Housing Careers

Housing Careers: More To It Than Meets The Eye

The housing market has been crazy over the last several years but housing careers are taking new shapes. The global financial meltdown led to numerous problems throughout the housing industry. Now it is true that many people are buying their own homes and those people probably have a different take on a housing situation. For them the focus becomes tangled in thoughts of real estate agents and mortgages. A homeowner knows that they are responsible for managing their own housing situation. If something breaks they have to fix it. All repairs and upgrades are the responsibility of the homeowner. Here is the catch however, not everyone owns his or her own house.

In reality millions of people rent their homes. Although they are not concerned about mortgages they are worried about making their rental payments and facing the threat of eviction. Not every renter is up to date on the obligations that exist between a landlord and a tenant. In most cases there are rental agreements that are signed that do cover most of this but in many instances this is vague and not always accurate. Especially in large home rental companies it takes those well trained in the housing field to ensure that everyone is treated fairly.

Housing Careers Require Various Responsibilities

There are many jobs and opportunities in the housing careers. All have different responsibilities and functions geared towards assisting those in need of proper and secure housing. These responsibilities come in many shapes and forms like offering housing advice for example or there are those who simply collect the rents when they become due. Others may over see the maintenance problems and decide what repairs must be completed and when. Some housing experts have to run background checks and follow up on credit issues in order to find a rental home for those who seek it. The positions available truly depend upon the size and location of the rental company.

The Housing Advice Officer

The Housing Advice Officer has numerous responsibilities. As the title suggests primarily they are housing advisers. These professionals screen potential rental customers and advise them about the opportunities available to them depending on the criteria that they meet. The Housing Advice Officer will also work diligently with customers who are in need of emergency housing. These customers will typically apply to the Housing Need Register and the Housing Advice Officer must review these applications. On the other side of the equation, the Housing Advice Officer must also assist customers who are facing possible illegal eviction or are having problems with their landlords that could possible be considered harassment

The Tenant Participation Officer

The Tenant Participation Officer is basically the social community builder of a rental community. His or her position is to encourage rental customers to become involved in their community. This officer will assist these customers with the creation of groups and putting together meetings that allow rental customers to keep up to date on the community situation regarding maintenance and other activities. This procedure keeps everyone involved and the lines of communication always open.

The Housing Officer

The Housing Officer also has many responsibilities. This position typically reports to the Principal Housing Officer or perhaps even a Housing Manager again depending upon the size and location of the rental community. One of the responsibilities could be the management of the community maintenance process. Other responsibilities could be the control of rentals that are in arrears. If customers are behind in their rent or are breaking rental contracts or agreements than appropriate actions must be taken. The Housing Officer will many times be the one who must go to court and represent the rental company in dealing with these unfortunate problems.

The Educational Requirements

Obviously, if you want to really increase your opportunities for employment and put yourself in position for growth and long-term career anticipation than it is recommended that you obtain certain educational requirements or qualifications related to the housing industry. One recommended location to satisfy some of those requirements is the Chartered Institute of Housing, which provides numerous opportunities to acquire qualifications for various careers in the housing industry.

Housing Careers: The Summary

The housing industry is wide open when it comes to opportunities. People will always be looking to rent homes and there will always be a need for housing professionals to meet their needs. The income for these positions will vary in reference to the size of the company and the qualifications you bring to the table. Everyone deserves a place they can call home. If you choose a career in the housing industry you will have the pleasure of knowing that you can assist many people in that very endeavor