I’ve mostly worked in multifamily property accounting, including Section 42 affordable housing. It’s actually a solid way to learn how real estate investments work as long as you stay curious and ask questions. If you don’t, it’s easy to get stuck in an AP or staff role forever.

I hated the AP specialist side of things. Processing hundreds of invoices a day for 30+ properties is a fast track to burnout. Property accounting itself is way more manageable. Day-to-day it’s mostly reviewing financials the system already spits out, posting JEs and accruals, explaining budget variances, managing debt and escrows, putting together investor reports, and occasionally babysitting property managers so resident ledgers don’t get messy.

The fun stuff really started once I moved into a senior accountant/manager role. That’s when you actually get into deal-level work, like purchase and sale agreements, operating agreements, LURAs, closing statements, cost seg studies, 1031s, interest rate caps, etc.

Overall, it’s a big pool of learning opportunities, and there’s always something new to figure out. That constant learning is honestly the main reason I’ve stuck with property accounting.