commission-based unpaid internship in commercial real estate?

How much would an unpaid summer intern at a boutique commercial real estate brokerage firm located in NYC earn from bonus (commission)? Expecting to work about 10 weeks.

Also, what are my options in other finance sectors after gaining experience in CRE? Could the modeling and market research help me in possibly IB, HF, PE, or some other field? Thanks.

23 Comments
 

You can barely close a loan in 8 weeks, from application to funding. In my state you can't even do business unless you have a salesman license, do you have that?

I believe you should ask what the commission structure is, because if they are using you to source their deals i.e. cold call then I agree with above, you will absolutely be paid 0. I'm assuming also because it is unpaid you will be a 1099 and not a W-2 employee. You should make sure you are getting something out of the deal, cause they could just use you and not pay you. Depending on what your year is or your financial situation try to get a job that pays.

 

I would do literally any other internship assuming you have offers. No one is making any kind of commission in 10 weeks, especially not a new person with no contacts. And if you're acting as an analyst doing some modeling or market research or whatever, then they should be paying you something to do it.

 

I'm a freshman, I don't have any other options this is the best internship I could get. It is a startup with a small team so I don't expect that they'll be able to pay me a salary. The recruiter said that usually interns are able to close 1 or 2 deals within the internship period...I'm guessing according to what you all have said, that's not really feasible? What should I do?

Yes I am 1099 not W-2. And I'm doing a combination of market research, cold calling, modeling.

 

I wouldn't expect to make anything. That said, you're a freshman, do you need to make anything?

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

A couple summers ago I was interviewing for a similar situation. I had a phone interview and the guy immediately goes " Hey kid, you reading to make some money this summer or what!?" and I was like uhh yeah I guess. He also thought I lived in NYC even though my resume clearly stated otherwise, whole thing was kinda iffy.

 

Better yet, what company? Is this a regular thing to have an intern come on and try to earn commissions?

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

I will be paid based on acquiring properties or closing deals. No idea what the exact bonus structure is, though. Any guesses as to what it would look like? As a freshman, I'm really mainly concerned about gaining experience, but I would like to earn commission considering I have to pay for rent and living costs in NYC for the summer. Hoping I will get a lot of hands-on experience at a smaller firm in exchange for a lesser (or possibly no) pay.

 
Best Response

O.K. I'm a little confused. Are you going to be brokering properties i.e. Investment sales, or are you going to be acquiring properties like a principal? Generally companies don't do both.

If you have an offer then it would be prudent to get the comp structure before you start. There should be no problem as this should be in the employment agreement. The only way it's not is if they call it a discretionary bonus, however given your 1099 status they would most likely pay you in commission. So you should feel no embarrassment in asking them to clarify this for you. If they don't then it is a shady company, so it's also a litmus test.

From experience (and not knowing the structure), I would assume no commission.

 

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