Real Estate Investing Advice & Information

Many people have made a good living in the residential market. The sad thing is that some of these people do not realize they could have made more money quicker by investing their money in commercial properties. Even seasoned real estate veterans have missed many commercial opportunities. Many people that are good at residential real estate do not know how to invest in commercial real estate. There are many people that are interested in getting into real estate but they only know the strategies that they have seen on television such as flipping a home. There is a multitude of ways to make money in real estate and many of them do not include residential properties.

Do not misunderstand there is money to be made in the residential market but the reality of the situation is that commercial investments are much more stable. The current economy has affected residential properties much more than commercial properties. For instance if you purchased a house just before the economy went bust you probably still have that home since all the buyers and their financing has disappeared. Even if there are buyers they cannot get financing so here you are holding a home that is bleeding you dry with the cost of holding onto it and no buyers on the horizon. You do not have these worries with commercial properties since you are mainly dealing with large companies that have money to spend on real estate. Not only do they have money to spend they are generally looking for long-term commitments. continue reading…

What is in common between commercial real estate property investing and Samuel Morse the man who invented the Telegraph? More often than not, it is how well you handle perseverance and your ability to hold focus to your ideas.

Morse was an American inventor who is best known for his work in making a successful telegraph. Morse was born in Charles Town Massachusetts graduating from Yale in 1810. He went to London and studied painting there under Benjamin West. He had an inventive mind and developed an intense interest in electricity. The idea of the telegraph occurred to Morse during a dinner discussion at sea in 1832. Soon it became his main interest.

By 1835 he had set up a successful telegraph line in his room. After three years of further work he felt confident enough to ask the help of Congress. He asked for money to build a telegraph line long enough to prove that the idea was of practical use. Congress refused. Years of disappointment followed. Morse made trips to England and France, but could not find any support for the telegraph. continue reading…

I was recently forwarded an article by a client who hand wrote on top of it “this is exactly what you do, thanks coach”. Based on the client’s note I felt compelled to give it a cursory review. Once I read who the author was, Stephen Covey of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People fame, I figured I read the entire article, at least twice.

In the article, titled “Sharpen Your Focus”, Covey outlines four disciplines that, if practiced consistently, can vastly improve an individual’s ability to focus on, and execute their top priorities. This in fact is the core to coaching, especially when coaching commercial real estate practitioners. All too often, with the manifold of responsibilities a commercial broker has, we forget the key to success is doing 2 to 4 things really well. It’s the ability of a coach to assist the client to identify these top priorities as well as provide the platform and support for ensuring they are pursued and executed to completion.

In his first discipline “Focus on the Wildly Important”, Covey uses the analogy of an air traffic controller. The point is the most important thing is to land one plane at a time and not all at once. Think about it. What is wildly important to you as a commercial broker? Certainly you have the continuum of finding, winning and fulfilling business, but these may not be the “Wildly Important” focal points at any given time. Your role in your organization and possibly on your team has a significant impact on what is wildly important. A good coach will be able to work with you through a series of interviews, audits and exercises to assist you in defining what the most important elements to focus on based on your personal vision of success. A coach should provide clarity and ensure your commitment, not just “buy in” to these wildly important initiatives. continue reading…

More and more people are cutting the cord and releasing the cord that connects them to their desk or cube. No matter if it is WiFi, a PDA devices or just a regular cell phone, the way we work is changing. So what is hot and what is not you may ask?

Well it is know surprise that wireless is definitely hot with cell phones continuing to be an essential business tools. Mobile communication devices can perform critical task when we want and where we want. The two areas with growth are the business applications where mobility is a requirement and general business tools for managers on the go.

Mobility is key in making a function such as work order management more efficient because most jobs in that function are done outside the office. Managers are always on the go and there are certain basic applications like mobile email that will continue to gain momentum and popularity. In terms of business solutions for commercial real estate, the most used software and technology applications include: continue reading…

Over the recent months, we have heard a lot of talk about the Real Estate Market and lending market. Although there has been a lot of talk about how people are losing their current homes, or unable to qualify for loans to purchase a home of their choice. We have no heard a lot of talk about the Commercial Real Estate side of things. The reality of it is, investors are taking a beating in this market as well.

With the issue arising with sub prime loans, and the crash of the mortgage market not only are families and individuals suffering, investors are seeing that business is taking a turn for the worse. For many investors, investing in commercial property is how they make a living. The cold hard truth is, these lenders who cannot fund individuals, cannot find the investors either. Simply because the have NO money to lend. They don’t have money to lend to the builders to start and even in some cases finish their new projects, leaving less of an inventory to the investor. The banks don’t have the money to lend the investor to purchase property that is already out there on the market.

