Real Estate Investing Advice & Information

Renting office space is an important decision in the life of every business. It is a decision most businesses do not relish and make only a few times, if indeed they do so more than once.

There are a myriad of reasons why businesses are faced with the consideration of what to do prior to committing to a commercial property lease. What began as a home business may have expanded beyond home and require office space for lease. It may just be an issue of space or an issue of staffing, equipment and space. It may be a business outgrowing its current premises or maybe even downsizing in the current economic times.

Whatever the reason commercial property leases are an important decision that should be carefully considered. Most businesses don’t want to move once let alone think about doing it all again because their first choice was a poor one long term. continue reading…

Although the main focus of the foreclosure crisis has been on residential homes and, increasingly, on commercial property, there is a large segment of the market that is covered by manufactured homes. Close to eighteen million people live in manufactured homes. The target market for many of these properties are people with low income who are otherwise unable to afford a single family house.

When these homeowners default on the home, there are a number of differences between the process of foreclosure used on a residential property and the process used to take back a manufactured home. State law may affect the creditor’s rights to a far greater extent, depending on what type of property the home is considered, where it is located, and what ownership rights the owners have on the land.

For instance, in many cases, individuals that own a manufactured home end up with two creditors if they borrow money to purchase the home. They will be paying the loan for the manufactured home, as well as on a lease or rental agreement for the land that is being used. Depending on if the owners default on the land agreement, or the home loan, different rights can apply. continue reading…

In the current challenging economic climate, many tenants are considering cutting back on the floor space they rent or moving to cheaper properties.

If this is a route you are considering, you may wish to consider some of the following tips:

1. Make sure that you read and understand your lease. A remarkable number of difficulties emerge a simply as a result of a tenant not being familiar with the contents of their lease. Tenants would in particular be well advised, for example, to check any notice periods contained in their lease and to ensure, when moving out, that any notice is given in good time. Failing to give the required notice will result in further rent being paid payable under the lease which can prove very expensive.

2. Consider trying to negotiate a lower rent with your landlord. Most landlords will treat their rented properties purely as a business and are therefore likely to make pragmatic decisions. They may consider keeping you on as a familiar and reliable tenant, even on a reduced rental, in preference to new and unfamiliar tenants. Don’t forget also that if you do move out, your landlord will also have the additional costs incurred in both finding a tenant and the delay in any new tenant taking occupation of the property. continue reading…

Why is now a great time to consider purchasing or refinancing a commercial property for your business? Consider the following:

1. U.S. unemployment is expected to peak at over 10% by the end of 2009
2. Vacancies in commercial real estate are projected to increase over the next 18 – 24 months
3. Transaction volume measured across property types from 2008 to 2009 has decreased approximately 75%
4. Vacancy rates for retail commercial real estate is expected to rise to nearly 11% by the end of 2009

The list could go on and on giving details of increasing vacancy rates across property types, lending institutions liquidity problems, lower rents, and so on, and so on… All of these issues make investment property difficult to fund. There are still many lenders who are financing investment commercial real estate, but expect bankers to scrutinize every detail of the property and know that you will have a lengthy approval process.

Owner-occupied commercial real estate is a completely difference story. Lenders are anxious to build relationships with strong and growing businesses and therefore are willing to give great rates and terms. Also, if you are willing to switch over you business banking relationship, you will also find much more attractive financing available. One lender is offering rates as low as 4.95% fixed for 5 years. With a large enough business banking relationship you can get their origination fee lowered and score big with such a low rate. continue reading…

The economic industry greats will be the first to disclose you that real estate investment business has the promise to bring in serious profits. They will also excitedly report to you that the risks in some cases far outweigh the possibility, especially if they are together with the more cautious investors in the industry. Persons who have made their fortunes in commercial property business however will show you that investing in real estate is worth each ounce of danger when you supervise to act through the rough patches and come across your way to commercial property business fortunes.

Generally investors find leasing office or building space to be the safest route to take when it comes to commercial property business is the path of leasing office space or warehouse space to businesses. They feel that this is a relatively steady source of earnings since generally businesses fancy to keep their locations as long as viable. Smart multinational owners are well aware that customers, clients, and vendors need to transpire able to discover them in order to do trade with them and for this reason, fancy to keep their enterprise in the same location whenever possible instead of reestablishing themselves in numerous locations year after year. continue reading…

Have you wondered about investing in commercial during a recession? In the UK, commercial property funds earned about 18 per cent a year from 2004 to 2007.

However, in 2008 the bubble burst and property values plummeted by 26.4 per cent. In April 2009, UK commercial property rental values dropped to the lowest level since December, 1992. However, there are experts who believe a prudent investor can make money in commercial property even during the deepest recession.

First let’s review what happened during this recession that drove property values downward. Most analysts agree that a collapse in the housing market triggered a corresponding meltdown in equities across the world. The financial tremors caused a “credit crunch,” in which lenders were unable or unwilling to loan money. The restricted borrowing environment sharply curbed the number of new businesses that could start up, and hampered existing businesses from maintaining or expanding operations.

Businesses began laying off workers especially in the financial, construction and manufacturing sectors. This triggered a crash in consumer spending creating a vicious downward cycle. Companies were no longer looking for new commercial property to open or expand their businesses. Instead, both businesses and investors were dumping commercial properties saturating the market and driving prices downward.

However, it is these low prices in commercial property that offer opportunity to the investor savvy enough to find them. Additionally even if the commercial property market is depressed nationwide, there can be regional markets where the situation is favorable and with attractive yields from solid covenants these fringe areas are where deals can be found. continue reading…