Earlier this month I attended a one week class on Financial Analysis for Commercial Investment Real Estate. This is the initial course for the CCIM designation program which stands for Certified Commercial Investment Member. The financials covered in this course are similar to taking a graduate level finance class. It was a fun class for me (Really? Math is fun?) especially as I would have moments where concepts I’ve worked with since getting my license not only clicked but were solidified by my own newly developed skills in being able to run the numbers on my own (learning how to use a HP 10BII was fun!).
For those that have worked with me and my partner in the past, you’ll know that we have a team concept built on division of labor that highlights each of our prior work skill sets. My background has been in sales, marketing, contract negotiation and management. Michael came to this line of work with an accounting degree, financial analysis and technology development background. We married those skills to make a team that could supply a high level of service and capabilities to our clients. What that also meant was that I frequently leaned on my partner to do the financial analysis piece and then we’d cover the analysis forms together for our clients which many times helped determine the course of how we’d craft transactions. It was always a bit intimidating for me to leave a piece of important information like this to someone else (yes, I can be a bit on the controlling side) but trust is also a necessary part of doing business together. Goodness knows in former businesses I’ve been in there was always a bit of this happening as I dealt with lots of technical staff, development and support people. However, I’ve always prided myself on knowing how things work even if I wasn’t the one developing the product. In fact, it’s fair to say that I’ve always been a “geek wannabe” of sorts. 🙂
So, as I mentioned, it was with glee that I took my first step toward getting this great designation for the real estate world. Only 1% of all agents worldwide have this designation. Part of it has to do with the complexity of the courses, the number of them, and the amount of time required to take them. Each course is a week long – so many practitioners don’t feel they can take that much time out of their work schedule – especially if they’re a 1-person show. Again, I thank my team for being a support for me as I took the class and for handling client issues during the work day while I was out and as I studied each evening. Once you’ve taken all 4 of the required courses there is a final test that must be taken (usually held in a couple of major US cities each year) and you must submit a “body of work” or portfolio that meets CCIM criteria for volume, dollar amount and analysis complexity along with descriptions of each transaction and how the various concepts from the CCIM classes were applied.
My partner, Michael, has taken 2 of the 4 required courses and he’s slated to take a 3rd course in January. He’ll be closer to getting the designation than I am, since I’ve just started, but considering we work together on all of our investment deals we both get the benefit of anything he does and vice-versa. I do have to say that I was thrilled to see that in my first course I got the same passing grade that he received – a 96 out of 100. 🙂
I look forward to the next class I get to take for this program. I’ve already been scouring their education class list to see what is offered next although I could take the January class with Michael (if it’s not full) but then we’d both be out for a week and that likely wouldn’t be a fair trade off for us, our clients and our assistant. So, I’ll be looking for a spring or summer course. In the meantime, I’ll continue adding other skills to my real estate repetoire and I’ll be getting even more friendly with my HP calculator!
