How To Become A Real Estate Paralegal: What It Is and Career Path

What is a real estate paralegal and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Emily Allen-Hornblower

Paralegals assist lawyers in researching cases, review files, and prepare legal documents. A real estate paralegal assists real estate lawyers. They work on cases that involve property sales, purchase, or construction. Paralegals may also be responsible for answering phone calls, scheduling appointments, conducting legal research, preparing for court sessions, and maintaining files.

The day-to-day activities of paralegals depend on the lawyer's current cases. They may attend meetings, prepare for court sessions, conduct research, and review a land's legal description. Depending on experience, paralegals may be limited to filing and answering phones or take on more responsibility, like drafting contracts.

A part of paralegal work is learning on the job. But they need basic skills like organizational skills, attention to detail, and a strong understanding of contract law. Paralegals need an associate or Bachelor's degree and a certificate in related programs like legal assistant and paralegal studies.

What general advice would you give to a Real Estate Paralegal?

Emily Allen-Hornblower

Associate Professor of Classics, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

"I would say, think broadly. Your CV gives you an edge - you chose a course of study that is somewhat atypical, original (and a great conversation starter!) that gave you widely applicable skills.

I mean, who studies Classics? Who willingly subjects themselves to the rigors of Latin or Greek - or both? Who commits to navigating the intricacies of an interdisciplinary path that combines some of the most vital areas of inquiry for our time: social and cultural history, political science, philosophy, psychology, literary studies, material culture?

A go-getter. Someone who is passionate. And is Driven.

And you know what? Employers know that. They see that on your CV, and they think, wow - here is someone interesting and hard-working and who thinks out of the box. And they are right. Xerox saw that. Macy's saw that. The Air Force Intelligence Officer who hired one of our (female!) undergraduates as an officer saw that. The software engineer who hired another one of our grads to join his team as a full-time software engineer saw that. Oxford University Press in New York City saw that - and hired another recent grad as a full-time intern in their Higher Education Editorial Development department. SO: Classics majors, think big and broad. There is no restricted path for what is next.

So - Graduating seniors in Classics (and other Liberal Arts degrees), as you prepare to go forward into the world, you have good reason to go forth with pride, and enter the world after college, with all its question marks and inevitable bumps in the road, with confidence.
A Classics major is excellent preparation for the pursuit of a wide range of careers in a large number of fields, including, but not limited to, government, law, education, business, journalism, library science, publishing, foreign service, finance, the entertainment industry, museum, and preservation work, pharmaceutical sciences, music, and the arts, foundations, technology, web design, and labor relations. So think broadly. You've got this. "

ScoreReal Estate ParalegalUS Average

Salary

5.3

Avg. Salary $68,387

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.0

Growth Rate 14%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.41%

Asian 5.98%

Black or African American 9.92%

Hispanic or Latino 18.15%

Unknown 4.90%

White 60.63%

Gender

female 86.22%

male 13.78%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress Level

7.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.5

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.3

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Newest jobs for Real Estate Paralegal in Columbus, OH

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Key steps to become a real estate paralegal

Explore real estate paralegal education requirements

Most common real estate paralegal degrees

Bachelor's

52.1 %

Associate

28.0 %

Certificate

7.7 %

Start to develop specific real estate paralegal skills

Skills	Percentages
Law Firm	14.38%
Litigation	9.22%
Due Diligence	8.54%
Probate	4.49%
Estoppel	4.31%

Complete relevant real estate paralegal training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New real estate paralegals learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a real estate paralegal based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real real estate paralegal resumes.

Research real estate paralegal duties and responsibilities

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.

Prepare your real estate paralegal resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your real estate paralegal resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a real estate paralegal resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Real Estate Paralegal Resume templates

Build a professional Real Estate Paralegal resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Real Estate Paralegal resume.

Apply for real estate paralegal jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a real estate paralegal job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do real estate paralegals rate their job?

-/5

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Real Estate Paralegal reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2020

Cons

It is a profession that requires a high-studying level