Hello BP community,

I've been a Bigger Pocket member for less than a year. My first foray into Real Estate came when I began working as ad admin for a national commercial real estate brokerage firm. I worked as a lead admin for a team of commercial real estate agents. I was working with agents who focused on multifamily, which required a lot of research on market rents, sales comps etc. The position exposed me to a lot of information. I was researching to find ownership info, market rents, and values on commercial properties, and even some basic underwriting on properties.

I learned a lot, and the exposure to the Real Estate industry really motivated me to become an agent. I ultimately obtained a Real Estate License (NJ) and became a property manager for a company in NJ. As a BP fan I really enjoy learning about real estate and plan to, in the very near future begin investing myself. 

I am currently a licensed agent and also work as a property manager. I am a life long Hudson County resident and work there currently.

While I have experience some experience in Real Estate, I am eager to learn more and hope to engage and learn as much as I can from the forums. Conversely, if anyone has questions regarding my experiences and knowledge, feel free to ask away.

Hi @Christopher Gerena . By "Commercial" do you mean multifamily or more like retail?  Also, are you licensed as a property manager (assuming that's required in NJ, I don't know?). People on here ask for referrals for property managers all the time, and I wish I had someone good to refer to! 

@Christopher Gerena Welcome to BP! This is a great place to learn!  Please clarify what your long term RE goals are. Also in case you're looking for network with local RE investors, you're welcome to join my meetup. We actually have an event tonight in Bergen County. More details under my profile or feel free to PM me directly.

@Jessica Zolotorofe the brokerage company I worked for, worked with all types of commercial properties. Multi-family, Retail (ranging from gross leases to NNN leases, strip malls to single tenant) industrial, office, and mixed-use properties. The firm also heavily focused on 1031 exchange transactions which gave me a lot of insight to that part of the business as well. The agents I worked with primarily focused on multi-family and mixed use in Hudson/Bergen county. With a little bit of industrial as well.

It is my understanding that NJ does not have a Property Manager license requirement. I do have my NJ Real Estate salesperson license, and even that is not a requirement. It is just more pragmatic to have a Real Estate license as a property manager.  

@Alina Trigub thanks for the response, and yes , it is a great place to learn. I have learned a lot and want to continue to learn and help others as much as this resource and community has helped me. In the immediate future I definitely want to house back a multi family home, in Hudson County (which is a very tough market for any numbers to make sense) but as an agenT with access to MLS , and networking with varIous contractors due to the nature of my job, I think I’m in a good position to find something that has some value - add potential , as to not pay a premium , because I have the knowledge and means to improve it either myself or through people I knoW , so that would be my immediate short term goal. I would eventually want to invest into more properties , but my first immediate goal would be acquiring some sort of house hack.

@Christopher Gerena Good plan. Stick to it!

Welcome to BP @Christopher Gerena ! It's good to see someone start on the outskirts of real estate as an employee and work their way into the heart of it.

@Odie Ayaga appreciate the kind words!

Welcome! Since 8 months was there any progress on your goals? Also PMed you!