Value in CRE Property Management
As ways of breaking into real estate go, how smart is taking a position in CRE property management? Are there exit opportunities after several years if you prove your worth, or is taking a job in property management pretty much putting yourself on a island?
With my non-traditional background, I would not be competitive for many roles in RE. My undergrad is strong (Phi Beta Kappa from UNC) but the past few years have been a pretty significant detour. I got a M.S. in agronomy but came to the painfully obvious realization that lab work does not come close to the satisfaction of farm work (when I was younger, I worked on a farm in the summers and really enjoyed it.)
I'm not gunning for LA or NYC RE; I know I need to temper my expectations starting out. Are there realistic chances of breaking into RE of mid-sized cities in the Southeast or Mid-Atlantic? If so, what positions besides property management are options at this point?
Thanks for any advice!
Acquisitions is a function of knowing properties. Guess who knows properties the best. The property managers. With that being said actual property management versus Asset Management will usually pigeon hole you into that world unless you go entrepreneurial which frankly is what much of the CRE world does. So whatever, do it. You could probably move into asset management for a smaller company or some type of shared property/Asset Management role if you don't go entrepreneurial.
I very much agree with this. If you ever want to go out on your own then you must learn the basics of property management, if not then you better have a great spread on your deals because you will have to hire someone that does. You have to put up with a lot of tenant BS in the industry but the nuts and bolts type learning that you get from the job is pretty substantial.
Not saying its the norm, but I've seen people who started in PM then transitioned into AM and finally. Just might take a few more steps than usual, but its doable.
I did it, it does take a couple of steps to get where you want to go but it isn't too bad. My trajectory was residential property management-->commercial property management--> leasing broker-->asset manager....The key is to get the property management experience at a top notch shop in a decent market. I was able to get my experience at CBRE/JLL and it opened a lot of doors. The company I work for now uses my old company for a lot of their brokerage activities so it was a good ice breaker during the interview because they knew alot of people at the place I was working at.
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