I’m interested in becoming a commercial real estate broker, and tips?
I know this may not be the place to come for advice, and if not, I’m sorry.

I’ve been interested in becoming a real estate agent. The past couple years I have worked in property management and found myself successful at it, moving from leasing to management in about 2 years. I’m no longer being challenged and would like a job with more flexibility.

I don’t really want to sell residential houses, but I believe I’d be good at selling or leasing commercial space. I’ve looked online and it seems in my state (TN) the real estate license is the same.

So, starting there, does anyone have advice on next moves or how to start building a network?


[{"id": "e5dv54c", "text": "\nI\u2019m new to being a broker (less than 5 months) in South Carolina. I have yet to make a sale, I have had 2 buyer offers which were rejected by the seller.  The advice I\u2019ll give you is what most on this subreddit will say, but take my novelty in the business for what it is.\n\nGet on a team. A lot of brokerages will let you hang with them but have almost no support. And I do kind of get it: everyone I\u2019ve met with success on the brokerage side is go-getter. But having a mentor is truly invaluable and I am fortunate to have a very helpful mentor. Also and try and get a small salary temporarily (maybe 6 mos), or even a draw, if possible. I haven\u2019t made a dollar in 5 months, and I was expecting that. I had enough saved for 6-7 months, so it\u2019s getting down to the wire for me.\n\nI was working for a residential development company here in the SE. It was a decent job and I learned a lot about development, construction, etc. but I wanted an opportunity to make more money.  I also was not interested in residential sales because of the emotion involved (and working all weekend). \n", "replies": [{"id": "e5dvmcl", "text": "Wow this is amazing advice!! Thank you so much.  My first step is finding a mentor. Did you get your license online?", "replies": [{"id": "e5dvwhb", "text": "No, South Carolina recently passed a law that you have to take part of the class in person, so I just took the whole class", "replies": [{"id": "e5dxba3", "text": "Ok cool! Thanks so much! Is the license the same for commercial/residential? Everything I\u2019ve found online says it is", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "e5f34fl", "text": "Hang in there, I've done 70k in commission since April 1st started sametime as you, got lucky on some deals, but several were from me working hard. Keep chugging.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e5e3d7n", "text": "Step 1. Figure out where you want to work. You are in TN, is it Nashville? Is it Memphis? If not, move to one of those cities. \n \nStep 2. Figure out where you want to work. Drive around, see who has signs on buildings. Call those people, get on a team, learn the businesss, learn the market, get a deal under your belt. I don't care what it is, do a deal as quickly as possible. The first one is the hardest and just getting past that milestone will make you a broker, instead of talking about being a broker. \n\nNow, this is if you are doing general leasing and sales in your market. It is different if you are doing investment sales or multi-family. \n\nI was just in Nashville at a conference. Everything was under construction, place is going crazy. ", "replies": [{"id": "e5eiz9w", "text": "If I might ask, what conference is in nashville?", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e5e6tdi", "text": "Before you make the jump, ensure you have at MINIMUM a 12 month nest egg for food, living expenses (rent/mortgage/utilities) and transportation to and from the office. \n\nThis business takes a serious time commitment to build up a solid reputation and start having actual income coming in. \n\nThe most successful brokers I know either A) have awesome Landlord Rep contracts or B) work their tail off every single day grinding Tenant Rep. \n\nGood luck, it\u2019s really fun, but takes a special commitment to be successful. ", "replies": [{"id": "e5e7h45", "text": "How common/rare is it to have a base salary + commission?", "replies": [{"id": "e5e8351", "text": "Very rare in my market and borderline not there. I think the only situation where that happens is if you\u2019re an in house broker for a REIT or something similar. \n\nYou may get a draw depending on the firm, but that\u2019s simply an advanced payment on your future commissions. ", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "e5efhs1", "text": "I was actually extremely lucky. I graduated in May and was offered a position on a successful team at a local boutique brokerage. They are giving me a base + commission till the end of the year, but besides the base, being on a team has allowed be to be involved in closing many deals within my first few months. So I agree with others in that trying to get on an established team could be one of the most important steps. You'll also learn a lot faster than if you were doing it alone. Feel free to DM me if you have an questions.", "replies": [{"id": "e5ejag7", "text": "Amazing!!! Thank you so much!!!", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "e5ev3vw", "text": "I secured a base salary, with commission spilts 30/70 but if I decide to go off salary I\u2019ll be at 70/30. I\u2019m new to CRE brokerage also I\u2019m just hoping I\u2019ll be successful enough by the start of my third year I can take that leap off salary. ", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e5ej6um", "text": "When you do get a property, [Video Offering Memorandums](https://videoms.com) are by far the best way to market.  My father had one made and once it was put on market, the (don't quote me on this price point, it was somewhere around there.  I can't remember exactly) $12M property had a full price offer and a full price back up offer in 30 days. Speaks for itself.", "replies": [{"id": "e5ej9k7", "text": "Thank you!!!!", "replies": [{"id": "e5f39kl", "text": "Be careful, these guys are like hawks trying to get you to pay for drone videos", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e5gunr0", "text": "Why brokerage? The property management skill set isn't necessarily directly transferrable to brokerage. Have you considered asset management? \n\nOther people here have fantastic advice. Check out CoStar's Power Brokers for top producers in your area. Not sure how the Tennessee market is - I am in a different tertiary market and there is definite big fish/small pond potential but YMMV. \n\nWhat other questions do you have? More than happy to answer!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]