My journey into the world of real estate, like most licensed RE professionals, did not start with this business being my primary job. I spent the first 8 years of my professional career in the insurance claims business. I worked as an independent claims adjuster and private investigator (Yes, me and Magnum, less the Ferrari).
After that stint and wanting what I felt would be a more lucrative profession, I converted over into the sales side of the insurance business. My timing couldn't have been "better" as the property and casualty company I was contracted to write polices with was in a well-publicized fight with our state over their homeowners' rates. Threats to withdraw from the state altogether alone with the government's willingness to suspend our policy writing privileges made for an uneasy introduction into the insurance agency business for me.
The next agency "opportunity" I found was even worse. I decided to go the independent route and contracted with a national insurance franchiser. I figured having access to multiple carriers would eliminate the risk of having only one company under my belt. Surely, if there were any problems with one carrier, I would be safe in having others at my disposal. WRONG!. How about the franchiser filing bankruptcy and going out of business?
Luckily, throughout my insurance sales career, I found a niche' of writing policies for real estate investors. Even with the challenging market I was in, I could still issue simple dwelling fire polices and even bind a a few multifamily properties. I now had a small network of real estate investors who were my clients. So here comes the bright idea. Why not get a real estate license and help my existing clients? After all, a real estate investor is either buying or selling and I had access to both.
Long story short, I eventually left the insurance business and relocated to a different city. I didn't know anyone here and was not really interested in going back into insurance. I found a local RE broker who specialized in commercial tenant representation. I was intrigued by what he did and felt it was a valuable service to small and medium business owners. 20 years after the start of my career(WOW!), here I am working in commercial real estate.
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