Rashida,

That was our specialty.  A mentor is key, and an office building is different from a retail building.  You have to understand that this related to an income stream, that has specific requirements, and buyers expect you to have an understanding of how to calculate that income.   A

Rashida Furniturewalla Commercial real estate is a specialized field. Find someone to mentor you and start taking CCIM classes.

Take classes and see if you can find a commercial agent to mentor you. I live in a rural area. We are jacks of all trades. I have commercial listings, farm/ranch lisings, mountian property and residential listings. 

Check with commecial brokers, and visit sites like Loopnet.com and CoStar.com, then if your serious and have the time and money to devote to it, get your CCIM designation. (Certified Commercial Investment Manager) ccim.com.

You jump in.

What you will learn is in the world of commercial there are few rules. 

What you will realize is in the world of commercial you are more of a deal architect than a real estate agent.

So, BEFORE you jump, walk into the office of the agent in your office who is the commercial specialist. Give a cut, then attach yourself to his/her elbow every step of the way. If you don't pressure this mentor with a river of questions, to the point they offer to refund to you the compensation, you are not pressing hard enough.

When you have closed the first transaction, don't get excited, the second one will be nothing like that one.

On the 3rd one, take a step back and take in the bigger picture. You CAN have a life style where you tend to those important to you, nurture your relationships, and set the exemplary role model, by further developing your skills and network within the commercial/(REAL)investor segment of real estate. 

You learn by DOING.

Hi Rashida -- when I saw your question - I immediately thought of Ron and Alexandra Seigel and I'm glad to see their response is already here.  They are tremendous sources of information on the subject of commercial real estate.  

Take a class at your board, talk to your broker, partner with a commercial agent.

Rashida Furniturewalla is correct Rashida. I worked it for a while, back in 1999-2000 and it took formal & mentored training and a lot of patience ( in CA it tended to be a very small, "good lo boys" club) that I really felt like an outsider in until I had a mentor. I found my mentor by taking different successful agents to lunch and asking them questions; until I found one that seemed to genuinely wanted to help me. I eventually realized I preferred residential real estate and shifted back over, but if you like non-emotional, numbers based bottom-line business; commercial is your cup of tea. Good Luck!

Take CCIM classes.

Eve

Rashida Furniturewalla - first, check your personality if it fits that or not. Next, get a coach/mentor and shadow him/her.

Commercial transactions take lot longer to close - so have many in pipeline! 

Commercial real estate can be very tricky.  If you want to do it yourself and not refer it out, I would suggest you find a commercial broker willing to teach you what you need to know (as well as taking some classes).

Don't get into commercial real estate unless you get specialized training (classes) AND have a mentor for your first few transactions. There is a big range just within commercial. You may be selling a small airport or a restaurant or a machine shop or strip mall. ALL involve lots of specialized knowledge.