Commercial Real Estate Researcher

Principle is a multidisciplinary commercial real estate firm in York, Pennsylvania, working across appraisal and valuation, property tax consulting, brokerage, and capital advisory. We are a three-generation appraisal practice, and our work is relied on by lenders, attorneys, taxing authorities, and courts.

The role

Every appraisal, tax appeal, and advisory opinion we produce rests on facts about real property: who owns it, what was paid, how large it is, what it's assessed at, how it's zoned, what sold nearby and on what terms.

This role establishes those facts — not looks them up, establishes them. Property data comes from many sources and those sources routinely disagree. The assessor says the building is 14,000 square feet. The deed describes a parcel that doesn't match the map. A commercial database reports a price the recorded instrument doesn't support. Knowing which source governs, and being able to say why, is the actual work.

Bad property data doesn't announce itself. It surfaces in a review, a reconsideration request, or under cross-examination — and by then it's expensive. This position exists to catch it first.

What you'll do
Establish and verify property facts from U.S. public records — deeds, assessment and tax records, plats, and recorded instruments
Read and interpret deeds: chain of title, deed types, consideration and transfer tax, easements and restrictions
Determine which source governs when sources conflict, and document why
Develop and verify comparable sales, leases, and listings, screening each for conditions that compromise comparability
Compile assessment, millage, common level ratio, and appeal calendar data by county
Work county GIS, assessor portals, and recorder systems fluently, including the poorly built ones
Build research files with a complete source log — every material fact traceable to a source, a reference, and a date
Maintain our comparable database and county reference materials so verified work is reusable
What we're looking for

Required

Prior experience in real estate research, title, land records, assessment, or a comparable records-intensive field
Working understanding of U.S. real estate concepts and terminology
Experience reviewing tax assessment records and property data
Ability to read and interpret deeds and legal descriptions, or clear capacity to learn quickly
Exceptional attention to detail, and the patience to keep searching when the obvious source doesn't have the answer
Strong written English — you'll produce documentation others rely on and defend
Strong spreadsheet skills and comfort with structured data

Preferred

Experience supporting U.S. appraisal firms, brokerages, or property tax consultants
Familiarity with county assessor and recorder sites and public record databases
Background in valuation, property tax, or real estate analytics
Experience with CoStar, Reonomy, Pictometry, or MLS
What we're really selecting for

Someone who finds a three-way discrepancy between sources interesting rather than annoying, and who wants to know why two records disagree even after the assignment no longer requires it. That person produces materially better research than someone who merely completes the task.

And someone who reports what the research shows regardless of whether it helps. If a comparable is unhelpful, it still gets reported. If a fact can't be verified, you say so plainly. That standard isn't negotiable here — it's why our work holds up when it's examined.