I will start off by disclaiming that I cannot take credit for the idea behind this post. I recently read and responded to a post initiated by @Adam Zach surveying all members wanting to see who in the real estate investing world came from an engineering background. I posted a reply mentioning that the ironic thing about this topic was that the group of people who should know THE MOST about real estate (minus the investing part) were architects! And then went on to say that it was likely because of an architect’s (low) income versus an engineer’s which prevents architects from investing. But then I gave it more thought, and what’s even more ironic is that...most architects are so preoccupied with their craft that they fail to see the what their clients are doing right under their noses...Developing buildings to make money! I know there’s at least a couple of us out there...let’s represent!
Hey @Jason H., thanks for the notice to jump in on this!
I completed my 5-Year Bachelors of Architecture from IIT in 2013 and was pursuing a Double Major in Structural Engineering. After I graduated with my 5-Year Bachelors I started working full-time for a Residential firm downtown where pretty much 100% of the clients were Developers. I think that is when I started to realize that these developers were making a Killing with the projects they were doing, and the Architect I was working for was also doing quite well for himself by catering to them and providing efficient designs, fast turnaround, and an extremely detailed understanding of what is required by the City of Chicago in order to obtain building permits. Our office managed to do about 300 projects per year with about 5 drafters, 1 designer, a permit expediter, and the owner.
I started the Masters degree in Structural Engineering, but realized it didn't make sense for me to be working my *** off to obtain my License as an Architect to then have to go and work for years as an Associate Structural Engineer in order to obtain that license as well. I took a couple-year break from my studies while I worked and took my ARE Exams while completing my IDP Hours (5,600 hours required at the time). I then decided to go back and get my Master's in Construction Engineering and Management from IIT as it would only take me the equivalent of 1 extra year to get the degree. All tho it took longer because I was going back part-time.
After I got my Architecture license I changed jobs as I didn't see much potential for growth and worked for a short while for a Design+Build firm, and then for a commercial design firm. I loved the Idea of Design+Build but I didn't mesh well with the owner and parted ways pretty quickly. While working with the Design firm I decided to start my own Architecture Firm. This presented me with a unique opportunity to work full-time for the design firm, while also picking up my own side projects as well.
I have now found a similar set-up working full time for a Design+Build residential remodeling company who does about 100 projects per year and within about a 50 mile radius of Chicago. They have me Managing their Architecture and Interior Design departments. With this company I have learned a lot about the efficiencies of remodeling and how to spot concerns before jumping into a project. They are not a developer, and instead cater specifically to homeowners, but understanding these things ahead of time can save our clients money as well as the company headaches of having to pay for things that were not in scope and only having to charge extra for things that were truly unforeseen. This has also helped me gain a lot of knowledge about different building departments, how they interpret and enforce codes, and the specific things they want to see on their drawings in order to expedite permit approval.
I am now Self-Certified in the City of Chicago, NCARB Certified which allows me to pursue expedited licensure in any other state, Actively Licensed in Illinois, Indiana, and Texas, and have extensive knowledge of many building departments throughout Chicagoland. With that I have learned that I had a unique skill set that can greatly aid local developers. I am working with a handful of contractors and developers on the side and always looking for more opportunities to grow my business, but I realized that there's no reason to stop there. I decided I definitely wanted to get into real estate investing myself.
And here I am now, looking to gain knowledge from the members of this forum, and connect with others who have similar desires. My only current investment is the Condo in which I currently live in Chicago, but it has been building equity since I moved in about 5 years ago with my wife. We have been focused on paying off debt over the past few years and I am now feeling closer than ever to begin my journey into real estate investment.
I received a BA in History in college, and then obtained a MArch from Illinois Institute of Technology. I also taught second year at IIT in the College of Architecture for many years. The curriculum was known as the brick studio. The students were taught every aspect of construction during the second year (understanding a foundation, how to build windows, doors, etc). The purpose of the class was to teach design through construction details. It was developed by Mies van der Rohe and Alfred Caldwell, and has become a lost art.
While in school, my professor owned a real estate development firm that also did architectural and construction. I was able to learn all three aspects of the industry while working for him for 6 years. I started my own firm back in 1998, and continued working in all three areas.
What are the advantages of being an architect? Vision. My back ground in development grants me the ability to see the project from a financial perspective - working on use, capital stack, entitlements, etc. My architectural back ground provides the vision of knowing what must be done to the property to accomplish the development side - zoning, building code, design, etc. Construction background enables us to know how to build it and what it should cost.
Working in the field for close to 30 years, we have interacted with many developers or contractors who do not understand the design. Similarly, there are many architects who have no perspective of cost or construct ability (literally how to build what they are designing). I am grateful I was fortunate that my education and early work afforded me the exposure to all three areas of real estate. It certainly has benefited me as an investor.
I would love to be an architect--had always planned to until I played it safe with marketing. I refuse to go into more debt for schooling until I can pay cash for it.
