The mortgage crisis and bubble burst in the housing market are well known to everyone these days, but commercial real estate is likewise affected right now. Many empty retail spaces and office buildings are sitting around, meaning there is demand for buyers, renters and sellers. Read on for some advice on how to move forward in this market.
Hire a professional to rent out your income properties. Saving money can be tempting when it comes to doing it yourself, but the time involved and the pitfalls of making a mistake with a renter are not worth it. Your time is valuable. Let a property manager take care of your investment for you.
Before you rent your new house or apartment be sure you have enough references. Most landlords require at least three references. Check the names, addresses and phone numbers for accuracy. There is nothing worse than a reference whose name is incorrect, the phone line is disconnected or the letter the landlord sends comes back as undeliverable.
Take the time to consider your investment options when you decide real estate is where you want to make money. Consider the variety of properties you may want to own. Will they be commercial or residential? Will they be single units or multiple units? Decide how much you are willing to spend on renovations.
In order to protect yourself, make sure that the agreement that you and your broker decide on is put in writing. Add some conditions to it that will allow you to terminate them within five to ten days with a written notice if they are not doing their job well.
If you are considering investing in real estate, you should buy as many units as possible. You are going to need some kind of financing anyway, so why not borrow as much as possible? You will get more money from your investment, and when you buy many units together, the price of a single unit goes down.
Don’t settle on investing residential apartment properties as a safe bet. Many seasoned commercial investors are comfortable with apartment complexes, which often leads them to overlook other potentially lucrative property types: office buildings, trailer parks, or retail spaces. Consider your specific investment niche and your ideal portfolio and look for property types that appear to be a likely fit.
Familiarize yourself with the basics of commercial real estate property valuation. The things that can up residential value: kitchen, number of bathrooms, landscaping, and so on – mean little or nothing for commercial investors. One of the most important determinants of value for a commercial property is the square footage, and what the square footage yields in rental income.
Be sure to include a right to terminate the agreement in so many days written notice with your broker in your written agreement. This way you will be able to terminate the relationship fast if you find that your broker is not doing a good enough job for you.
Make sure that you conduct a final analysis after you have reviewed all of the potential options for your purchase. Do not hide this information from high level people at your company, as you will want to make the best decision as a team. This will help to increase gratification with your real estate acquisition.
Pay for professional inspections of your commercial property before you put it on the market. You should consult with them and see if anything needs to be repaired; if it does go ahead and fix that as soon as possible.
Make sure you scout out the neighborhood of any property you are interested in: Talk to the neighbors, go to open houses and check out vacancies. This will give you a feel for the type of area you are looking at. You want to make sure you feel good about the neighborhood.
When investing in commercial real estate, a great tip is to attempt to increase your revenue. You can increase revenues by looking into whether you can increase the lease rate, what you can do to lower vacancy rates, whether you can add more leasable space, and whether you can gain more revenue streams from billboard leases.
When trying to sell commercial real estate, it is very important to make sure you are treating the customer with utmost respect by not hiding any details from them. Many times, buyers may be tricked into buying an estate that has hidden features that can hurt them in the future.
Once you have bought some buildings, you should carefully establish a plan to get them ready for renting. Have an expert inspect your buildings and determine what needs to be done to meet safety requirements. Create a checklist of everything you have to fix and make sure it matches your budget.
If you keep in mind and apply the information from this piece, you are sure to navigate the waters successfully in your commercial real estate dealings as you conduct your business.
