Commercial real estate is a rapidly growing industry that offers thriving career opportunities. There are many different departments within a company and each of them requires a different skill set. Look at your strengths and weaknesses in order to know where you’d best fit. Some examples are marketing, property management, real estate law, asset management, broker, or financial analyst.
Knowledge
Brokers and property managers are required to have their real estate license in whichever state they’re employed in. Most states require testing before issuing a sales license, or for more advanced brokers, a license is based on experience and educational requirements. While marketing departments typically don’t require licensing, knowledge of the real estate industry will strengthen any strategies used from previous experience.
Property Management
Property management involves maximizing revenue of property based on managing rental flows, tenant retention, managing and contracting property operation. Property operation includes cleaning, maintenance and repairs, paying utilities, property insurance, property taxes, reporting to owners and overseeing resident or on-site managers. Property managers are usually involved in leasing and facility management decisions. People that manage several properties and are involved in acquisition, disposition, financing and portfolio management decisions are known as asset managers.
Tools of the trade
Real estate requires several programs and types of technology in order to promote and track the company’s portfolio. Knowing the different types of technology and how to use them is an important step. Loopnet is the commercial version of Zillow, it’s used to add listings for other business owners to view. Matterport is a program that shows 3D virtual tours of spaces. Magic Plan uses lasers to electronically measure and create interactive floor plans that are a great on the spot selling tool. Drone cameras give more visibility to a property and a larger picture of the area for tenants to have a bigger picture of where they’ll be moving.
You don’t need to know how to create all this collateral, but knowing the names and their uses will help you get a foot in.
Watch the Market
Keeping up with industry news and costs is critical when working in commercial real estate. Helping tenants know if it’s a good time buy or to hold off on signing a lease can make or break a deal. This is also important for knowing who your main competitors are and what moves they’re willing to make.
If you’re interested in starting a new career here are some great resources on how to get started: