Commercial Real Estate Career Options?

Question

Hey all!

I'm new to real estate but I've got my eye on commercial real estate (large multi family) being my investment vehicle of choice. I also happen to be at a pivoting point in my professional career and thought that a move into working in commercial real estate would be a great idea to learn some specifics of the business.

My background is in logistics/process improvement as well as teaching and I wanted to know if there were some roles that could really help me lock in the fundamentals of the commercial space. I've seen job postings for loan underwriters, asset mgmt assistant, lease analyst, loan originator, and research analyst. Does anyone have any suggestions or experience to suggest a few viable entries that would really benefit my knowledge as an investor?

Thanks!!

Amy H. · Answer

@Karla Yudy When I worked in residential, I was in charge of a portfolio of bank owed foreclosures. I worked for a broker as an Account Manager and handled all the Freddie Mac, HUD, and other banks like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, etc from acquisition (foreclosure date) to closing on the property that the broker was representing the bank on. A few were occupied by delinquent owners or by tenants and we would offer relocation assistance on behalf of the bank, a majority of mine were not occupied. So I was given the opportunity to see all the offers that come in and how the bank chooses which offer to accept, I was able to learn and manage the capital repairs that the bank paid for that made money (and those repairs that weren't necessary), and learn the residential market all over my state. I would be the person who decided if the market demanded a certain type of counter top, what type of flooring, if it was worthwhile to replace the roof for added value or not, if new siding is cost efficient, etc. I learned A LOT and made a few mistakes. But I was able to learned while using the bank’s money instead of using my own.

When I worked in commercial, I managed some mixed use spaces (commercial or retail in some spaces and usually apartments above) or just commercial spaces (warehouses, industrial, or retail) . Commercial was just managing the maintenance calls, annual and monthly budgets, and dealing with commercial tenant issues (improvements, demands, etc) in my opinion. I learned a lot about budgeting in regards to commercial space but that hasn't helped me at all with my hunt for SF rentals which is my long term goal. I felt like tenants were always just barking demands in commercial, as opposed to me actually learning in residential.

I hope I answered your questions, definitely let me know if you have any more!

David Miller · Answer

Check out "A Student of the Real Estate Game" website at

http://astudentoftherealestategame.com/.  It has a ton of information on starting a CRE career.  It is a great resource.

Jerry Thompson · Answer

Thanks Account Closed , haven't heard of that site either, will save it. I'm really trying to understand what the functions are as well... I'm that new to RE lol.

Karla Yudy · Answer

@Amy Herzing, Hi Amy, could you please go into more detail? What was your job? What is residential and commercial asset management and what did you do while doing residential/commercial asset management?

From what I gather, residential asset management was bank owned primarily owner-occupied properties while commercial was multi-family/ "income-producing" properties... is that correct?

Jerry Thompson · Answer

Will do!

Jerry Thompson · Answer

Thanks @David Miller will spend some time scouring the site.. for info!

Commercial Real Estate Career Options?

Most Popular Reply