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What does a real estate paralegal do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Sharon Sawyer
What does a real estate paralegal do

A Real Estate Paralegal helps real estate lawyers with a variety of tasks, such as offering advice to clients, doing research, and preparing documents. They collaborate with landlords, housing managers, or other real estate personnel.

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Real estate paralegal responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real real estate paralegal resumes:

  • Manage BPO and MMR reports on properties.
  • Manage a social marketing image for the agency (Facebook).
  • Manage national referrals for quiet title actions, injunctions, wrongful foreclosures, and appeals.
  • Achieve sole responsibility for administration of all estates and guardianships.
  • Communicate directly with lenders in various states, completing affidavits and ensuring that they are properly record and organize.
  • Prepare forms for the MLS submission.
  • Work to create listings in MLS.
  • Coordinate appropriate UCC and real property searches, and appraisals.
  • Research receivership estate's liabilities including UCC and county-level liens.
  • Participate in annual HMDA-LAR submission to HUD and to the OCC.
  • Prepare and review conveyance documents, title insurance coverage and insurance pertaining to each real estate transaction.
  • Search funding options for commercial real estate clients involve with purchase, refinance, SBA loans and construction financing.
  • Provide assistance in the preparation for and closing of various transactions, including conveyance, acquisitions, leases and loans.
  • Put together PowerPoint presentations used for business development.
  • Create PowerPoint presentations for executive board weekly meetings.

Real estate paralegal skills and personality traits

We calculated that 14% of Real Estate Paralegals are proficient in Law Firm, Litigation, and Due Diligence. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Computer skills, and Research skills.

We break down the percentage of Real Estate Paralegals that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Law Firm, 14%

    Scheduled/attended commercial and residential real estate closings at various title companies/law firms.

  • Litigation, 9%

    Manage litigation proceedings on assigned cases by interacting with assigned default counsel and Attorney Relationship Managers.

  • Due Diligence, 9%

    Review due diligence and complete commercial transactions for national and local developers specializing in land acquisition, zoning and entitlement.

  • Probate, 4%

    Attended initial attorney-client conference regarding estate matters to prepare and file petition for probate.

  • Estoppel, 4%

    Analyzed and reviewed of new and existing commercial lease agreements, estoppel certificates, subordination and non-disturbance agreements and lease amendments.

  • Affidavits, 4%

    Communicated directly with lenders in various states, completing affidavits and ensuring that they were properly recorded and organized.

Most real estate paralegals use their skills in "law firm," "litigation," and "due diligence" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential real estate paralegal responsibilities here:

Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a real estate paralegal to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "paralegals must be able to document and present their research and related information to their supervising attorney." Real estate paralegals often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "prepared attorney review letters using effective communication skills to maintain rapport with clients, attorneys, lenders and real estate agents. "

Computer skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling real estate paralegal duties is computer skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "paralegals need to be familiar with using computers for legal research and litigation support." According to a real estate paralegal resume, here's how real estate paralegals can utilize computer skills in their job responsibilities: "entered all new property information into the computer system and verified accuracy as the legal descriptions. "

Research skills. real estate paralegals are also known for research skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to real estate paralegal responsibilities, because "paralegals gather facts of the case and research information on relevant laws and regulations to prepare drafts of legal documents for attorneys and help them prepare for a case." A real estate paralegal resume example shows how research skills is used in the workplace: "assisted in litigation researching using lexis/nexis, organizing documents and creating a chronology of facts. "

All real estate paralegal skills

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Compare different real estate paralegals

Real estate paralegal vs. Legal office assistant

A Legal Office Assistants serves as the apprentice of lawyers. They are responsible for doing daily clerical works inside a law office. They gather relevant information like pieces of evidence and organizes all the needed data. They also prepare subpoenas and summonses, review legal documents, and take down notes in a courtroom. Unlike the Lawyers, this career handles a more significant caseload. They must also have good communication skills with clients regarding their cases.

