All Forum Posts by: Danny Simard

What asset class are you working, @Bradley G Fagg? Here in Southern California, trophy properties are still doing well and still trading, though volume is down here like it's down everywhere. 

Greetings, those who work in the office sector! How are things going? Anybody doing any deals right now? What are cap rates where you are, and with what kind of product? How's your occupancy? How's your leasing? Are you doing capital projects? 

My two buildings are like a tale of two cities. One is doing just fine, nearly fully leased and smooth sailing. The other: high vacancy, quiet, and unsure of what the future holds. 

That's correct. I don't think any of the US states have separate licenses for residential and non-resi, but I could be wrong. California has one license for all real property transactions. 

There are a few avenues to get into CRE. Unless you're going to business school, it's hard to get into private equity shops unless you already have the kind of connections I think you're looking for.

The best and easiest way to start is to get licensed and join a team with a CRE brokerage. You can look to the big players (CBRE, JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, Colliers, Newmark, etc) to start. There is where you will work full time for a while just to build connections. There's more to it than that, but the core is building your network.

My path works, too: I was able to get hired into commercial property management (W-2 job). Usually people start off as Property Administrator/Property Coordinator and can work their way up to Assistant Property Manager, Property Manager, etc. 

I'm going to give you three options, which you're probably not going to like: 

1) AiRCRE (https://www.aircre.com/). Get a membership/license, go from there. 

1a) hire a broker who will do 1) 

2) hire an attorney. Commercial leases are worthy of getting your own tailored agreement. Talk to a few real estate attorneys, share with them your goals ("I'm a landlord, I need a lease, and here are my main concerns/factors...")

I don't have any specific recommendations for Washington State, unfortunately. 

Good luck!

 What's a good way to find insurance brokers? Searching a search engine isn't necessarily the same thing as finding a good one; it just favors those with the biggest SEO spend. 

 THIS! Be 100% ready to walk away from the deal if any of the problematic drycleaning chemicals come up. 

 I don't know their specifics, but based on the size of the portfolio you described in above comments, I think it's worth reaching out. It's clear they don't want to insure someone who just owns like 3 duplexes. Your portfolio is in the right AUM/rsf range, IMHO.

Great to know. Thanks! 

I'm looking at The National Association of Rental Property Managers' website under member benefits (https://www.narpm.org/join/mem...). I wanted to ask if any current members could say if NARPM provides templates for things like property management agreements, leases, unlawful detainer / N-day notice to pay or quit's, etc. Thanks!