Core REPE Career Skills

A real estate private equity career path will put you face-to-face with uncertainty. You’ll never have perfect information. And even if you do, you will never have a crystal ball. Even the best laid plans can fall to waste against an uncertain future. Many incredibly talented investors were caught off guard by industrial’s precipitous rise and retail’s dramatic crash. That said, some investors consistently (and statistically significantly) outperform others. This begs the question - what real estate private equity skills set the best investors apart from the pack?

Diligence

Diligence means you leave no stone unturned. You push every question to the furthest conclusion possible, until you’ve reached the best possible answer you could hope for. For instance, you should understand every in and out of a ground lease before building a buyout model. If you’re forecasting taxes, you should know the millage rate, assessment ratio, and propensity of reassessment at entry and exit for the jurisdiction. The list goes on. Poor investors call it quits early in their diligence process. Strong investors ask questions until none are left to be asked.

Consistency

Strong investors develop consistent methods of analysis. No two buildings are the same, but the same tools of analysis apply. If you approach every problem consistently, you can inform and improve upon your methodologies. The alternative would be a haphazard approach to investing that leaves little room for improvement given the lack of a consistent method.

Athleticism

In this context, athleticism means the ability to wear many hats with skill. The best real estate private equity career path is one that exposes you to all ends of the business. A great investor is a great portfolio manager, and vice-versa. You don’t have to do both forever, but hands-on experience with the entire process will serve you well. If you land an investments role, do not shy away from portfolio management staffings. You will learn so much valuable knowledge that will only improve your ability to underwrite risk when deploying capital.

Curiosity

Curiosity drives your engine. If you aren’t genuinely curious about the subject matter, you will be disadvantaged. Many people work in roles that do not satisfy their curiosity. If you find yourself in this position, understand that the fix will not happen overnight. Yet the change won’t happen at all if you don’t make a plan and act on it. The most effective plans will be incremental. Speak to your boss about the assignments you like the most. You may not love them, but try to lean into what you dislike the least.

Wash, rinse, repeat and with time you will be steering your role in a more palatable direction. When you are working on tasks that satisfy your curiosity, you are excited to go to work. When you’re excited, it’s easier to push hard and maintain rigorous standards. Aligning your curiosity with your work is a long-term plan that won’t happen overnight, but will change your life for the better.