This current downfall has also caused hardship for those investors who currently own buildings, especially apartment buildings. Office spaces are becoming vacant more frequently, with more and more businesses being forced to close. Apartment owners are really suffering. A lot of the tenants that are renting from them, are becoming unemployed, and in turn not able to pay their rent. Prospective tenants are turning away because they simply cannot afford the asking price of the rent. This often leaves the landlord having to lower the rent price, far below market value simply so they do not have a unit just sitting empty for weeks and in most cases months. continue reading…

If you are planning to start your own business, then you need to start looking for the best location of your business. Location really matters a lot in starting a business; it is the important factor that can make your business a success.

In looking for a location for your business, you need to consider what kind of business you are planning to put up. And if you have decided what kind of business you will put up then you need to scout for a location for your business.

If your business is all about providing basic necessities for people then you need to look for a location that is very accessible. Florida commercial real estate can be one of the best choices you can have. There are lots of people who flock on the area and it will surely give you a lot of market and a possible success for your business. In Florida, you can have instant market with these people who loves going in and out of Florida. There are also existing business establishment that can make your business known. There are lots of walk in customer in the area so marketing your business is too easy. continue reading…

You’re searching for commercial real estate financing – what’s the best approach to take in contacting lenders?

Commercial lending is far less standardized than getting home financing, and has a whole language of its own. You and the commercial loan officer will generally discuss the tenancy and income or the property, if it is rented, and the property type, before getting into the borrower’s qualifications. The loan amount and terms you’ll obtain will vary greatly, depending on different property characteristics.

When you contact the commercial lender, try to have as much of the following information as possible available:

1) The sales price or estimated value of the property

2) The loan amount desired

3) The property type, including approximate age of the improvements, square footage, lot size, and in the case of apartment buildings, the number, size, and types of apartments, who pays utilities, and what the parking arrangements are. In the case of commercial properties, the tenancy, and when leases expire. If the building is occupied by, or being purchased by an “owner user” type of business/borrower, try to find out what the same space would rent for on the open market. continue reading…

Over the recent months, we have heard a lot of talk about the Real Estate Market and lending market. Although there has been a lot of talk about how people are losing their current homes, or unable to qualify for loans to purchase a home of their choice. We have no heard a lot of talk about the Commercial Real Estate side of things. The reality of it is, investors are taking a beating in this market as well.

With the issue arising with sub prime loans, and the crash of the mortgage market not only are families and individuals suffering, investors are seeing that business is taking a turn for the worse. For many investors, investing in commercial property is how they make a living. The cold hard truth is, these lenders who cannot fund individuals, cannot find the investors either. Simply because the have NO money to lend. They don’t have money to lend to the builders to start and even in some cases finish their new projects, leaving less of an inventory to the investor. The banks don’t have the money to lend the investor to purchase property that is already out there on the market.

This current downfall has also caused hardship for those investors who currently own buildings, especially apartment buildings. Office spaces are becoming vacant more frequently, with more and more businesses being forced to close. Apartment owners are really suffering. A lot of the tenants that are renting from them, are becoming unemployed, and in turn not able to pay their rent. Prospective tenants are turning away because they simply cannot afford the asking price of the rent. This often leaves the landlord having to lower the rent price, far below market value simply so they do not have a unit just sitting empty for weeks and in most cases months. continue reading…

“Up to 90% of our normal behavior is based on habits.”

If you are like me, you have the same kind of problem and it’s this.

Knowing what you should do vs. actually doing it.

Take exercise for example, how many of us know we should exercise more and may even have some kind of exercise schedule, but, fail to follow that schedule? I am sure we can all relate to this.

So, when it comes to our commercial real estate business we can run into this problem as well. This problem will take two forms. I won’t spend much time on the first -laziness. A lazy owner, or in this case a lazy commercial real estate investor has a lot of issues that will keep them from achieving their actual potential. Point being if you sit around eating chips and watching TV, most of the day your business will suffer. So, I want to focus on something continue reading…

“The greatest discovery is that if you change your attitudes your change your outer aspects of life.”

There is a really good quote from a guy by the name of Ron Legrand (you may have seen his stuff in Nightingale Conant) that sounds silly, but is very true and applicable to our businesses. Ron says, “The less I do the more I make” and he really means many things here.

First he is talking about delegating as much of the non value things as possible to someone else and not being involved in minimum wage activities just money sucking activities. continue reading…