A compilation of tips and techniques, that beginners can use to start their investing in commercial properties, makes a great starting vantage. Let the following advice lead you to more successful commercial real estate ventures.
Find out how the company that you are considering accounts for results. How do they determine the space requirements? What is their property selection criteria? How do they negotiate? This and many other little details will all affect your dealings. Kknowing this before signing an agreement with them has many benefits.
Make sure you partner with a reputable attorney before tackling commercial real estate financing. In case a real estate transaction goes awry, you need to have competent assistance ready to help you.
Square Footage
Clarify how much space is available in square footage. Two different metrics are used to measure business space. “Usable square feet” measures the amount of space available for doing business, while “total square feet” covers unusable space, including walls. Find out what the square footage of the property you are interested in, is measured.
The first step is to find the best lender to finance the transaction. Getting a commercial loan is quite different than getting a loan for a home. A commercial loan may actually offer better terms. While you do need to put more money down on a commercial loan, you’re fully protected from personal liability and are permitted to borrow some money to put towards your down payment.
While searching through different properties, make a checklist of each tour you went on. Take initial personal responses, but don’t go further without the property owner knowing. Don’t fear telling the owners that you might be interested in other properties. It can also get you a great deal on the property you’re touring!
You should take into account any potential environmental concerns. For instance, your property could be endangered by the presence of hazardous waste. As the property owner, the burden of getting these issues resolved rests on your shoulders, even if they initiated during a previous owner’s time.
Residential and commercial loans are vastly different from each other. For example with a commercial loan, the down payment percentage is higher than a residential one. Trying to find the best lenders and asking around for possible investments is the best way to qualify for one.
Know your goals for a potential property when you are buying commercial real estate. Do you want to use the property for your own business or do you want to lease the property? As you prepare to seek out a new commercial property, you should first set very specific goals and requirements.
If a real estate company insinuates that their commercial lease form is boilerplate, call their bluff and read the form line by line. Large corporations may add special requirements to the lease, which you need to take time to read. Standard commercial leases may be full of such clauses, so it’s important that you actually read the document before signing.
The commercial space you want to rent may need some changes before you can move in. This may be simple changes such as painting or rearranging furniture. However, many people find they need to take out or add walls to make modifications to the basic floor plan. The contract you negotiate should clearly spell out whether you or your landlord will pay for these changes, or whether the cost will be shared and in what proportions.
Make sure you are dealing with a company that cares about their customers before you make a purchase. If you work with a company that only cares about its own profits, you might lose money on preventable mistakes.
Interest Rates
One of the biggest threats to investors of commercial real estate is fluctuating interest rates. In the current volatile economy the interest rates are rising and falling without warning, which can also dramatically affect the cost of financing an investment. Always keep these rate fluctuations in mind while shopping for properties so you can understand the long-term impact of them on your purchase.
If you plan on investing in commercial real estate, you should consider the tax benefits you will receive. You will get good tax breaks for interest and also benefits for depreciation. However, investors sometimes get “phantom income”, this is a type of income which is taxed but it isn’t received as cash. You have to keep all of this in mind before you start to invest in real estate.
Hopefully, this article has provided you with a good base of knowledge upon which to build your successful endeavor in the commercial real estate market. The gathering of ideas in this article was specifically designed to assist you in honing your buying and selling skills regarding commercial properties.