What are /r/CommercialRealEstate's favorite Products & Services?

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While it's not directly CRE related, I like Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. It's a hostage negotiator's take on human behavior and how to capitalize on the innate tendencies of people under pressure. Kind of a cross between the Netflix series Mindhunter and a sales book. Definitely fun to read if you're in to criminal history, but also useful for the give-and-take of CRE deals.

Learning Argus is a good first step and will be something to highlight on you resume. Asset management groups typically use Yardi, but that might be too specialized (asset management groups also use Argus).

Your best route might be reading descriptions from job postings. If you are going to learn Argus, you could also look at job postings like these: http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=argus+real+estate&l=

Just seconding this point regarding allowed uses. Municipalities (cities/counties) have zoning ordinances which say what uses and types of structures are allowed in any given area. This is why you don't typically see restaurants in suburban neighborhoods.

As an early part of your due diligence, you should investigate the city's zoning atlas to determine the type of zoning category the property lies in, and what uses are allowed in that category.

I would shoot for being a transaction manager. Read this job description. I feel like your accounting experience could be a huge plus. There are people at my company who have made the jump from transaction manager to broker. http://www.indeed.com/m/viewjob?jk=e9a4e630040ec02c&from=serp

This is the best book to help understand every single RE metric:

What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow... And 36 Other Key Financial Measures, Updated Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1259586189/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_6DQ1SMC8ZRP3J7Z63D2N

I "hate" telling people about this book because I feel I'm giving away secrets but it's a great, detailed primer about passive investing. I did about 6-7 syndications before reading this book and I still learned a few things. Great read.

https://www.amazon.com/Hands-Off-Investor-Insiders-Investing-Syndications/dp/1947200275

Here's another suggestion. Mark Levine is the real deal - he's a law professor at one of the top graduate real estate programs in the country.

https://www.amazon.com/Real-Estate-Securities-Syndicating/dp/B09P5KQWZG/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=real+estate+syndication&qid=1656278703&sprefix=real+estate+sy%2Caps%2C245&sr=8-13&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.08f69ac3-fd3d-4b88-bca2-8997e41410bb

Real Estate Syndication, by Samuel Freshman

ditto Zeckendorf. great book. Great dealmaker. https://www.amazon.com/Zeckendorf-autobiograpy-real-life-Monopoly-history/dp/1684116945/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3N3RUTF465APY&keywords=zeckendorf&qid=1641183328&sprefix=z%2Caps%2C835&sr=8-1

his 'Hawaiian Technique' is SOP today.

Depends on what you are trying to achieve. What benefits do you or your clients seek?

Owner Will Carry: How to Take Back a Note Without Being Taken https://www.amazon.com/dp/1478234490/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_a_EK40FVDX1TT6JMT3FFZZ

300 Ways to buy sell or exchange real estate by Bob Steele. Get it on Amazon or in via nft. Bob would consult if you bought the nft. He’s been to move to web3. He’s 90 also.

https://opensea.io/assets/matic/0x2953399124f0cbb46d2cbacd8a89cf0599974963/90180426423273143489117686848801512690861717014435615751986647003870852546860/

Steele 300 Ways to Buy, Sell or Exchange Real Estate: Volumes 1-12, Strategies 1-300 https://www.amazon.com/dp/098951904X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_F6N8WYFW4BK0G2S1EYRH

Having that expertise is definitely a value add! Check out upwork.com and freelancer.com to get cost effective help with many of the other steps along the way you might not have listed here. I have done everything from brochures, web design, photo editing, CAD work, landscape work, you name it on these sites.

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Freelancers require a lot of help so having a solid knowledge is the only way to get the results you want, you can't just hop on there with zero real estate knowledge and expect a full service operator. But the cost would be maybe 1/4th to 1/10th vs. a market rate professional in the US for most services.

Building mathematical models and data structure is where it all starts. So many use cases but you have to pick one and solve the problem. Here's an example of what we built after 4 years of R&D and building consistently performing algorithms for parsing and structuring rent roll and income statement documents from any format into usable analytics and instant underwriting pre-screening/asset management spreadsheet and models: https://www.loom.com/share/2d54402263774b1b96a161e830b49e6a

Remote work is here to stay for certain businesses. What becomes a bigger concern is if Big Tech controls all the tools and platforms. Anyone working remotely needs to make use of alternatives to the big guys. Deskle.com is a great virtual whiteboard for collaboration. Discord.com is awesome for calls/chats. Even Proton for email. By ensuring the tech market remains competitive and open for remote work it should eventually help real estate markets. Of cource we will see a shift from urban to less dense areas because of increasing remote work opportunities. But then again most urban real estate was way overpriced. Could be a chance for smaller specialized businesses to open a physical location in major urban centers they couldn't afford in the past.

Its interesting because I am reading a commercial property textbook "Managing and Leasing Commercial Properties 2nd Ed" by Alan A Alexander & Richard F. Muhlebach and they basically assume that most tenants in shopping centers are paying percentage rent.

https://www.amazon.ca/Managing-Leasing-Commercial-Properties-2nd/dp/1572032421

It may be outdated. The first edition was 2007 and this is the 2016 edition

Author and CRE broker Blaine Strickland's second book "Adapt" does a good job of looking to the future of CRE, specifically the role of the broker in a disruptive industry time - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B085GHVSC4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_WWx9FbCZHSMV1

If you go into

After I bought my first 3 properties, but before I purchased my first 5+ multifamily I read Crushing it. Its a very easy read about the practical side of investing.

If you want to get better at charts and analysis you can take CCIM courses. These are geared towards brokers/agents who want a deeper understanding of certain aspects of commercial RE.

I'm currently a split my time between investment and commercial brokerage. I don't think you need to be a broker if sales doesn't fit your personality. But if you are in the industry it definitely helps.

Here is a really good pdf with a bunch of terms.

https://www.naiop.org/-/media/Research/Research/Research-Reports/Terms-and-Definitions/CRE-Terms-and-Definitions-2017.ashx

Also, a book that is a very comprehensive list:

https://www.amazon.com/Latest-Illustrated-Book-Development-Definitions/dp/0882851772

Value Added by Brad Umansky. It's a step-by-step guide to commercial investment sales brokerage and it's used by firms nationwide.

https://www.amazon.com/Successful-Strategies-Listing-Selling-Investment/dp/0984333800