Leaving full time job- Seeking Advice

[Todd S.]

Seeking Advice:

I'm 39 with 52 units,(50% partner 26 units) ranging from SF to MF (18 being the largest) - all hold properties. I've built the real estate portfolio over the past 11 years, acquiring a few properties each year. I still work some weekends when a vacant comes up or just coordinating contractors / dealing with some tenants.  My partner does most of the day-to-day management.   I typically have handled and enjoy the Analyzing, Financing, Negotiations, Systems, Automation of the business and year end taxes etc... I would consider myself a "Jack" of all trades.  I've done much of my own remodeling and have a good understanding of construction methods, costs etc. 

I work full time in an office doing CADD / AutoCad drafting design work on Civil Engineering projects for the past 15 years.  I want to switch my career to Real Estate - something related.   I've considered getting my Realtor license, but not loving the thought of going from decent pay to Zero.  

Has anyone gone through what I'm going through?  I've submitted about dozen resumes on positions ranging from Apartment Manager, apartment maintenance technician to Managing apartment managers...  No response - i'm guessing because my resume only shows Civil Engineering experience.  Would it be wise to show my experience / owning my own properties?  It would seem like a conflict of interest to me?

If anyone has some thoughts or suggestions on direction or maybe is reading something i'm overlooking please feel free to share.  

[David Thompson]

Todd,

Couple thoughts.  I did something similar, after a long career in something unrelated to real estate and only after I had some experience like you in acquiring rental properties, some property management experience, I realized that if I devoted more attention to it I could accelerate my growth, get financial freedom and be fine.  The job I left was well paying and I had some cushion w/savings and my wife working a teacher position (nothing fancy).   I knew I wanted to go bigger and fast, so I hired a coach in an area I wanted to go which was large MF apartments.  I started this last fall, after about 3-4 months of learning, I approached him on raising capital for him.  This would not only help me learn, but it also helped me earn as SEC requires anyone marking a private placement to be part of the general partnership.  It's worked out great as I've done a few large apt deals and my experiences and earning potential is far greater than I ever thought was possible this early on.

I say this because its natural to want the safety net from leaving one good paying job and wanting to jump back into someone else paying you for another job.  Maybe step back, think about what niche you want to take your career, and then go get a mentor or coach (best) and put together a plan.  In my case, I don't have a job, I am a entrepreneur working w/partners who are experts at their craft and adding value to them...hence I'm learning, earning and loving it.  I even just got interviewed on the topic of capital raising so your learnings and what you can share can come fast if you are focused.  I look back where I was from a year ago and think man, I should have done this earlier. More than happy to share my experiences and thoughts if you'd like to chat, PM me to schedule.