Investing in Commercial Real Estate Part 10: Getting Started

You’re ready to begin your commercial investing career. How do you get started? Making offers on properties isn’t the first step. The first step consists of educating yourself and making a few key decisions.

Start your commercial real estate investing career intelligently:

1. Determine the type of commercial real estate that interests you. The most common options for beginning investors are residential, office, and retail. Which option most appeals to you? What opportunities are available in your area?

• It’s important to focus your attention. Become an expert on one type of commercial real estate and do the necessary work. Build on your experience. Changing from one type of investment to another would be a mistake. Learn from each investment you make.

2. Begin educating yourself on the local market. Become an expert on your market. Dig into the local listings and make yourself aware of what’s going on. What parts of town are most desirable? Where are rents the highest? Lowest?

• Drive around town and look at listings. Get a feel for your local market.

3. Make contact with a local commercial real estate broker. Offer to buy them lunch and talk shop. Get recommendations for the various experts you’ll need along the way.

• Attorney
• Title company
• Accountant

4. Investigate your financing options. Take a long and hard look at your credit rating. When your credit is in order, start shopping around. Commercial real estate owners are often willing to offer creative financing options. Investigate all the possibilities.

• Speak with your broker. She will know the local customs and lenders. She may also be able to suggest alternate sources of financing.

5. Fully investigate each property that interests you. Use your skills and analyze each deal. Remain objective and do your best to get an accurate picture of each possible deal. Ask lots of questions. Buying real estate carries big responsibilities. Do your due diligence.
6. Make offers. When you’ve found a good deal that appeals to you, rely on the advice of your broker and begin making offers.
   
7. Close the deal. It’s time for the money to change hands. The closing is similar to any other real estate closing you’ve attended, but a little more complicated. Your team of experts will guide you through the process.

Those are the basic steps to get you started. Of course, it’s not always that simple. It will be necessary to flesh out your knowledge in several areas. After choosing a type of property for your specialty, get to work and educate yourself!

“A funny thing happens in real estate. When it comes back, it comes back up like gangbusters.”

– Barbara Corcoran

There is much more to learn. Commercial real estate investing requires quite a bit of knowledge. We’ve only touched on the highlights. For example, if you’re going to collect rents or lease payments, it’s necessary to be an expert on leases or have the proper attorney on your team.

Commercial real estate has several advantages over small residential real estate investments. If you’ve always believed that commercial real estate is too complicated or only suitable for wealthy investors, reconsider. There are commercial investments suitable for any investor with good credit and a down payment.

Do your due diligence for each deal, and for your best results, stick with investments and properties that you understand.

Thanks for reading our series! We’ll bring you more content shortly. As always, feel free to reach out anytime you want to chat about your real estate investing journey.