Commercial Real Estate for Dummies?
Hi friends,

After an extended temporary reception gig at a major commercial real estate firm, they have decided to keep me on board to train for brokerage support in the capital markets department. In the beginning, I would be doing pretty standard admin work...booking travel, expense reports, maybe a little photoshop here and there for brochures, etc. 

The problem: I come from a more creative background (hence, temp work). I have a seemingly useless degree in Communications and have had very little corporate office experience up until about a year and a half ago. I am completely capable of an admin position and can absolutely throw some creative energy into just about any type of work I do, but I know zero about commercial real estate. Real estate in general, really.

My question: Where can I get a well-rounded background on the commercial real estate industry? I don't even know where to begin. I know so little about commercial real estate, I cannot even formulate questions to ask...every question seems like a stupid question. I don't know the terms. I don't know how other departments relate to each other. I don't know what capital markets means. Obviously I will pick up tons once I start the position, but I am so very nervous. Are there any ELI5 books or online resources that someone can recommend?

I have been un/under/misemployed for years and I should be ecstatic to find a job that could turn into a career. Instead I find myself overwhelmed and anxiety-ridden. Please help me not blow this opportunity!

Thanks, friends!
[{"id": "cmouo7w", "text": "Hey there, I am an employee of the Urban Land Institute. If you are under 35 you can join at a discounted rate for a year and see how it goes. \n\nwe have classes and books that are designed for people who just starting out, especially in capital markets. Your company might offer to pay for it.\n\nyou can also just go to events in your area and see how it goes.\n\nHope that is helpful, don't mean to be self serving/spamming the sub.\n\nYou may also want to sign up for BisNow as that is free and they also have events in most cities.", "replies": [{"id": "cmp4567", "text": "Yeah but those courses are prohibitively expensive.  ULI really needs to stop assuming that the employer is paying for them.  Sure, the huge ships might, but most of the people that need the courses work for smaller/independent shops that are unwilling to pay for them.", "replies": [{"id": "cmpb9mz", "text": "Thanks for your feedback. do you think they are more expensive than something at your local university? Obviously they aren't free. \n\nI did mention Bisnow as well, I'm sure the OP would appreciate your perspective.", "replies": [{"id": "cmpgz08", "text": "IIRC, I think I did all the coursework for my brokers liscense through UCSD Extension.  8 classes for 350 each.  Took a real estate investment/acq modeling course for 2-300 at UCLA.  The rest I learned on the job....but there was a lot left out and it was pretty painful.  I was lucky to have some incredible mentors.  Part of the problem is that there us a huge difference in how you underwrite different asset classes.  I've never seen anyone separate them out...which would be really help.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cmow033", "text": "Boston University offers classes for people with limited experience in commercial real estate.  I haven't taken any, but they are pretty good classes from what I have heard.  I would take a look at the books being used for the core courses.\n\nhttp://professional.bu.edu/programs/real-estate-studies/commercial/ ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cmp0yd6", "text": "For a crash course in CRE,  I would recommend the book  [The Real Estate Game] (http://www.amazon.com/Real-Estate-Game-Intelligent-Decisionmaking/dp/068485550X). I started working at a CRE brokerage this year (albeit as an Analyst) and I thought it was really helpful. You'll probably have to do some google research as you go along, as its not quite the absolute beginner level, but it should really help guide your learning.", "replies": [{"id": "cmq5d7y", "text": "On it, thanks! Completely cool with Google searching - I figured there'd be a lot of that no matter what. I just need a guide.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cmp38sg", "text": "I hired and supervised econ/finance interns in a commercial real estate research department for a little over five years. My experience was that most of the battle is terminology. There are well over 100 commercial real estate specific terms, and depending on what sub-sector you are working in, you will likely be around people using at least 20 of them. \n\nEdit - also, here is the definition of capital markets: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_market ", "replies": [{"id": "cmq5us4", "text": "Thanks, I'm finding terminology is a big deal. At my current position, I receive projects from various sectors and each one seems to have it's own lingo.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]