While the majority of high-profile real estate career opportunities in North Carolina involve buying and selling residential properties, there are tons of other jobs you can get with a real estate license in North Carolina. Whether you’re looking for something with increased flexibility, more structure, higher stakes or more security, you’re probably going to be able to find the career that’s right for you in real estate.
Key Takeaways
- Diverse Career Opportunities: Beyond traditional residential brokerage, a real estate license in North Carolina opens doors to various roles such as broker-in-charge, commercial real estate broker, real estate investor, and property manager.
- Broker-in-Charge: This role involves managing a real estate office and overseeing multiple agents, requiring additional education and experience beyond a standard broker position.
- Commercial Real Estate Roles: Positions like commercial real estate broker and commercial leasing manager focus on business locations, requiring market research and understanding of commercial needs.
- Appraisers and Foreclosure Specialists: Residential and commercial appraisers determine property values, while foreclosure specialists handle the documentation and processes for properties in foreclosure.
- Property Management and Leasing: Roles such as property manager and leasing consultant involve overseeing property operations, managing tenants, and handling leasing transactions, offering flexibility and potential for a variety of work environments.
Career Opportunities in Real Estate
Wondering what you can do with a real estate license? Maybe you took all the required coursework, passed the real estate licensure exam, and then you found that being a traditional real estate broker isn’t for you. Don’t worry. There are plenty of other real estate career opportunities in North Carolina. It’s all a matter of finding the one that fits your personality the best.
1. Broker-in-Charge
In North Carolina, real estate agents are referred to as “brokers,” and what the rest of the nation knows as “brokers” are referred to as “brokers-in-charge.”
Being a real estate broker-in-charge isn’t the same thing as being a real estate broker, even though the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. The difference between a broker-in-charge and a broker is that a broker-in-charge is a licensed real estate professional who has taken further education and is qualified to manage a real estate office with multiple agents.
A real estate broker-in-charge may be a career path to set your sights on if you’re already in the process of becoming a broker (or if you already are a broker), and you’re looking to move into management.
2. Commercial Real Estate Broker
When you think about real estate brokers, you probably think of residential real estate brokers. After all, that’s what most real estate reality TV shows are about: buying, fixing, and flipping homes. However, commercial development can be just as (if not more) rewarding and financially lucrative as residential sales and development. You might even find that it’s a better fit for you.
Commercial real estate brokers are often more involved in market research than residential real estate brokers. A commercial broker helps businesses choose and secure locations that are going to boost their bottom line. The bottom line isn’t always the most important thing for the average homebuyer.
While sometimes that means leasing great office space, other times it can mean finding the perfect location for the next major coffee chain to build a store. For this reason, commercial agents often must put more emphasis on uncovering statistics and data about the area before they complete a transaction. That isn’t to say, of course, that residential real estate agents don’t uncover statistics about an area before making a sale, but the statistics certainly have a different focus. A barbershop owner, for instance, doesn’t care much about the quality of the local school district—he just wants to know whether or not the location will bring him business.
Download our Real Estate Career Starter Kit to find out if a career in real estate is right for you.
3. Real Estate Investor
There are two different ways to think about being a real estate investor—active and passive. You can think of an active investor as your classic “house flipper.” This person buys, fixes, and flips residential properties. They also might support the work of another fix-and-flipper who is buying a property for resale by financing a portion of the repairs and down payment (and, of course, getting paid–plus interest–upon the sale of the property).
A passive investor is someone who puts money into a real estate project without having much involvement in the day-to-day management. Even if you don’t have much money to invest, you can still become an investor in crowdfunded real estate investing.
4. Residential Appraiser
A residential appraiser is someone who collects information on a residential property in order to find out what that property’s worth. Appraisers can work privately or publicly. In the private sector, appraisers determine your home’s value before it’s sold or mortgaged to give you an accurate, impartial idea of its value. In the public sector, appraisers work for the government and banks to find out the value of foreclosed homes.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the median salary for real estate appraisers in 2016 was about $51,850 annually or about $25 hourly. But real estate appraisers don’t always work strictly on residential homes. They can also work on commercial properties.
5. Commercial appraiser
Just like a residential appraiser, a commercial appraiser splits his or her time between the office and the appraised properties. While residential appraisers may rely more heavily on what they learned during their licensing course, a commercial appraiser leans strongly on established appraisers to teach them how to determine the value of a property. Both disciplines, however, require you to get licensed.
6. Property manager
A property manager makes sure a property, whether residential or commercial, runs smoothly and is, ultimately, making money for whoever owns it (or at least, hopefully, breaking even). When it comes to residential properties, this could mean managing the tenants, dealing with day-to-day maintenance issues, and, of course, making sure the rent is getting paid on time.
Depending on the size of the property and the strengths of the property manager, general upkeep of a property could be completely outsourced. Some real estate investors don’t want to have to deal with the everyday complaints of their tenants. They’re more than willing to sacrifice a chunk of possible cash flow from their rental properties as long as they don’t have to deal with the headache of managing tenants.
7. Leasing Consultant
A leasing consultant’s job is to make sure there are tenants in the building. This job can often require you to work evenings and weekends, but a bonus is that it also usually comes with a degree of flexibility. If you enjoy marketing and negotiating, this could be a great role for you. Leasing consultants need to get the word out about specials or openings in their building, and they’ll often throw promotional events in order to make sure people know that there are rooms available.
If you enjoy staying up-to-date on the latest digital marketing best practices, this might be the perfect role for you.
8. Commercial Leasing Manager
Often assigned to office space or storefronts, a commercial leasing manager negotiates deals and transactions with businesses. A commercial leasing manager may have career opportunities that require them to keep a watchful eye on changes in the marketplace, as this impacts the business’ budget.
9. Foreclosure Specialist
A foreclosure specialist can be employed by a bank or private lender and is responsible for all the documentation and processes that need to be followed when a property is being foreclosed on. They will review the client’s financial statements and process foreclosure cases so the property can be resold as quickly as possible. A foreclosure specialist needs to be organized and good with deadlines.
10. Real Estate Attorney
If you love school and want to keep furthering your education beyond real estate, you might be interested in becoming a real estate attorney. Real estate attorneys practice in many different areas; they could advocate for tenant rights or provide consul before a major real estate purchase.
11. Corporate Real Estate Manager
Companies often have openings for real estate managers. Large brands need to lease office and commercial space. Some companies have real estate holdings that they need an in-house person to manage.
What Can You Do With a Real Estate License?
The real estate industry is so much more than simply residential real estate. If you don’t want to be a real estate broker, you don’t have to be. This industry encompasses a broad variety of career opportunities in North Carolina, each requiring different strengths. There are tons of job opportunities available as long as you’re willing to apply yourself.
Are you ready to get your North Carolina real estate license? Sign up for live or online courses today.
