Investing in commercial property is an excellent idea if you are a business owner looking for additional income streams. You can buy a commercial property and then rent it out, ensuring that you have a regular income on top of whatever money your main business makes. Ideally, you’ll buy more than one property as this makes your income safer – even if one is empty, you’ll have others to keep earning from.
Yet, although this is a good idea, it’s not as easy as it might initially seem. If you don’t choose the right property to start with, your profits could be limited, and you might even lose money because there is work to do or no one wants to rent your office or warehouse space. With that in mind, keep reading to find out what mistakes to avoid when investing in commercial property.
Not Doing Enough Research
If you want to be successful when it comes to your commercial property investment, you need to do a lot of research. You should start by looking at the property listings and ideally working out an average price for the kind of property you’re interested in buying. This will help you see if something is over or underpriced and you can then decide whether you’re willing to overlook this.
You’ll also be able to see what other properties are in the market, giving you an idea of what’s popular, and you can determine how much profit you might make from each different purchase.
Not taking enough time to do plenty of research and to dig as deep as possible into all the pros and cons might mean you rush into things or you choose a property that seems great but that actually wouldn’t work. More time for research can save you time and money later on.
Not Having Enough Cash
Another big mistake is not having enough cash to complete the purchase. There are many ways to get money to invest in property, but you do need to do your calculations before making any commitments. You’ll need to know not just what the down payment is, but also what the monthly mortgage payments will be, as well as any taxes and fees. It’s easy to forget these things and focus on the larger amounts, but this would be a mistake.
Speak to experts in commercial bridge lending and your down payment will be covered, as will your mortgage payments for a limited time (depending on how much you borrow). This means you can purchase the building you know will make you a good profit while you sell other properties to pay back your loan.
Not Writing a Good Contract
Every tenant needs a fair contract, no matter whether they are individuals or businesses. If you buy a commercial property and you want to rent it out to make some money, you’ll need to ensure you give your tenants a good contract that covers everything you need them to do, and that explains what you will do as well.
Taking your time over this contract is a good idea, as you need it to be fair to both sides, and you need it to be legal. If it’s not fair or it’s not legal, you could find yourself in trouble with no income coming in and lots to pay out for.