Do I need to know ARGUS in order to go into CRE?
Hi y'all. I've been thinking for the past month or so on making the jump into CRE industry and was wondering how important it is to know ARGUS. How much does it really help in terms of looking for a job?
[{"id": "cqdttjq", "text": "It helps a lot, but it also depends on what you're doing.  Tenant rep? Not so important.  Investment sales? Very important.", "replies": [{"id": "cqdufea", "text": "This. Yes it is important because argus is so much better than everything else. However, I would only bother if you're looking for jobs in long term owner rep commercial leasing (not land sales, industrial, hotel, or residential). even for commercial/retail leasing,  a lot of smaller guys don't use it because the cost for argus is so astronomical that it doesn't make sense for most people over excel. ", "replies": [{"id": "cqe0nsv", "text": "I've also heard that Argus is really helpful during investment sales of *certain* product types. That is, definitely helpful for multi-tenant office with different expense stops, TI allowances, and partially-fixed reimbursable expenses. I've never met a hotel guy that uses Argus extensively though.", "replies": [{"id": "cqed7lt", "text": "Agreed.  It would take a very long time to set up a dynamic excel-based DCF for most multi-tenant office and retail properties.  ", "replies": [], "depth": 4}, {"id": "cqg3w6g", "text": "so true.  i do a lot if one or two tenant net lease properties.  argus is totally unnessecary for those.  but a 50 tenant office building with base stop rents.  you wont catch me dead trying to any other program than argus.  the one thing thet REALLY annoys me about argus is that you have to pick apartments OR commercial.  so if you have an apartment building with first floor retail you have to create two separate properties and then run it as a portfolio.  so annoying...", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cqdxmoy", "text": "its more important on the asset management, investment holding side I think.  \n\nAlso the transaction size.  We generally do .5 - 3 mil size range.  I've never used it nor had a client ask about it or send me argus files.  \n\nYour experience may vary.  \n\nHaving not used it, maybe I'm way off, but if you can do DCF etc by hand and on excel and understand whats going on I can't imagine it is that hard to learn if you need it........", "replies": [{"id": "cqf0ljz", "text": "This answer helps me out a lot. I'm a senior trainer for ARGUS and I always wondered how that would help me if I jumped into CRE. ", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cqf3i8e", "text": "If you're planning to work in investment sales at one of the big shops (Eastdil Secured, C&amp;W, JLL, CBRE) then ARGUS is mandatory.That being said those companies train people from the ground up, so if you're 25 or older I'd say the chances of getting one of those jobs is pretty low (think investment bank type of conservative hiring). \n\nI'm an investment sales broker at a boutique company and specialize in $50m to $500m transactions and I NEVER use ARGUS: the pace of transactions is such that when I'm working off-market deals laying out a discounted cash flow is a complete waste of time. I'd say as a broker you're better off sharpening your sales pitch and back-of-the-envelope analysis and letting your client do the actual underwriting. My 2 cents. ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cqi7xom", "text": "Argus is really easy to learn. Take a weekend to go through the Step by Step Guide, build a few test models, maybe do a few cases and throw it on your resume. It'll definitely help you get through the resume screeners and past HR.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cqk98nc", "text": "The simple answer is no, BUT if I'm the guy hiring you, then no matter what it shows me a demonstrated commitment to the real estate profession. Same thing goes with real estate salesperson licenses. Your objective is to convince me that you are smart, driven, and are working to expand your skill set daily. Will you need these things daily on the job? Maybe not, but having them makes you a more viable candidate. That is my two cents coming from MF investment sales at a huge shop. ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cqr5hsn", "text": "It's more important to know how to learn argus than to know argus. \n\nI would rather a resume say 'I know maths', 'I can communicate well', 'I'm organized', and 'I can make lists that have more than three things', than one that says 'I know this one program that could be outdated soon'. ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]