Really Not Sure What To Do

[Account Closed]

Hey everyone,

So I find myself in a situation right now and I'm not sure what I should do.

Let me first say that my passion for the most part in RE is commercial (specifically multifamily and self storage.) Because of this I'm really looking for the best ways to continue to learn in the field and get to the point where I can begin investing for myself.

I applied and interviewed today for an assistant commercial broker position at a local commercial office. I felt that the interview went very well and the brokers I met with seemed like great people. The issue however came down to the actual nature of the job compared to where I am and what I am really looking for.

Of course it's a agent position so it's 100% commission based. The head broker in the firm told me that he estimates it would take me approximately 5 months before I made any money and about 3 years before I made good money.

I'm feeling torn because my passion in commercial RE is not at all on the sales but rather the actual investing side. I could very quickly see the stark differences between how brokers and investors think as I went through the interview. The entire focus for them (which is understandable) was getting commissions, commissions, commissions....I however feel like I'm on the other side of the table thinking of everything from an investor standpoint.

My goal is to be able to get a job where I can actually rely on the income and be able to build up some cash reserves so that it would greatly help me in starting my own investing business. I don't want to build an elaborate career because I know it isn't my future.

I'm so torn because my passion in RE isn't the sales side and I know that if I were to take the agent position, I would work months and not make any money and the only way for me to be successful would be for me to stick with it and build my network which would take years. I don't want a career which will take me years to make anything out of it because my goal is to replace my income with cashflow from properties as quickly as possible.

I also feel though that it would be a great opportunity to learn the business of commercial RE from the inside and meet the big players in my area. I hate the thought of turning that down which is what is leading to my dilemma.

Sorry for being so long and any advice on what I should do would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! :)

[Jon Holdman]

I'm 100% sure people often confuse real estate jobs (wholesaling, rehabbing, property management, brokering, developing, etc) with investing. Investing is putting your money into some vehicle that you expect to produce a return. Buying stocks, bonds, bank CDs and rental properties is investing. If you have a huge pot of money, like a mutual fund manager or Warren Buffet, investing can become a job. For most of us, though, investing is a pretty small time consumer. Doesn't take long to be "fully invested" and not have any more cash to pump into investments.

The goal for many people is to have enough money invested in whatever they (or their financial planners or brokers) think are good investments so you can live off the returns. That's retirement and is a goal for many folks.

I can fully understand not wanting to be a broker. That's a job, and a commissioned sales job at that. That's not my thing.

When you say "my passion for the most part in RE is commercial (specifically multifamily and self storage.)", if you mean you want to own some mini-storage and apartment buildings and live off the income, then your focus should be on earning the money you need to seed those investments. For most of us, that means a job. My day job has nothing to do with real estate at all. It pays the bills, though, and generates cash I can invest in real estate (among other things.) And its something that I'm good at and, for the most part, enjoy.

I'll ask you what you mean by your passion is for mini-storage and multifamily? You want to own them? Build them? Manage them? Something else? If your goal is to own enough of them to live off the cash, especially if you're paying others to actually run them, then you need to figure out a way to generate the cash to invest. If its something else, find a job doing that.