Best certifications / classes for learning construction and renovation coming from finance side
I've been in CRE finance for a decade and mainly run portfolio level analytics which puts me a little further out from the tangible real estate than I originally planned.  I'm trying to get a better understanding of the physical real estate costs, project management, etc that I see as a gap in my current experience.  Are there any books, courses or certifications that are worth the time on these topics?  I'm not really trying to move roles professionally but moreso for my own investing.  I realize experience is the best teacher but I'm trying to stay put in my job for various reasons.  What's the next best thing?

I've done some LP investments in MF deals so I have some decent experience in evaluating my own investments and ran a small fund (&lt;$1m equity) with a partner which closed out successfully but I still feel the need to be better educated on adding value through capital improvements and repositioning assets.
[{"id": "gnxqvep", "text": "I think you're making the smart decision staying put at your job while investing and trying to gain knowledge.  One way you could do it is through more LP investing in ground up construction projects.  There is a ton you will learn by just watching the project come together.  You'll get an idea for what your horizontal costs are, your vertical costs, timelines for engineering, planning, zoning, etc..  My experience is on the development side so lots of construction/development.  Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.", "replies": [{"id": "gny7a9y", "text": "Can I ask what you mean by horizontal and vertical costs? I'm in the CRE industry myself but haven't come across those.", "replies": [{"id": "gny8ljb", "text": "Those relate to development/construction.  Horizontal is all the site work costs.  Vertical are your actual building costs.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "gnyrhku", "text": "Some of your prior posts here kind of gave me the kick to post this so thanks for the reply.  Will definitely reach out once I dig in a bit.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gnxzw6r", "text": "I\u2019m reading The Birth of a Building right now \ud83d\udc4d\ud83c\udffc", "replies": [{"id": "gnysmse", "text": "Easy decision to scoop this!", "replies": [{"id": "gnzvwb0", "text": "You\u2019ll like it. It\u2019s great. Enjoy!", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gny9ttj", "text": "Our company is essentially a one stop shop for brokerage, leasing, prop. mgmt, receivership, and construction. So I have had the luxury of being able to ask questions in the field or walk down the hallway and ask how much it would cost to do a roof tear off or replace windows or update electrical on a 50 unit building. What I would recommend is, if you have owners  or buyers that do gut rehabs, add value, or ground up construction, see if at the very least they can send you their bids or bids they received from third-party and from there you can get an overall idea costs. Bids typically have line item costs that, while they are estimates, should ball park costs that won't make you look stupid when you're doing pro forma underwriting with a construction budget. Ideally you would want to look at more than just one bid so you can average out what X per sq. Ft should cost. You're never going to be completely spot on. I think most construction companies can rarely pinpoint an exact number on what a job might be. They always put reserves in bids just to cover themselves  Costs vary on everything from scale, location, zoning/permits, etc.\n\nAlso, lenders might be a good resource as they have workshops and classes on everything from management, building maintenance, construction. (This may be for more community based lenders.)", "replies": [{"id": "gnyr9ux", "text": "Great ideas!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gnyd0nb", "text": "I\u2019m the opposite of you (minus several years). Experienced in commercial construction management and diy residential stuff on my own home but not quite invested tangible real estate myself. Hopefully 1-2 years out though!\n\nMy best advice for learning entry level construction costs is to study [the 50 CSI Divisions](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Divisions) to help understand all the different trades that go into construction costs. If you\u2019re ever around construction plans you\u2019ll can dig deeper into the notes and specs to see which divisions apply to your project. Each set of plans should list just about everything that\u2019s required to go into a build line by line, and good builders can see if there might be any omissions that might cause issues later in the build. Then there are cost estimating standards or books out there, but ultimately material and labor costs add up to what you can actually get a quote to do the work for. Project managers and estimators make their money and add value to the construction projects by calling around to find the best price and passing those savings on to the client. Outsourcing labor and material production is ultimately necessary in most all projects, but the most profitable builders are the ones who can do as much of those trades as possible in house.\n\nAs far as courses or further reading go, unless you wanna take college construction management courses, most everything you\u2019d want to know is available online or through calling the right supplier/tradesman/builder. Reading construction specs is about as dry as it gets but it lays out every material type required and then you can go down each rabbit hole to find out costs.\n\nTo save yourself the most time in doing all this work it\u2019s obviously advantageous to have a General Contractor in your circle who can recall up to date pricing in your area of the top of his/her head.", "replies": [{"id": "gnysbqv", "text": "Appreciate this.  I'd never heard the 50 Divsions so this will be a helpful rabbit hole.\n\nSuggestion on the investing side - find someone complementary (money + deal) and bring your skills to a deal.  My partner on the fund we did came from your background and learned how to find deals.  Money and deal structuring (which I brought to the table at the time) came to him easily once we did a couple small rehabs.  He made it in the 8 digit NW by 35.", "replies": [{"id": "gnyzsso", "text": "Yeah that seems like the best advice to give, find complimentary partners until you can do it all.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gnym775", "text": "I\u2019d recommend reaching out to your GP\u2019s on the deals you\u2019ve done. I\u2019m a GP and I have many of my LP\u2019s reach out to me asking about operations and rehab costs when we\u2019re turning units. I\u2019m sure they\u2019d be open to helping out.", "replies": [{"id": "gnyrr24", "text": "Very good first thought.  I should have put it in my OP but the GP of the deals I've been in plays it close to the vest and has a bigger money investor funding everything now so I can't get much out of him and have no real leverage.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "go0qmfr", "text": "I also came from the finance side but eventually pivoted into development and started personally investing in multifamily. My two cents, if your ultimate goal is to invest on your own, and recognizing that experience is the best teacher, why not just jump in (if you have the means to). Coming from the finance side, you probably understand how to pencil basic numbers, and you can rely on third-party professionals when diligencing opportunities and to help guide you with any renovation/costing requirements. For the most part, resi can be very low risk as long as you know your local market and source anything that's core or value-add.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "go5kwtq", "text": "Try assistant site super for finishing stages you\u2019re probably gonna burn out or get scared but you\u2019re gonna learn more about construction in 3-6 months than any thing you pay for, ie get paid", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "goe7no4", "text": "Lots of great comments already. I would add - have you considered a graduate level program like MIT's Master of Science in Real Estate Development? I know of a number of folks that like yourself wanted to get \"closer\" to the property level, enrolled in the program and came out in pretty good shape. \n\nWhen setting a budget, I think that it's about 1) getting the line items, right, 2) getting the numbers for the line items, right, and 3) getting the team in place to deliver on those numbers, right. Nothing beats actual experience, but maybe the program will give you a better base to work off of.\n\n[https://mitcre.mit.edu/masters-program/about-the-program](https://mitcre.mit.edu/masters-program/about-the-program)", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gotmo1s", "text": "As a full time project manager that dabbles in finance (maybe the opposite of your story?) I would suggest looking for a role where you can be more active with be day-to-day management of a development. Most capital guys don\u2019t need to be technical development experts to be successful but they need to know enough that they are making smart decisions. Get great consultants and contractors, ask questions,m and absorb as much as you can. It\u2019s not something your going to be good at in a day, but you can learn a lot from just being in a meeting and following the conversation.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]