Real Estate Development Career Advice - Acquisition or Asset Management?

Hi all - my long term goal is to work in commercial development (ideally adaptive re-use or sustainable). I’ve worked in underwriting for a GSE lender for the past 4+ years and at this point and getting worried about being siloed into a debt role in the future (have interviewed with a handful of companies over the past year and that seems to be the primary concern - lender mindset and lack of financial modeling).

I’m looking at Asset/Portfolio Management and Acquisitions roles and am wondering which would better position me to make the jump to development in the future (<4 years) - any thoughts here are appreciated! Initially, I’m thinking asset management may be more applicable, especially with adaptive reuse in mind. 

As for modeling, I’ve been taking the Real Estate Finance and Investments modeling course to try and bolster my skills on the side.

Thank you in advance! 

3 Comments
 

Agree with the above, why not jump into development as your next step? May take longer than anticipated but you certainly would not be the first one to jump from agency underwriting to development.

As with everything, network and build up your skills. Speak with people who were in your shoes and made a similar jump. Don't worry about pigeonholing as that really occurs 5-7 years solely doing one thing.

 

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