is it still very rare? i am interested in the the investment segment so far.

I am looking to switch from resi to comm. been in resi for a year now, thinking that was a way to start, now i am wondering if i made a big error in judgement.

is there a segment in the comm arena that deals close faster in that you can share with me, as i know that in comm deals tend to take more time.

In California do you need to train with credited course or just find a great brokerage to work with.

my firm is strictly residential and i dont want to approach my broker yet with my thoughts.

any advice would be great.

If it's strictly residential then you need to find a commercial brokerage if that's what you want to pursue. There is a steep learning curve and many facets of commercial real estate you can go into. If knowone at your current real estate company does alot of commercial it will be the blind leading the blind PLUS commercial activity more than likley is not covered in your brokers E and O policy since they do all residential.


If you need cash right away commercial is generally NOT for you!The small deals can take 6 months up to the big ones taking sometimes 2 to 3 years or longer to happen but when they do the commmission can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

You take a big gamble and alot of upfront work with no pay for a huge payoff later. Developers will tell you they do many site plans only to have a few actually make it through the whole process.

Probably what might be best for you is to go with a commercial property management company that does leases. This way you work Monday through Friday with weekends off and you have constant money coming in while working on bigger projects.

As far as the woman thing this has been discussed before. I will only say in commercial there is alot of male dominance compared to residential but there are successful women. I would take sex out of it and focus on being the best commercial practitioner possible and EARN respect among your peers regardless of sex or race.

One national trainer is top dogs another is Jim Gillespie..good luck

lots of women in my area. I see lots of names on signs but I know of only a few of them being successful. All of them may be but I dont know. I agree that if you know your stuff it will not matter.

awesome answer super realtor! i really appreciate it alot! i am very lucky to have a hubby with a great job who can pay the bills while i find my niche in life. thanks for putting a positive spin on it.

thanks reggie

Well, this is interesting because I am a woman and recently pursue Commmercial. Quoted below is Super Realtor opinion and these of some of the issues I question too.

Quote: far as the woman thing this has been discussed before. I will only say in commercial there is alot of male dominance compared to residential but there are successful women. I would take sex out of it and focus on being the best commercial practitioner possible and EARN respect among your peers regardless of sex or race. UNQUOTE.

Therefore, since you begin to pursue commercial, what challenges have you faced?
I think I have found a good Commercial Mentor to help me with the learning curve.

Well I am a guy so I couldn't say from a woman's perspective.

I do work with many developers. What I do is on the front end assembling land for site development.

Your mentor may or may not be a good fit. For example they might know alot about industrial property which you might have NO interest in. Commercial is very niche oriented meaning you have land,leasing,office,indutrial,business brokerage,retail,etc.,etc.

So it's important to know what you want to focus on.Be prepared to be on a crappy split as they are sharing knowledge with you not known to regular brokers/agents.

4 years ago I learned babptism by fire being thrust onto projects and learned from the developers as I went along on how projects work from start to finish.I still don't know everything but would be comfortable putting together a project myself.

So find the niche and be the expert in it and refer off the other niches in commercial for a fee to your refferal network.

My advice is to first quietly get the education you need. You can do this while still working in residential; no one has to know what you are planning. Read books, talk to people, talk to property owners.