I'm glad you created this post! I'm a licensed architect in NY and have just gotten into real estate investing. I got my Masters at University of Kansas (I'm from Kansas) then moved to NYC. I had the dream of working for the stararchitects. I worked for one and although I loved it, it was not a sustainable lifestyle or income. So I made a change. I work for an Architect/Developer here in Brooklyn. Its been 4 years now and it's been fun. As a Project Manager, I see the acquisitions side and the design side. It's been very rewarding.
However, there's always drawbacks. I am still at the mercy of an employer, and have received a large paycut due to COVID. During quarantine I realized that I want to have control over my financial future. i saw the PPP loans going out and my pay getting cut and i just thought... I need to create an income stream that allows me to quit my job and start my own development firm. So here I am now, starting my REI investing career. I hope to replace my income in 5 years and quit my day job and focus on starting a small development firm similar in structure to mine (Architect/Developer). @Ashley Owens is living my dream!!
In the meantime, I'm hoping to scale quickly enough while investing OOS ( I can't afford NYC! and NJ is effectively difficult enough for me to get to that it's long distance). I bought my first property in Kansas City and am leaving tomorrow to start rehab (thanks to remote working!) I also am considering making a job change towards full fledged (small) development (my firm does huge projects) or real estate acquisitions. I want to broaden my skills and perhaps increase my income
So cool to hear all this time you have been developing your skills in the field. Even though you are not currently an architect you are sharpening your sword (so to speak). The infamous "break" is the worst. Glad you are able to realize the potential in REI, good luck!
@Randy Hunter @Erik Kasuba Really nice to see a couple of architects from the two markets I'm investing in!
In fact, welcome to all the recent architects (and those who wish they were one, however, be glad you're not, ha) to the discussion. Statistically speaking, I doubt we will get the same amount of members chiming into this post as did the Engineers post, but I know there are more and more architects "finally" seeing the power of investing.
@Jason H. Going back to your question I have been extremely busy since June. April and May were a little bit scary when no one knew what to do. However, since everyone is now living at home full time I have had numerous clients who want more space or to make their spaces more functional. Those are the homeowners. They want an office, they want places for their kids to play, a more functional house, or just want a bigger house because they are now home more often. I am no longer advertising but I still get one or two contacts a week through word of mouth or even bigger pockets posts. Those posts are mainly about basements and modular projects but people are finding me which is nice.
Also, my developer clients which are about 50% of my clients either want to keep on investing or fix up their places to get a higher return. A few of them rent to section 8 tenants and understand the more rooms they have the higher rent they can get. This is in the DC metropolitan area and section 8 pays higher rent than a typical tenant. I also do a few daycares and they have new restrictions so I have had a few opportunities there as well.
This is definitely different than the 2008 recession for people with white collar jobs. They have not been affected and want to invest. Even I am finally building my detached garage to make it into an office. However, material prices have gone through the roof. Especially lumber. Lead times are also an issue.
It is an interesting time to be an architect.
@Brittany H.Thanks for the callout! Sounds like you're on a great path for making your dream come true. It all comes from talking to people and telling as many people as possible what your goals are. Happy to chat sometime if you want to know anything. It looks like you may have some experience in some of the bigger projects we're working our way into. Along with residential flips and buy and holds, we're looking at doing some larger developments. We just purchased a plot of land downtown where our office is located and we plan to build a 4 story mixed use building. This is our first venture into a development this size and type, so lots to learn. Talk soon!
It is so nice to read many of the stories shared on this post. Here is mine. I am a (non-licensed) Architect/Project manager in Chicago. I graduated from UIC and got a masters of arch from IIT (like a few others here). I waited too late to pursue my license and hit the life roadblock (kids!) when I actually started taking them. I had two test remaining and them my rolling clock expired! I discovered Bigger Pockets about two years ago and went into the rabbit hole and had many 'ohhhh', 'that's right' and 'aha' moments. I have yet to invest in an actually property but I am always looking and waiting for the right moment (whenever that is).
COVID sure is deterring me in investing right now due to job security. My far does a lot of commercial office / workplace design and renovation. Fortunately, we have a few institutional project and had locked up a large office project right as COVID started and had kept us busy. With this pandemic, it had made it even more apparent that we all need more than one source of income, because you never know what is going to happen outside your control that will put a stop to that.
I think being an architect and now a project manager, it can help being in investing because we are used to juggle many different disciplines and trades and able to know how they all fit in and work together. We know how to talk to contractor and when they are trying to cut corners. Hopefully by reading and listening to more BP, I can learn more about the financials and be a more well rounded REI.
Thanks for the thread and yes the pay sucks for the amount of education and work we go through, but I am sure many other professionals feel the same way. haha.
@Maimouna Sow wow I have such a similar dream/aspirations. I think it is fantastic what you are doing. Never say that ur aspirations are too high they are right where they need to be. Think/dream as big as you can. What you think you can you can, what you think you can't you can't. May i ask where you are from? And what are your aspirations for you hometown exactly?
