What does the day-to-day work of a Real Estate Management Clerk look like?

Real estate management clerks support the real estate management team in all administrative tasks. They make phone calls to tenants, tradesmen and authorities, place repair orders and check incoming invoices.

In addition to creating advertisements, they help with apartment viewings, apartment inspections and apartment handovers. On behalf of the real estate manager, they process rent changes and terminations and are responsible for accounts payable.

The main tasks of real estate management clerks at a glance:

• General administrative tasks, support for the management team
• Organize and assist with telephone and personal contacts, handovers and viewings
• Bookkeeping, checking accounts payable invoices, preparing statements

(Note: The distribution of the individual areas of responsibility can vary greatly depending on the position and company).

Real estate management clerk with edupool diploma or SVIT diploma:

The clerk training course can be completed with a diploma from either edupool.ch or SVIT. Please find out in advance which diploma the school of your choice is offering the clerk courses for.

What is edupool.ch?

Edupool is a quality label of the commercial association that was founded in 2001. It has developed into the most important Swiss examination organization in non-formal commercial further education.

edupool.ch is backed by important players, namely the commercial association and the accredited partner schools. Another key factor is the close cooperation with well-known industry and professional associations, which also co-sign the edupool certificates and diplomas

This close cooperation and signature of the industry and professional associations guarantees a high level of practical relevance of the courses, as well as topicality of the content and underlines the credibility and quality of the edupool degrees.

The final examinations for the edupool certificates are organized centrally by edupool and corrected according to uniform guidelines.

What is SVIT?

SVIT stands for "Swiss Association of the Real Estate Industry" - a well-known player in the industry that offers training and further education in the real estate sector and thus also provides well-trained specialists. The SVIT training courses stand for a certain standard of quality and are well established on the job market.

Target group and skills: Who is the real estate management assistant course suitable for? What qualities and skills are required?

The training/continuing education courses for real estate management clerks are aimed at the following target groups.

• Graduates of a completed apprenticeship (EFZ) who are looking for a qualification to enter this professional field or who want to prepare for further training
• Interested persons who would like to enter the real estate sector and acquire initial professional qualifications
• Interested parties who wish to deepen their knowledge of the real estate sector
• Employees in the real estate industry who want to acquire theoretical and application-oriented basics
• Persons with tasks in the finance, trust and insurance sector
• Private and institutional property owners (condominium owners, investors) Newcomers, those switching, those re-entering the real estate sector
• People who would like to acquire a solid foundation for further training in the field (e.g. real estate manager with a federal certificate (BP))

Real Estate Management Clerks should have the following personal qualities and skills:

• Independent, reliable way of working
• Quick comprehension
• Pleasant manners and enjoy dealing with people
• Confident appearance and good social skills
• Planning ability and adherence to deadlines
• Organizational talent
• Service and customer orientation

Prerequisites for admission to further training as a real estate clerk

In order to start further training as a real estate management assistant, you must generally meet the following requirements when you start the course:

• Good written and spoken German (level C1)
• Basic accounting knowledge according to the edupool self-assessment test
• At least two years of general professional experience (note: the apprenticeship period is taken into account here)
• Recommendation: edupool commercial school diploma, basic commercial vocational training or equivalent training
• In addition, for admission to the final examination: regular class attendance of at least 80%.

Note: At some schools, it is also possible to attend the course without the intention of taking the edupool diploma exam (the admission requirements in this case are determined individually by the schools and can vary from provider to provider). Nevertheless, you will not be left empty-handed - in this case you will usually receive a so-called "school certificate".

