Commercial Real Estate Versus Residential Real Estate Investing

There are numerous ways to invest in real estate.then commercial property. People always need a
You can rent, flip, or fix. There are condos, homes,place to live. Businesses, however, come and go
apartments, land, and buildings to invest in. Thedependent on the market.
options are limitless.2)Financing residential property tends to be easier
There is, however, a great divide some investorsthen purchasing commercial property.
have a hard time deciding on, residential versus3)If needed, you could actually live in one of your
commercial investing.rental properties.
Residential property is perhaps most commonly what4)Residential property is usually less expensive then
comes to mind when thinking of real estate investing.commercial.
In general, residential property is a living space. This5)Residential property can require your immediate
can include apartments, duplexes, homes, andattention when problems arise. Problems can come at
condominiums.any hour on any day unlike the traditional 9 to 5
Commercial property, on the other hand, plays homebusiness that rents commercial property.
to businesses in the form of office space, retail6)As a residential landlord, you usually have to
space and other industrial type tenants.perform a lot of hands-on management.
When considering which type of investing is best for7)If you have a single residential piece of property
you, there are a few questions to ask. Most of usand you lose a tenant, you just lost all your income
have experience in residential dwellings. After all, wefor that particular property until you can replace the
grew up in homes.tenant. This can cause cash flow problems.
You have a set of expectations for your residentialCommercial property also has is pluses and minuses.
rental property. You know how you anticipate it to1)A nice thing about commercial property is the
be cared for and what assumptions you want to seeleases tend to be considerably longer then that of
in your tenants. Commercial property is a littleresidential property. Where a residential tenant might
different. We haven't all necessarily rented or ownedsign a year lease agreement, commercial tenants
commercial property.usually stick around for five or so years.
What is unique about commercial property is the2)Unlike residential, commercial property requires less
landlord often hands the property over to the tenantmanagement. Depending on your personality, this
and has very little to do with it after that point. Youmay or may not be desirable to you.
basically have to trust in your tenant. Plus, unless you3)Commercial investing isn't as beginner friendly as
have business experience, you probably aren't familiarresidential. Start-up costs can far exceed that of
with the guidelines and assumptions of commercialsimply purchasing a home. Even worse, if can be
property leasing.harder for beginner investors to secure a loan for
With all of that said, let's look at what benefits andcommercial property.
disadvantages come with investing in residential4)Finding a tenant for you commercial property can
property.be a lot harder then securing one for your residential
1)In general, it is easier to rent residential propertyproperty.