Sperry Equities Internship
Roses are red, violets are blue, this was cheesy, and so am I. My name is Joshua Lee, and I am a fifth year. I am majoring in Business Administration with a double concentration in Finance and Information Systems. I am a REALTOR® on the weekends and a Financial Analyst Intern at Sperry Equities on the weekdays. I have been interning at Sperry Equities for nine months now.
An overview of Sperry Equities/Sperry Commercial is that Sperry Equities is a full-service commercial real estate investment and management company, specializing in the re-positioning of under performing investment real estate throughout the nation. Sperry Commercial is a full-service commercial real estate firm specializing in investment sales, leasing, property and asset management, as well as 1031 exchange services. My internship is unique because I work directly for the Director of Finance, whereas the regular internship is rotational and held during the summer.
A majority of what I do is underwriting and market analysis of commercial properties. Underwriting has a lot of components to it, and it can get messy. You want to see how much the property is valued at, how much loan we can get, and if we will meet the debt service coverage ratio. Over the summer, I was able to teach the other interns on how to use and fill out the underwriting template. After a few days and some properties later, they got the hang of it. I guess you can call me the senior intern.
Over the past nine months, interning at a full-service commercial real estate firm was indeed an eye-opening experience. When I first started in the real estate industry, I thought it was only about selling houses. Now there are more options like property management, loan origination, and commercial real estate broker. I highly encourage you to go out and find an internship, so you can figure out what it is you want to do.
The earlier you find an internship, the better it is, because a career path you thought of going into, might not become the career path you decide to declare on. Also, don’t be afraid of failure, because now is the best time to fail. What matters most is bouncing back from your failure and becoming greater. I give thanks to Delta Sigma Pi for the support, encouragement, and network it has provided me. A wise man once said, “we don’t strive for less; we strive for the best.”