Subject matter and content of the training

Schools that offer the certificate course in real estate management as preparation for the (external) edupool certificate examination are based on the compulsory subjects specified by the sponsoring body, which are then also tested in the examination. These are set out in the official course description. The course content is as follows:

• Construction(e.g. life cycle building management, economic service life, technical service life, maintenance strategies, energy-efficient construction, renovation process, construction cost planning, building technology, structural damage, building documentation, insurance)
• Real estate management(e.g. economic significance of the Swiss real estate sector, management mandate, reporting, caretaking, marketing, rental agreement, termination provisions, handover, rent structure)
• Real estate accounting(including closing entries, service charge settlement, financing, valuation approaches for properties)
• Law(including basic principles, obligations, contracts, matrimonial law, inheritance law, property and land register law, debt enforcement and bankruptcy proceedings)

Note: The schools can voluntarily take up or teach additional topics in class. There may therefore be (slight) differences between the schools.

SVIT training programs impart the following knowledge to their participants:

• Management of rental properties
• Take care of debt collection and insurance issues
• Identify structural damage and develop solutions
• Support landlords in their work relating to the management of condominium communities
• Management of property accounting
• Correct use of the means of communication

Costs and financing of further training

The costs vary depending on the school and the program. In general, the following costs must be expected for the 2-semester, part-time real estate clerk course:

• Course feesBetween CHF 2'400.- and CHF 5'900.-
  Note: SVIT members benefit from reduced course costs.Hereto find out more. Members of thecommercial associationandHomeowners' Association (HEV)can benefit from a discount of up to 10%.
• Fee edupool diploma (external examination): The examination fee is charged directly by edupool.ch and currently amounts to CHF 750 (as of March 2023)
• Some providers requireExtra costsfor
  • Enrollment
  • Teaching aids
  • Training documents
  • Internal examinations and examination training
  • Simulation test

It is best to contact the provider of your choice directly regarding the possible extra costs.

* Since 1.1.2018, preparatory courses for federal professional examinations have been financially supported by the federal government. Depending on this, the edupool real estate management clerk course is accepted as a preparatory course for the professional examination. This means that if, after completing the edupool certificate, you go on to obtain the federal certificate for real estate managers within seven years and have not yet received any cantonal contributions for your edupool real estate management clerk training, 50% of the course costs paid (max. CHF 9,500) will be reimbursed by the federal government.Herefind out more.

Duration of study, training options, number of lessons and learning effort

• The further training to become a real estate management clerk is modular in structure and takes 2 semesters (depending on the provider and course offered). It is also designed to be taken part-time.
• The real estate clerk training course comprises between 160 and 200 lessons.
• Various time options are offered for attending the lessons or learning sessions. For example, twice or once in the evening per week and/or on Saturdays every week.
• Many schools offer a mix of face-to-face and online courses (online, hybrid teaching, blended learning) as well as self-study. You can therefore choose the format that allows you to combine further education with your family, career and free time in the best possible way.
• Thanks to the in-service training concept, you can apply and deepen the learning material in practice straight away. Nevertheless, you should allow sufficient time for preparation and follow-up of the lessons and for self-study - how much depends on your prior knowledge, working style and learning speed. We recommend that you allow at least 4-6 hours per week as a precaution.

Note: Some schools offer so-called "taster lessons". This gives you the opportunity to gain an insight into the lessons and the learning atmosphere. Important aspects on the way to a successful graduation. It is best to contact the school of your choice directly for a taster lesson.

Degree, diploma and title

Many schools hold internal (simulation) examinations towards the end of the "Real Estate Continuing Education Specialist" course. This prepares you optimally for the edupool final examination. After successfully completing the internal exam, you will receive a so-called "school certificate".

The diploma examination for the edupool diploma and corrections are organized and carried out by edupool.ch. Note: If the school of your choice is one of the edupool-accredited schools, the edupool examination will usually take place there.

Participants in SVIT training courses also complete a corresponding qualification certificate at the end of the course (usually a final examination).

Diploma and title

Successful graduates of the "Real Estate Management Clerk" course receive the edupool.ch diploma, which is recognized throughout Switzerland and co-signed by the Kaufmännischer Verband.

Successful graduates of an SVIT course receive the SVIT diploma as a real estate management specialist upon completion