Sorry if these kinds of comments come across as harsh but it is just the truth. The question you need you need to ask yourself is " is this something I want to do as a hobby or a profession". If its a hobby or you just want to muck around in your free time, then Sketch up with any of the render engines available will be more than sufficient if you "dont want to spend a year trying to learn" and alternative 3d software. If you are serious and its a profession you looking to get into, a change of mindset is needed. You need to dive head first into your software of choice (3ds max and vray for a large percentage of the industry). In order to gain employment and make half decent money, it requires you to to have a very deep understanding of your chosen software (which unless you are very gifted, wont happen in a year) and a reasonable understanding of architecture.
Unfortunately it is far more complex than setting up a camera, some lights, pressing a button and boom you have a killer image.
Just my two cents.