Residential broker looking to transition into commercial development/management. What skills and traits should I be emphasizing in my applications?
I am a residential real estate agent in San Diego, CA. I have been in the business about 18 months and have done fairly well for myself, but I am looking to transition to the commercial side, preferably in development or acquisition, not brokerage. What skills should I be focusing on in my applications? And what skills could I be learning in the meantime to make me a more attractive candidate?
[{"id": "dxna9u7", "text": "Hey hredog - I can give a bit a advice here. Your interest in \"commercial\" is pretty broad and your interests within that field also pretty broad. \n\nAcquisitions - is usually extremely analytical and your responsibilities will depend on the size of the company you're working for. At an institutional job you'd start as an analyst and do excel/argus modeling. Also, these jobs are tough to get because everyone wants to be on the Acq side. A small investment shop will give you more flexibility and responsibility but again - these are really really thinly staff orgs so getting the job is going to be tough.\n\nDevelopment is also tough. Dev shops are very thinly run. You'll also likely start as an analyst crunching numbers, cold calling, working on deal flow, etc.\n\nSo your question... highlight your hustle. If you crushed it on the residential side then highlight the hard work it took. Residential real estate doesn't necessarily translate over to the commercial side (and vise-versa) but it is \"real estate\" so at least you're not starting from zero. If you haven't already then it would be good to get some Excel/Argus training. See if you can get some informational interviews at places you'd love to work but aren't hiring. Ask them what they are looking for in new hires. Fill in those spots in your skill set so you're prepared if/when they are hiring. See if you can intern there - even if it's for free.\n\nFinally - you may want to transition over to being a commercial broker for a short stint at that job. 12-24 months. You could focus your effort on the types of assets you want to work on in the Acq/Dev market. That would get you familiar with the players in that space in your market and also give you some cheap experience on the \"commercial side\" which will help your resume. More than anything else commercial real estate is a relationship business. The more relationships you can build the easier it will be for you to find the job.\n\nGood luck.", "replies": [{"id": "dxnjft9", "text": "This is great advice. I came up against the same issues when pursuing acquisitions roles. Why not just go into commercial brokerage? That is where your strengths already lie and you\u2019d be working with development firms on deals. ", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "dxnzmjq", "text": "Cribdilla thank you so much, that was extremely helpful info. I don\u2019t mind crunching numbers for a couple years, but it will definitely be difficult to get into a position like that given my lack of financial modeling experience. I have a few meetings set up with industry professionals who will hopefully give me some more insight on what skill sets to focus on. \n\nAs far as getting into commercial brokerage...I\u2019ve entertained that idea, but I\u2019ve heard it\u2019s mostly cold calling 8 hours a day, which I absolutely hate. I love the relationship and negotiating part of the business, which is what I\u2019m great at. Will definitely look further into that though. Thanks again.", "replies": [{"id": "dxocpmt", "text": "Commercial isn't necessarily cold calling 8 hours a day, but it does help you get to the relationship and negotiating part.  ", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "dxpwv1a", "text": "You've essentially described why so many people fail to become 'rain makers' in commercial real estate. Everyone hates cold calling, you're not unique. \n\nA LOT of people are good at relationships and negotiating once a deal is handed to them, but you can't get to that part without first acquiring the deal.\n\nThe people who are referred to as 'hunters' and 'rain makers' are those people who can find the deals. My commercial broker always said, he can teach anyone to negotiate, but few are born 'hunters'. It takes a truly unique person to thrive at the hustle of finding the deal in the first place.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "dxnzxk9", "text": "Good post. I'd stress the analytical side mentioned, it will serve you well in all of those roles. Something that also helped me was dissecting big deals where there was a lot of public information available. You can get a handle on how entitlements work, what the municipality will allow, discourage, etc.   Potential employers also appreciated that I knew their past projects in great detail and could understand their business history.\n\nMy path was different though: finance -&gt; acquisitions  -&gt; development", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "dxuyb4i", "text": "No offense, but you will be starting from scratch. Commercial and Residential just require very different skill sets. In my experience, residential brokers were hired more for their general personality qualities than their previous residential skills. So if you are applying/interviewing, I'd emphasize you are organized, great at networking, self-motivated, hard working, detail oriented, great at sales, etc. Those soft skills are what will land you a job (and actually make you successful in commercial real estate).", "replies": [{"id": "dxv7fgw", "text": "Absolutely. Never thought the skill sets would be at all similar. That\u2019s part of the reason I want to get out of residential...it\u2019s kind of boring. Good to know that it\u2019s possible to land a job by emphasizing those soft skills though. Thank you for the insight. ", "replies": [{"id": "dxx1f5r", "text": "Absolutely. If you are looking to be an actual commercial broker, be warned the lead times on deals are MUCH longer than residential. So you might not make any money for close to two years. (I know, it sounds crazy, but that's the deal). There are other jobs in CRE that are not pure commission too if that sounds too rough, but with risk comes the reward.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]