We looked at the average real estate paralegal salary and compared it with the wages of a legal office assistant. Generally speaking, legal office assistants are paid $34,254 lower than real estate paralegals per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both real estate paralegal and legal office assistant positions are skilled in law firm, litigation, and probate.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between real estate paralegals and legal office assistant. For instance, real estate paralegal responsibilities require skills such as "due diligence," "estoppel," "affidavits," and "real estate transactions." Whereas a legal office assistant is skilled in "management system," "legal correspondence," "data entry," and "office equipment." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Legal office assistants earn the highest salaries when working in the non profits industry, with an average yearly salary of $41,921. On the other hand, real estate paralegals are paid more in the finance industry with an average salary of $72,649.legal office assistants tend to reach similar levels of education than real estate paralegals. In fact, legal office assistants are 2.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Real estate paralegal vs. Legal administrator

The job of legal administrative assistants is to provide support to lawyers and paralegals. They typically perform legal research, manage schedules, and draft legal-related documents. Other duties include interpreting laws, regulations, and rulings in legal documents, obtaining information from other agencies or organizations, and preparing management and legal reports. In addition, legal administrative assistants are responsible for updating and maintaining databases and ensuring to provide effective administrative assistance. They are also expected to schedule client meetings and court hearings.

A career as a legal administrator brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a real estate paralegal. In fact, legal administrators salary is $21,189 lower than the salary of real estate paralegals per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both real estate paralegals and legal administrators have skills such as "law firm," "litigation," and "due diligence. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that real estate paralegal responsibilities requires skills like "estoppel," "affidavits," "real estate transactions," and "lenders." But a legal administrator might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "veterans," "powerpoint," "management system," and "data entry."

Legal administrators earn a lower average salary than real estate paralegals. But legal administrators earn the highest pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $54,616. Additionally, real estate paralegals earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $72,649 annually.In general, legal administrators achieve higher levels of education than real estate paralegals. They're 5.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for real estate paralegals in the next 3-5 years?

Sharon SawyerSharon Sawyer LinkedIn profile

Program Coordinator of Justice Studies, Assistant Professor, University of Maine at Augusta

Our Justice Studies paralegal students worked in virtual internships for social justice organizations and law firms. Our students were already very comfortable working online with video conferencing tools when law firms and non-profits moved online. In fact, they found that they had an advantage because of the skills they developed here at UMA in their online courses. If you think about it, most law-related office work involves research, document preparation, email, sending signed documents, and face-to-face meetings. We have found that all of this is easily done with secure signature and document editing software, email accounts, and video conferencing. While personal meetings in an office are desirable, they are not strictly necessary and might be unsafe in the current circumstances.

Real estate paralegal vs. Legal assistant

Legal assistants are responsible for doing most of the administrative or clerical needs of a lawyer. They support lawyers by preparing documents for hearings or trials, conducting research for legal cases, organizing files and records, managing schedules, manning phone lines, communicating with legal clients, documenting meeting minutes, and setting up appointments. It is important for legal assistants to have a basic knowledge of laws and the judiciary system so that they can provide better support to lawyers. They should also be detail-oriented, organized, and excellent communicators.

On average, legal assistants earn lower salaries than real estate paralegals, with a $26,000 difference per year.real estate paralegals and legal assistants both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "law firm," "litigation," and "probate," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a real estate paralegal is likely to be skilled in "due diligence," "estoppel," "real estate transactions," and "lenders," while a typical legal assistant is skilled in "legal correspondence," "discovery responses," "trial preparation," and "scheduling appointments."

Legal assistants earn the best pay in the professional industry, where they command an average salary of $47,979. Real estate paralegals earn the highest pay from the finance industry, with an average salary of $72,649.When it comes to education, legal assistants tend to earn similar degree levels compared to real estate paralegals. In fact, they're 0.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Real estate paralegal vs. Legal clerk

A legal clerk is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to legal offices and organizations to ensure smooth legal business operations. Legal clerks sort and distribute documents to the appropriate personnel, update information on the database, schedule appointments, respond to clients' inquiries and concerns, and document meeting objectives. They may also coordinate with other offices and institutions to acquire files and research data according to the needs of the managing department. A legal clerk must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in monitoring business transactions and submitting reports timely and accurately.

Legal clerks typically earn lower pay than real estate paralegals. On average, legal clerks earn a $33,235 lower salary per year.While their salaries may vary, real estate paralegals and legal clerks both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "law firm," "litigation," and "probate. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "due diligence," "estoppel," "affidavits," and "real estate transactions" are skills that commonly show up on real estate paralegal resumes. On the other hand, legal clerks use skills like legal correspondence, trial preparation, court dates, and real estate on their resumes.In general, legal clerks earn the most working in the professional industry, with an average salary of $39,441. The highest-paying industry for a real estate paralegal is the finance industry.The average resume of legal clerks showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to real estate paralegals. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 0.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 9.4%.

Types of real estate paralegal

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.