6 Things They Don’t Teach You in Architecture School
6 things they don’t teach you in Architecture school that you must understand in real estate development.
1. Push!
You will need to lead and push everyone involved to complete deadlines. The team of consultants, lenders, attorneys, engineers and everyone else can get very large, and you are in charge of making sure everything is done on time. If one things slips, the entire schedule gets pushed back.
Architects are often polite, respectful, and avoid confrontation — but in development, you’ll need to push, sometimes be blunt, and occasionally rude. You may need to push a dialogue no one wants to discuss and it gets uncomfortable – but it’s a necessary evil (and you may even get to like it).
2. Negotiate everything
Similar to having to push deals along – if you’re not comfortable getting uncomfortable – learn quickly. Real Estate is a money sport, so you need to navigate it accordingly. Get comfortable taking about money – try negotiating a few times – it will be awkward, but it gets easier, and then you will find you will get good at it, and even look forward to it.
3. No one cares about your design.
You care — and that matters — but design alone doesn’t drive deals or sales. Quickly lose the inflated architect’s ego — because real estate runs on price, value, and return. Merging these worlds means understanding what actually creates profit, not just what looks good in a rendering…..
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