Newly licensed CA agent with a few questions about commercial vs residential
Can commercial agents (agents signed with a commercial broker) still represent residential transactions?

Just curious if it’s common/possible for commercial agents to represent buyers and sellers of residential real estate from time to time?
[{"id": "hjie2dv", "text": "Yes, talk with your broker. It's the same license.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hjigh73", "text": "Depends on the broker, but if you joined any of the large commercial brokerage house then the answer is no. Smaller boutique ones maybe.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hjim962", "text": "They can, but they shouldn\u2019t because it\u2019s not their area of expertise.  Unless they\u2019re in a really small market", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hjjfo6j", "text": "I don't recommend trying to do both. You will find that you have a very steep learning curve ahead of you in commercial real estate. You will need to do a lot of prospecting, and commercial real estate transactions typically take a long time to come together. Spending time on marketing yourself in the residential area would be a major diversion. If something falls into your lap, like a \"family and friends\" deal, or if your broker decides to help you out by throwing you a residential deal that's already teed up, then sure, go ahead. Otherwise, stick to one or the other.", "replies": [{"id": "hjjrrqn", "text": "This right here", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "hjksm9l", "text": "This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hjjyy8q", "text": "It's the same license but typically brokerages are focusing on residential or commercial. Contracts, clients, business strategy are so  different, I have not yet met any broker that does both. Residential is 24/7, dealing with emotional people for whom this purchase is probably the biggest of their life. Commercial you're dealing with (mostly)  business people Mon-Fri and the transaction is all about the numbers/ROI for the business. Most commercial people specialize in retail, office, industrial or land. Since you're new, I would recommend you find people on both sides of the business and talk to them to figure out what makes sense for you.", "replies": [{"id": "hjkspmk", "text": "Thank you \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffc", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hjkj902", "text": "It's not necessary to know both sectors, but it helps.\n\nI live on Maui, where we have 1,700 licensed Realtors for a population of 167,000 residents. Of those Realtors I'd estimate 1,500 are residential and only 200 are commercial.\n\nI do both, but not nearly as much or as often as I used to. The benefit of knowing both (including the differences in the basic contracts, the financing and diligence) is that you can serve your clients better, and it helps you to see the big picture, i.e. the real bones of the money.  The compensation from commercial leasing is worthwhile and in a busy place like Hawaii there's money to be made.\n\nHere, at least, the commercial Realtors are a much more friendly and helpful bunch than the residential crowd. Maui has a huge of amount of outside money coming in, so the game has changed a lot from years past.\n\nKeep in mind a licensed party can get a nice referral fee by sending a deal to a colleague who is better qualified to execute the transaction. If it closes you'll get a referral fee (negotiable) and it usually only involves a phone call or two.", "replies": [{"id": "hjksue0", "text": "Makes sense, thank you!!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hjktuwc", "text": "Completely different industries. Dm me to chat if you want.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hjkwlsi", "text": "You know what I do? I have made a friend in residential who will give me 25% commission. Just send him referrals when I can. It's nowhere close to the money I make in commercial even at 100% so it's way better for me to outsource and still get cash flow.\n\nI do have to run my residential deals through my commercial brokerage and they take % as well.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]