Commercial Real Estate Investing

Real estate investing has been made out in the media to seem like it's the best thing since sliced bread. This in no small part due to late night cable television infomercials espousing the high deals of no money down or next to nothing down real estate investing. They make it look like anybody can do these commercial real estate investing deals easily. You will be shown, how by just writing things down on the back of napkins, you have the makings of a real estate fortune. Things will reach boiling point when supposedly real interviews are held with people who have succeeded wildly after using the promoter's commercial real estate investing system.

It is a fact that real estate fortunes can be made. More often however, the person who's making it is the guru owner of the real estate course! Truth be told, real estate investing is a lot harder than what you are led to believe. Every buy, sell or renting of real estate involves dealing with people directly. Unlike stock transactions, there are no organized exchanges to keep things standardized. Furthermore, the courts are more sympathetic and protective toward delinquent family tenants. Another common problem is many real estate rehabbers take on drifters to do odd jobs. Instead of fixing up the properties, they do more damage than good and usually end up disappearing after getting paid an initial amount. Lots of real estate investors are burned this way.

You still have to take many years to learn how to assess the value of properties in a town or neighborhood. You also need the street experience in negotiations so that you don't lose out the profits that you originally thought you had. The main point here is real estate investing, whether commercial or residential, is best thought of as a business. It needs your dedication and constant education. Moreover, if you are working full time and you invest in real estates, you will be losing your free time to collecting rentals and doing rehabs. You will need to cover the mortgage out of your own pocket if the property does not sell, or when tenants are not able to pay up on time. You want to enjoy the fruits of your labor, not leaking out your time and salary to patching up hiccups in your real estate investments. If you enjoy cookouts and trips to the beaches, you might want to consider the stock market rather than real estate investment. Both are part-time businesses, but which one leaves you with more free time and less income fluctuation?

Jim Banks has over 15 years investing experience investing in everything from real estate to commodity futures and is a frequent contributor to http://www.profit-mountain.com