How well would an amateur do with his own money in CRE (development and investment)
Right now I'm investing my own money in single family residences. I had no previous experience. I've done of ton of research, read a lot of books, and built the right team (esp management company). It's been a year and I consider myself very successful. I think an amateur would do fine in this industry if he/she was patient and careful. Experience counts for something, but the learning curve is really reasonable. 

What would it be like for CRE? If a guy had $100 million to invest, and he wanted to do it himself with a team... would he do okay? What if a rich guy wanted to get started with real estate development....could he just hire the right advisors or should he really spend a few years with a firm, learning the ropes? 
[{"id": "cs8m9eb", "text": "If I had $100 million I would contribute money to some funds that are raised in order to buy real estate. Firms that buy real estate on behalf of high net worth clients pay themselves an acquisition fee and manage the investment. ", "replies": [{"id": "cs8q9s9", "text": "Yes that is probably the best option, but what if the guy was to do it himself?", "replies": [{"id": "cs8qq7x", "text": "With basically 0 experience? Very difficult to execute and lack of credibility. ", "replies": [{"id": "cs8r3uz", "text": "Lack of crediblity definitely makes sense...why difficult to execute though?", "replies": [{"id": "cs8vxh4", "text": "It's subjective, but even someone surrounded by good advisors is going to have a tough time making the right decisions if they don't have any experience. ", "replies": [], "depth": 5}, {"id": "csa8f7o", "text": "I would argue that lack of credibility does not matter. If you have money, you have money. Its not like someone is not going to work with you because you've never invested $100m before. All you need to do is read up and do some homework on underwriting properties from their incomes. Read up on ROI and NOI and get to understand cap rates. Do some research and next thing you know you are spending the $100 mills on some very credible properties with very nice cash flows. If you wanted to be a shadow investor, I would agree to put your funds into some kind of REIT or something. But if you wanted to be actively involved, I would just research. Also, find you a credible broker perhaps a CCIM that could help you. If they represent you on the buy side, you don't have to pay anything. They would get paid by the seller by splitting the sell side commission with the listing broker. If someone were to make you pay on the buy side, I would consider weighing your options with a different broker.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "csfdxqm", "text": "Investment is easier than development. You could probably assemble a team for investment and have some success but there is still a lot of risk. First and foremost, figuring out who to put on your team would be hard. Discerning those who do and don't is tricky, especially in a fee business. With that kind of cash (crazy thought I just had) I might actually engage a proven team via retainer for 90 days. They keep the monthly fee for 3 months, agree to show you new / off market stuff and work on your behalf... plus get the commissions. Get an attorney to draft the retainer agreement so it is strong.... Development, good luck. You're better off parking the cash with a proven developer (or 3) and being their financial partner. I like 3 because with 1 project each you'd know how each roll, and which you'd want to invest with and those you'd want to steer clear of! Marketing materials, websites and early meetings won't tell you much... References of past clients might if you actually call them to see their experience. You'll only know for sure when you are in the foxhole with them...RE development, consider city approvals, angry neighbors, unstable soils, flaky tenants, financing issues etc... it is with out the most complex form of CRE and full of risk.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]