Missing skills to break into REPE from RE valuation advisory
Hi;
Currently a Big 4 adviser; working mostly on RE valuation.
I'd like to have your opinion on skills I need to develop to land/be successful at a REPE job (i.e. acquisition analyst) and where to get the knowledge.
A. Missing knowledge : - Cash-on-cash; IRR - Debt yield and service.
Anything else I have forgotten ?
B. Sources to get the knowledge ?
I found several; consensus seems to say that ACRE is the best; but WSO; and break into CRE seems to be solid options too. Lastly; I saw 1 option which relevant and free : Joshua Kahr.
Any suggestion ?
ACRE is good. I just completed it after a year at a development firm. Didnt tell me anything i didnt already know, but was good to see a different approach in a structured curriculum style way. Best thing i think you can do is just type in the questions you have and hammer the computer every weekend. ACRE is like $600 if i remember, my boss bought it for me. Personally i wouldn't pay 600 for it with my own money, but ive already got some decent experience modeling so it is a bit different
Made the move from appraisal to acquisitions last year. Definitely the biggest knowledge gap I ran into was debt - understanding the various financing options out there and what would make you want to choose one or the other. That being said, it wasn't anything earth-shattering and my educational background was sufficient to help me pick it up pretty quickly.
Congrats on the move !
I have a few more questions if you don't mind ?
1) How many years of experience did you have when you moved ?
2) Are you glad with the change ?
Anything worth sharing on your experience ?
3) So if I understand correctly, I listed everything I'd need to add knowledge-wise, right ?
Thanks a lot !
I had just under 2 years of full-time experience. Very happy with the move, the work is more interesting and I'm actually working a lot less hours. Only catch is I was making significantly more money in appraisal as that was commission-based, but the positives definitely outweigh that. The only other thing I would say I didn't know was some of the transactional stuff like terminology and deal process, since appraisal is a step removed from the actual transaction. That stuff is also pretty easy to pick up on the job.
To CREShark's point, as far as the comp goes, appraisal take home pay can increase very quickly early on in the industry, but it tops out for most appraisers at a relatively "low" number. The average financial upside is greater in the long run in REPE for sure.
Used to work at a Big 4 Advisor, and am now at an institutional shop focusing on acquisitions. I had a stop along the way at an investment manager / pension fund advisor, so gained a lot of skill there. Our models were mostly template based using Argus Enterprise exports - so was doing most of the modeling in Argus. Argus is important and most shops use it - in my experience it's not very prevalent in the modeling of multifamily deals, but great for industrial / office. Best way to learn Argus is through usage on the job, I took a course while at the Big 4 Advisor and found that it didn't really help much aside from bolster my resume since I was able to say that I took that class & was certified (certification also means nothing to employers IMO, just shows you have interest in RE and some general understanding of AE). You learn AE much more efficiently using / playing with Argus in the context of work.
There was a modeling test as part of the interview process for the fund I'm at now, and I hadn't had much experience building my own models from scratch, and none with waterfalls (we do a lot of co-investment, so looking at different capital tranches). I used the Udemy RE modeling course to prepare (both intro and advanced) and felt it prepared me very well for the test. Believe the course was under $100 too. That would be my recommendation.
Good luck
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