Advice on taking over family business in Commercial Real Estate Investment
**Long post incoming:**

I worked in the live entertainment industry for close to 8-10 years. Started off passing out flyers, promoting live concerts, producing my own live shows, then getting bought out by competition (one of the largest live event companies in the world). 

Couple years ago my father was bedridden due to Alzheimer's disease with dementia, and I was tired of being surrounded by party friends, so I left the company. My father passed away, and my mother took over the family business. She was always his COO (right hand man) from the get go, so nothing was really changed in terms of responsibility for her. And I was never into the family business, because I wanted to be self-made similar to my parents. However I was told my whole life this business would get passed down to me. I never did college or university, always self-taught &amp; I started my live entertainment experience at such a young age. Frankly I believe experience &amp; hard work speaks louder than college experience.

Now, at age 26, the time has come where I am brought on to work the business. To recap we own a franchise hotel, 6 office buildings, and 2 residential apartment buildings. The hotel is self-run with a management company overlooking everything. All the properties we own, we own the land and paid off. We are not into the business of buying businesses but instead buying the property and building on top or leasing out. 

I've been at the family business for over a year now and here are some of my responsibilities (we only have 3 workers; my mother, a controller/accountant, and my self):

* Depositing rent from all our tenants at the beginning of the month, and making sure rent is obtained with no late payments
* Visually check each property to make sure they are well maintained and no homeless issues. 
* Communicate with tenants in case of any issues they might have, and fulfill maintenance orders (A/C issues, parking issues, etc...) 
* Update tenant business insurances on excel

But my duties pretty much stop there. It's frankly a straight forward job. My mother drafts up all the lease agreements and negotiates with tenants. The controller/accountant handles all our pending invoices and creates P&amp;L sheets for us. Now here is the issue. I don't feel any fulfillment. I'm frankly bored. My mother does not want to relinquish responsibility anytime soon so there is a limited scope of what I can take from her in terms of work duties. 

&amp;#x200B;

My question is where do I go from here? Is there any knowledge I can obtain in this business? How about looking into potential investments? Where can I go to learn more and what? I'm kinda at a standstill and everyday is increasingly discouraging . I frankly have nothing to look forward too other than the day my mother retires and I sit here collecting money, which is not that self-satisfying. I used to see myself growing as a person month-to-month, but now I feel my youth is draining away at me. 

