tenants.

  Real estate investors can make a range of different salaries, depending on how often they resell properties, or how many of their properties are being rented out.

  Many real estate investors have an additional career besides real estate investing. They use the profession as an additional income that, in many cases, can be quite lucrative. Some real estate investors also practice as their sole profession and may have gotten into the work by already being employed in the real estate industry.

  The average salary of a real estate investor in the United States is $119,731 per year.

• Home inspector: A home inspector scrutinizes a residential home or property, and reports on the overall condition of the structure. This includes the foundation, roof, draining system, plumbing, heating system, central air-conditioning system, visible insulation, walls, windows, and doors.

  A home inspector only inspects items that are visible and accessible by normal means on the property. They often perform this job for potential home-buyers to give them a thorough idea of the home's state, as well as the likelihood of any negative issues arising in the future.

  Ultimately a home inspector's job can be defined as determining if a property is up to code and safe for the buyers to live in.

  Close to half of home inspectors have bachelor's degrees in a related field. However, in most cases, a high school diploma or equivalent is sufficient. Much of the necessary skills, training and education are learned on the job by working under a veteran home inspector.

  The average salary of a home inspector in the United States is $78,900 per year.

• Building inspector: A building inspector's role is very much the same as a home inspector's, the only real difference is that generally, they are inspecting larger structures, such as apartment buildings, and commercial buildings.

  At these locations, they determine if the structure and all of the inner workings are sound. However, some building inspectors choose to take a more specialized career path. For example, they may choose to only inspect buildings made of steel or reinforced concrete structures.

  Building inspectors work closely with real estate developers and real estate appraisers, especially when a developer is seeking to convert or renovate an existing building.

  Most employers require at least a high school diploma or equivalent to become a building inspector. Many also choose to get bachelor's degrees in areas like structural engineering, and construction management.

  A mandatory qualification for this career path is to have a certain amount of training in the field. Training requirements vary from state to state. Most of the training building inspectors get is on the job. Typically they will work under an experienced building inspector and learn about building codes, ordinances, and regulations.

  The average salary of a building inspector in the United States is $61,640 per year.