How common is "work from home" in real estate?
The number one perk for a job to have in my opinion is being able ro work from home regularly.
I used to work in a large asset management office where we all got to work from home once a week and it was amazing. I have since left to go to a development shop where we are not allowed to work from home (although it'd be entirely possible). Meanwhile, my former mentor from my old job left to go to a different asset management office, where he is able to work from home 4 days a week if he wants to.
So is working from home only available to people in asset management? If you are able to work from home, how many days a week do you get?
Not common in Development or Construction. I feel like too much coordination needs to be facilitated to work from home. I work at a GC and a lot of what I need requires an ability to walk around our office and communicated with colleagues.
I work at a GC as well and second this. Much of my job requires face to face interaction. Estimating I could possibly do some from home but it would be difficult (need to talk to others about which subs are picking up what). Actual Project Management and Scheduling- I could not.
Another caveat-
I’m extremely jealous of those who can work from home. I work 60 +/- 5 hours per week and spend 12-14 hours per week commuting. To keep from commuting even more, I wake up at 5:00A to hit the gym before going into the office. I also take additional courses for certifications over the weekend.
One day a week of working from home would make a world of difference. Do you negotiate that upfront or did you all just luck out and find out during/ after interviewing?
It can be negotiated upfront. But I think it has to do with the type of work one does. Relationship managers, originators, underwriters can very well work from home. We still come to office as much as we can because real estate is a team sport and the interaction amongst the team helps. But we do have the luxury of choosing to work from home. It is a little harder with your line of work.
I personally believe you can splurge on rent in order to live close to where you work. Whats stopping you from being closer to work? You cam compare the extra rent you would spend living closer vs money spent commuting and your personal time is valuable as well. You know what your time is worth.
Wtf why
That is very common. I believe he is in CA. I used to live in CA as well. Many commute from OC or IE to LA. It can easily take an hour each way if not more.
Woof. Kind of shits on the fantasy of sand and surf in perfect weather after work.
Yup. Harsh reality. Housing costs are out of control. IE might appear cheaper, but its away from the beaches and extremely hot in the summer. There is a hefty price to pay if you want to live closer to the beach. Living by the beach and also living closer to where you want to work is a luxury. But all that being said, I am still going back in the next year or two. There is something special there and I am willing to look past the housing costs. Plus, with dual incomes, its becomes a little more manageable.
Yes. Candidly, too many people moved here and kind of ruined the magic. I grew up here and the transformation that's happened in the last couple of decades has been a net drag on the whole, IMO. Other than in a very few select, pricey places, the old 'sand and surf' vibe is not what it used to be.
Whats your take on the 28 Olympics? Will it improve the public transit in the city?
Not a fan of it. I hope I'm wrong, but I see it playing out like Brazil. Did more harm than good there.
The transit issue is more complex than the solution they are proposing. To me it's like trying to put a band-aid on a stab wound.
Personally I'm planning on being out of town for as long as humanly possible during that shit show if I'm still in the area by then.
Transit is a shitshow everywhere. I am in NY now and I used to live in CA. While the subway offers so much connectivity, NY'ers often complain about how often it breaks down and the frequent and unplanned changes to routes. It is a 100+ year old system and nobody knows how to come up with the billions that is needed to bring it to the 21st century standard. I dont know when we will see the transit systems that the rest of the world has. I would love high speed rail. Is the answer privatization? Many transit systems in Asia are privatized. I know the Brightline in Florida is a newer rail system and was fully privately funded and it offers rides from Miami to Ft Lauderdale, and Palm Beach and eventually it will connect to Orlando as well. I really think that model can work in the rest of the country.
I would guess it depends from firm to firm , but generally no.
Yeah I figured, but it's interesting because my former mentor left to CBRE's HUD Loan asset management group, so they're a major player doing this. I suspect this is how most Asset management groups are but I wanted to get a survey
At one of the big three brokerages and my department is pretty chill when it comes to working from home. Some of the project management guys I've met have a nice work from home policy as well.
Ultimately I think it comes down to department/boss. I know people around my office that were able to work from home until they got new management then had to come in every day.
I work from home 2-3 days a week, on average. I work in underwriting for a GSE lender. The flexibility to work from home is huge and a big reason why I love the company I work for.
I work at a very large GSE asset manager and we get to work from home once a week if we so choose. There are a ton of hot girls here + really good work setup and my commute is short (15 mins), so I never work from home.
I'd HATE working from home 4+ times a week. I used to run a business from home 5 days a week and I got super fat and completely cut off from the world. It evolved into an awful and isolating experience.
It depends on your employer of course. I spent the last 2,5 years at a Big 4 real estate consulting team. Perhaps I was a bit more Laissez-faire but if there was a week I wasn't off at the client site, there wasn't a chance I would be coming in to the office ;)
Depends on the team you have around you. You really need to have boots on the ground in this business if you expect to do well. That doesn't have to be me, but if I'm not fully comfortable with a PM or super yet, I cannot work from home - gotta be on site checking up on them
Working from home a day or two a week is fine and probably very desirable. 5 days a week gets old. I did it for a few years and you soon do not enjoy your residence. On weekends I hated being here after about 9am.
When you work for someone else working from home is probably great because you can avoid all the office politics that day/week, etc.
Ask anyone who did a couple years from home everyday...they'll tell you how much it sucked after a while.
Completely agree with this. I WFH 2-3 days a week, but that is my limit. Could not do more than 2-3 days a week without getting depressed.
Relatively uncommon. I am at a development shop and we actually are allowed to work from home one day a week though. I probably couldn't feasibly be at home for more than 1-2 days per week because it just isn't as efficient for me in the midst of a big project.
That one day is pretty nice though, I'll typically do Monday or Friday and can make little 3-day trips happen a lot easier and just work remotely as needed.
In development, I am in the office 2-3 days a week depending on whats going on at most. The balance is mostly in the field at projects, or meetings. I will not drive into the City after a meeting just for the sake of going back to the office, I'll head home and work the rest of the day there.
We don't have a formal policy, though on our acquisitions team the informal policy is get your shit done and no one cares where you are. If you are not seen in the office people just assume you are on a site tour, meeting etc. Just need to communicate and be reachable.
Development here too. Interesting, yet predictable, how different the development responses are.
Personally, I don't work from home out of practice, although I live 5 minutes from the office so the "I'm not driving back" argument doesn't really apply. I could answer emails from home if I knew it was just going to be one of those days, but when fire drills come up, and fire drills always do, you need to be able to coordinate between moving parts and that's a lot easier when everyone is together. I do sent iPhone emails from home regularly though, but that's more when I go home for the day and things continue that need to be addressed.
I'd say I'm in the office only 3-4 days a week though between meetings, OACs, and site visits.
I work from home probably 2-3 times a month. Honestly I don't like it as much as I used to - it's harder for me to get things done. Plus, the face time really does matter, and it's a lot easier to meet with other industry peers and have them come to your office (and easier to get to their offices from mine) than it would be to set up meetings using my house as a home base.
Earum aliquid atque expedita architecto magni dicta. Consequatur qui laudantium et quia itaque.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Minima provident laborum adipisci dolorem fugiat. Quia non magnam molestiae. Maiores quasi dolor est rerum suscipit sunt. Veritatis qui nisi eos necessitatibus dignissimos dolor sint et. Harum laudantium incidunt non. Laboriosam eaque deleniti tenetur cum necessitatibus hic consectetur rerum. Qui soluta voluptas cum ex rerum.