Any insight or advice is greatly appreciated!!! Feel free to message me too.
[{"id": "ezxrlvo", "text": "You\u2019re in an exciting position. I\u2019m on mobile so maybe I can add more ideas later, but off the top of my head you could use your hustle and ability to build rapport to build relationships with other owners in town. Not everyone wants to hold onto their properties forever, and you may be in an excellent financial position to help them cash out and expand your portfolio at a major discount.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ezxvhex", "text": "Absolutely, go to classes! Read, read, read. Read how people fuck up, read how people succeed. Never not have a book in your hand. Take excel classes. \n\n\nNYU and Fordham are 2 uni's that have certificate programs and are both pretty good (online classes  are available). You should network, have breakfast, lunches, dinners, coffees, and drinks with potential partners, people in the business, clients etc. The less you talk and the more you listen, the more you learn.", "replies": [{"id": "ezy0am6", "text": "Have any additional info or links to the NYU or Fordham classes? Sounds very interesting.", "replies": [{"id": "ezy261p", "text": "Google NYU real estate certificate program (I'm on mobile).", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ezxx40q", "text": "Frankly, that sounds miserable. I would be bored too. You might want to think about what your mom and dad did to build the business rather than just maintain it. Maintaining it is just a process. The fund stuff for me is being creative, getting the deal, flipping it, working on new projects and learning new things. You\u2019re in a great position, I\u2019d think about what you want to do in real estate rather than just maintaining the status quo.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ezxz84z", "text": "How long have you been at those tasks you listed?  Your workload sounds like a bit of a 'paint the fence' exercise.  You are learning the business by doing the nuts and bolts of the process.\n\nRead as much as you can.  You have free and clear properties which you could someday leverage into ventures that interest you.  But spend your time educating yourself.... can't repeat this one enough.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ezy28ft", "text": "I sink a lot of time, effort, and money into the free educational content [on my CRE investing blog](https://www.leveragedbreakdowns.com) if you are looking for an all-in-one CRE investments &amp; Excel skill repository.\n\nA few top articles:\n* [A beginners guide to commercial leases (several post series)](https://www.leveragedbreakdowns.com/2019/08/08/a-beginners-guide-to-commercial-leases-part-one-income/) \n\n* [How to read an appraisal](https://www.leveragedbreakdowns.com/2019/07/25/property-value-and-appraisals-are-building-blocks-in-your-career/) \n\n* [Free back-of-the-envelope excel model for apartment investment](https://www.leveragedbreakdowns.com/2019/05/12/real-estate-investment-case-study-challenge-1-solution-step-1-of-3/) \n\nWhether you\u2019re actively buying or simply managing existing properties, it\u2019s important to learn to think like an investor so you can optimally manage your portfolio.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ezy5inw", "text": "1) Find efficiencies in the current system. (I guarantee there are some)\n2) Learn how to underwrite deals for acquisition / disposition.\n\nBasically: If your properties are run inefficiently, be able to articulate how they are being run inefficiently and how to implement better practices. And if they are already being run efficiently, why you should sell them to maximize value and acquire other properties that you can improve over time.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ezy63uh", "text": "Cornell has a commercial real estate certificate - their programs are excellent and very hands on analysis. https://www.ecornell.com/certificates/real-estate/commercial-real-estate/\n\nReach out to title and 1031 exchange companies - their customer service/biz development personnel host informational classes on creative use of funds, the market, Opportunity Zones or EB-5 investments, lots of info which can spur ideas.\n\nWhat general area of the country are you in - there may be region specific opportunities that would be fun to explore.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ezy6iyt", "text": "You have a good foundation to build from. Your parents have set you up for success. But this sounds like a business on life support. You have an opportunity to learn the business and grow from this, what I assume is, and amazing cash flow each month. \n\nRead, study, and network. Meet CRE brokers to learn more about lease rates and changes in your local market. You could do a market study for your portfolio and find out if your properties are renting under market, for example. Or find ways where you could value add your properties and increase the net cash flow. \n\nSo much to do with that pot of gold you have. Take care of it, and be wary of too much leverage!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ezy87k4", "text": "Get a CCIM designation it\u2019ll help with the investment side. Also buy more property to grow your portfolio", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ezy8a2h", "text": "Messaged you. I have a similar situation. Love to help walk through I what I did.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ezyatad", "text": "How many rooms are in the hotel?\n\nWhat SF of office is there?\n\nHow many apartment units?", "replies": [{"id": "ezybuoo", "text": "Hotel: 96 rooms\n\nApartment Units: 16 Units\n\nLets just take 1 building, second floor has 12 units and each one ranges from 400 SQ - 2000 SQ.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ezyc00o", "text": "A viable option is to hire an asset management company to take over for you. They'll charge a fee but the properties will stay in your family and you'll continue to get income.\n\nAnother option is to sell. TBH now is a perfect time in the market to cash out and lots of people are selling their portfolios. You could 1031 exchange into a NNN property that wouldn't require much of any work on your part other than the initial lease terms with a tenant. There are great stable NNN properties out there (ex: a retail space with a Walgreen's, etc.) that lots of people use when they want to step away from the game but don't want to get hit with capital gains tax.\n\nA third option is to simply hire more staff and delegate. I can tell you that your properties will produce a lot more if you put professional managers in place at the multifamily property, hire a leasing agent who specializes in office leases, etc. That will free up more of your time but not wholly remove yourself and/or mom from the business.\n\nIt'll be useful to find a mentor that can help you find a niche in the industry that you can get excited and passionate about. A lack of drive and interest will only hurt your business.\n\nIf you have questions about how of these options work feel free to DM me and we can chat on the phone.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ezyc1kv", "text": "I would like to note we're not actively investing in other properties or acquiring. We did an 1031 twice in the last 2 years but that's about it. Pretty boring :/", "replies": [{"id": "ezz9pm8", "text": "Why not?", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ezyz7wa", "text": "See if you can buy a bunch of the Kaplan Real Estate books (there are national and state specific ones--look for used copies on Amazon/Ebay/Craigslist).\n\nIf you don't mind spending ~$750, you can Kaplan's Real Estate class online for 90 hours of pretty decent video classes (and as a bonus, you could sit for your real estate license).", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "f007684", "text": "Convince your mom to release some funds for you to invest in real estate where you can make your mark. Could be rehab, new build, etc.  There are lots of ways to screw up but having a vision and executing it is satisfying.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "f00d6ya", "text": "From your description it seems like your job title is really Property Manager.  Will your mom allow you to take over leasing/marketing efforts?  It will be fulfilling to learn that side of the business.  Marketing vacant offices suites and apartment units, negotiating leases, and don't forget lease renewals which is huge part of the business.  I love this type of work because you're always dealing with smart people (business owners, etc).  Maybe approach your mom at some point and see if you can ease into this role.  If she wants you to take over the business, relinquishing this role to you is a no brainer all around.  Once you learn this end of the business you will be more confident in what should really be your long term goal (expanding family business by adding more real estate).", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "f00ksmi", "text": "Hi! Just dropping in as I am in a very similar position. Taken over the family business under less dire circumstances but have been left with basically all the same responsibilities plus some. Your questions and feelings hit home for me &amp; I constantly find myself wondering the same things... has been about a year now doing this. \n\nI would love to get in touch and perhaps we can help each other out!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "f02asgk", "text": "It sounds like eventually you will inherit the properties, right?  If commercial real estate in general interests you, have you consider going into the brokerage side of it?  You will learn the ins and outs of the business and the investment side much more quickly than taking any college courses.  The best place to start out is Marcus &amp; Millichap, in my opinion.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "f02bxcs", "text": "Not a bad position to be in. I started in commercial brokerage (industrial) then transitioned into retail/hospitality as I found that side personally interesting/fulfilling. I then personally invested in developing/owning a hospitality. I'd suggest looking into your own interests and see if they could apply to commercial property in some way. Obviously, you have the entertainment background some perhaps that is somewhere to look at? I know a number of owner/developers that have developed/own/operate event spaces... Anyway, I would also recommend looking into CCIM classes and learning how to apply that information in a niche you might like within real estate as there are many different specialties.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "f272v33", "text": "Look into UDEMY, any class by Justin Kivel is pretty solid. You say you own all the properties free and clear, so an option for potential investments is to put mortgages on the current properties, and use that money to invest in new projects. Look to grow the business. But learn first. Learn how to analyze investments, learn about financing of deals, etc. You can build a pretty good base of knowledge on UDEMY.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]