Real Estate Paralegal Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

Real Estate Paralegal Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

This post provides exhaustive information on the job description of a real estate paralegal, to help you learn what they do.

It highlights the key tasks, duties, and responsibilities that commonly make up the real estate paralegal work description in most companies.

It also presents the major requirements you may be expected to meet if you are seeking the real estate paralegal job.

Please, continue reading to learn more about the real estate paralegal career:

What Does a Real Estate Paralegal Do?

A real estate paralegal is responsible for preparing and filing of different legal documents for lawyers, including real estate purchases or sale closings.

His/her job description entails reviewing amendments, leases, subleases or purchase assignments, and accurately working on items such as title insurance and tax bills.

The real estate paralegal attends closings and meets with title and escrow officers or clerks at the city planning office.

He/she goes over loan documents, soil reports, and well tests, and reports on each to the employer.

He/she answers client questions about real estate codes, writes closing checklists for real estate sales, and works with lawyers and real estate agents throughout the sale and closing process of a property.

They also work with in-house legal counsel to record all real estate documentation, and assist in all aspects of lease, lease amendments, tenant estoppels, managing and responding to tenant default letters and seeking lender consents.

The real estate paralegal prepares lease abstracts and maintains lease database, as well as draft resolutions and maintains the Company’s legal files and various related tasks.

If you are seeking to work as a real estate paralegal, some of the requirements that employers would want you to fulfill include first-hand knowledge of documents and document drafting techniques; sound analytical and critical thinking abilities; good phone skills; knowledge of how to navigate office technology; a high degree of integrity; knowledge about lease negotiation, financing options, lending requirements and documents, land use and bankruptcy; strong written and verbal communication skills; and good organizational skills.

Real Estate Paralegal Educational Qualifications

You will be required to provide proof of academic qualifications in your quest for a real estate paralegal position.

If you can build a strong portfolio with proven skills and abilities for the new real estate paralegal job, you will have the opportunity for an interview with the employer or recruiter.

You can begin your career as a real estate paralegal by completing a paralegal program approved by the American Bar Association (ABA).

In paralegal studies, ABA has a lot of programs that range from certificate programs to associate and Bachelor’s degrees.

Most paralegal associations, including the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) and the American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE), recommend the completion of a program that consists of at least 60 semester credits—equivalent to an associate’s degree.

An internship is important in the paralegal’s education, because it makes provision for plenty opportunity for real world experience in a specific area of law.

An internship of at least six months is recommended by both the NALA and AAfPE.

Some real estate paralegals find it helpful to obtain a real estate license as part of their career path.

Some course topics that are helpful to pursuing the real estate paralegal career include Federal Income Tax Laws, Legal Document Preparation, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Mediation, Real Property, and Contracts.

Real Estate Paralegal Salary Information

As reported in the National Association of legal Assistants’ 2010 survey, the average salary of a real estate paralegal was $53,281.

As of 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that real estate paralegals earned an annual salary of $54,500, which is much faster than average.

According to a current report by Indeed.com, real estate paralegals earn from $30,000 to 110,000 per year.

Real Estate Paralegals Job Description Example/Sample/Template

Shown below are typical tasks, duties, and responsibilities that majorly make up the real estate paralegal job description in most companies:

Facilitating communication between the lawyers for buyer and seller
Negotiating contracts, reviewing title reports, and monitoring financial transactions and foreclosures
Preparing legal descriptions of land, and preparing documents for eviction proceedings
Compiling, analyzing, and summarizing information
Coordinating efforts between attorneys, clients, outside legal counsel, opposing legal counsel, other parties, and outside vendors
Preparing file for closing, as well as maintaining and balancing incoming and outgoing closing.

Real Estate Paralegal Job Description for Resume

If you are writing a resume or CV for a new position and have worked before or are presently working as a real estate paralegal, you should show that by including the professional experience section to your resume/CV.

The professional or work experience part of your resume will help to inform the recruiter/employer that you have been effective performing the real estate paralegal duties and responsibilities.

This piece of information can be very effective in urging the recruiter/employer to grant you an interview, especially if the new position that you are seeking requires having some real estate paralegal work experience.

You can quickly and easily create a compelling professional experience section for your resume or CV by applying the real estate paralegal job description example shown above.

Real Estate Paralegal Requirements – Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities for Career Success

There are certain requirements employers/recruiters may want you to meet to be considered for hiring for a real estate paralegal role, they include:

Ability to organize and prioritize numerous tasks and complete them within time limits
Strong detail-orientation and ability to maintain focus and concentration when evaluating legal documents
Ability to proofread typed material for contextual, grammatical, typographical, mathematical, or spelling errors
Excellent prioritizing and multitasking skills
Ability to remain professional and courteous during stressful circumstances
Ability to work well in a collaborative legal team environment
Excellent administrative and active listening skills
Critical thinking, time management, and coordination skills
Judgment and decision-making, monitoring, and attention to detail
Exceptional oral and written communication skills
Ability to quickly master a variety of software platforms and electronic filing systems
Ability to take direction and work effectively with minimal supervision
Advanced skills with Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Conclusion

This post is helpful to individuals interested in the real estate paralegal career; they will be able to increase their knowledge of the duties and responsibilities performed by the role.

They will therefore be able to decide if the real estate paralegal career is best for them.

This post is also useful to recruiters/employers who are looking to find and hire competent individuals for the vacant real estate paralegal role in their companies.

They can apply the sample real estate paralegal job description provided on this page in making a detailed description of the position for their companies.