I think that you being an architect and project manager at the same time give you the advantage of being in close contact with contractors, which would allow you to establish a strong network of dependable and reliable contractors that can deliver on time and on budget.
Architect and investor here. Portland, Oregon.
I studied architecture at CUNY. I worked for a large firm in Irvine and then decided to jump into real estate for financial freedom!
I am currently an in-house architect for a real estate developer and have 1 flip under my belt.
So many good things lined up and our first flip profit was over 200k.
LA is hard for beginners but I’m glad to be a part of a team that can guide me and help me analyze deals.
I feel that the architectural background has been key! Being able to create architectural features in the spaces and understanding design is what I feel helped us achieve such a good outcome in a 6 month flip.
Congrats @Zabdiel Lugo, that exactly what I'm looking to be stepping into...
Any tips for how you got that 1st project lined up?
I have a masters in architecture and now do virtual design for a large GC. Just finished rehabbing my first door. Purchase price of 122k appraised at 160k could sell tomorrow for 180k but I have a tenant lined up already. My goal is to have 3 doors by 30, I got into real estate early and have been managing my dads rentals for about 5 years now. I’m far too risk averse for flipping right now so I’m going to concentrate on building my portfolio while I can.
Thats an amazing talent to add into the real estate market. You can scale faster if you added more architects to your business.
Mechanical Engineer/Realtor/investor here. I project manage our firms flip portfolio and its been pretty cool coming from an engineering background and working with the architects and structural engineers as its all too familiar. I'll probably stay the path of being a mechanical engineer as I like to make and design mechanical objects rather than structures. But who knows, I might pop open archicad or some other design software and start designs under an architect.
I will start off by disclaiming that I cannot take credit for the idea behind this post. I recently read and responded to a post initiated by @Adam Zach surveying all members wanting to see who in the real estate investing world came from an engineering background. I posted a reply mentioning that the ironic thing about this topic was that the group of people who should know THE MOST about real estate (minus the investing part) were architects! And then went on to say that it was likely because of an architect’s (low) income versus an engineer’s which prevents architects from investing. But then I gave it more thought, and what’s even more ironic is that...most architects are so preoccupied with their craft that they fail to see the what their clients are doing right under their noses...Developing buildings to make money! I know there’s at least a couple of us out there...let’s represent!
My experience doing architectural drawings has help immensely in doing rehabs, and analyzing spaces, I feel it gives me a second type of vision that not everyone has.
I had a former career as an architect. Even in school, I wanted to move into the RE development side. I started investing in single family and small multi-unit properties in 2005. I've always liked the renovation/transformational aspect of real estate investing; increasing value through improving upon a product. I progressed to owning and operating a 60 unit apartment complex and have since sold that. Today, through education and networking, I'm invested in 2800 apartment units as a passive partner/investor.
I am right there with many of the architects. I studied at UF and worked for a couple of firms including a starchitect. So many of the meetings would revolve around a developer saying yes or no to design options that took countless hours of work. I then realized I was on the wrong side of the table. With the covid downturn and getting laid off, I saw the perfect opportunity to start my own RE investing firm (along with my business partner, Civil Engineer). Having that architecture experience is great but I don't plan on ever going back.
Thank you @Jason H. for starting this thread. I always wondered how many architects interested in real estate are out there. It’s a great feeling to find others who share similar goals.
I’m an architect in NYC. I worked for a large corporate firm, then a wild startup, and now for a small developer acting as a Project Manager/Construction Super.
Currently, I am looking to purchase my first property upstate New York near Albany. It’s a vacant plot of land. I am licensed in the state of New York and plan to produce the construction documents for this new construction.
Anyone out there in the Bigger Pockets Community that has designed and built one of their investment properties? I would love to hear your story.
Thanks.
Congrats @Zabdiel Lugo, that exactly what I'm looking to be stepping into...
Any tips for how you got that 1st project lined up?
Funny stuff here... I'm an architect developer in Denver, CO. I partnered with a finance person last year. He has an architecture degree, so we work together well. I'm very strong on technical and construction aspects. Our focus is missing middle, sustainable, of-site constructed housing. It's a tight niche focusing on reducing risk for the investor.
Thank you @Jason H. for starting this thread. I always wondered how many architects interested in real estate are out there. It’s a great feeling to find others who share similar goals.
I’m an architect in NYC. I worked for a large corporate firm, then a wild startup, and now for a small developer acting as a Project Manager/Construction Super.
Currently, I am looking to purchase my first property upstate New York near Albany. It’s a vacant plot of land. I am licensed in the state of New York and plan to produce the construction documents for this new construction.
Anyone out there in the Bigger Pockets Community that has designed and built one of their investment properties? I would love to hear your story.
Thanks.
Hi Architects...Hope you are all doing well! Curious if anyone in the discussion has ever embarked on building their own single family residence from a vacant lot and have any good take-aways to share here. Even though we may be all architects here, our professional experiences and focus vary widely and may not cover single family residential from the ground up. Specifically, I'll be building in NW Florida, but any feedback on the building process from design to contractor selection would be very helpful!