What is CCIM? The letters CCIM stand for “Certified Commercial Investment Manager“.

It is also known as the “MBA” designation for commercial real estate.

What is involved in obtaining a CCIM?

– First there’s a 1-day “Introduction to Commercial Real Estate Investment”. The 1-day introduction gives you a feel for the complete process.

Then follows four distinct courses:

– CI101: “Financial Analysis for Commercial Investment Real Estate”
This is a week-long course that teaches you how to use & apply IRR, NPV, Cap Rate, Capital Accumulation and the Annual Growth Rate of Capital to quantify investment return.

– CI102: “Market Analysis for Commercial Investment Real Estate”.
This is a week-long course that uses the “CCIM Strategic Analysis Model” to look at four case studies: office, industrial, multi-family & retail.

– CI103: “User Decision Analysis for Commercial Investment”.
This is a week-long course that covers “comparative lease analysis”, “lease vs purchase analysis”, “lease buyout analysis” & “sale-leaseback analysis” to optimize user space decisions.

– CI104: “Investment Analysis for Commercial Investment Real Estate”.
This is a week-long course that shows you how to apply investor decision-making analyses to optimize investment returns.

In addition, just doing the course work does not qualify you to take the final exam…. no, you have to have a certain volume of closed deals that have to be outlined & reviewed. If you qualify on all the above you can take the final exam and then, if you pass that, you can wear the pin & add the letters “CCIM” behind your name.

When I completed my CCIM, the cost of each course was around $1,050. On top of that you often also incur airline, hotel & other travel-related costs as the courses are not always available locally when you want or have time to do them. In my case I traveled to Washington DC, El Paso & San Antonio in Texas and was lucky to complete one here in Houston. For my final exam the cost was an additional roughly $1,200 for the exam & pre-exam review course and another flight and hotel in Phoenix, AZ this time.

So… when you see CCIM behind someone’s name, know that that person has invested seriously in their career and that they will have tools & skills that the average licensed realtor does not possess.