-                      How to “Stack Your Financing” so that it Gets Funded

-                      4 Stages of a Listing Life Cycle that you must understand

-                      Me and My Mortgage(s)…..What the heck is happening out there?  

-                      The Right Attorney can make all the difference in the world

-                      What the books don’t tell you about Property Management

-                      Understanding the Buy/Sell Cycle of Commercial Real Estate

-                      How to Master Leases and how Leases effect Values

-                      And much more

Investing in commercial real estate can be very profitable if you carefully evaluate the market and are cognizant of both the risks and the benefits. Commercial real estate can offer the canny investor the benefits of cash flow, depreciation, appreciation and capital growth. It can provide tax benefits, help you diversify your portfolio and increase your personal wealth.

Profiting from commercial real estate is basically a matter of buying low and selling high. Properties that are under-priced or under-performing in areas with a solid and sustained rate of growth are considered to offer the best profit potential. All these factors are essential aspects to successful commercial real estate investing. However, taking the time to gain needed expertise and experience cannot be underestimated.

Before committing to purchase a commercial real estate property, it is important to understand what you want to achieve from the investment. For example, are you planning to hold onto the property for a long term to benefit from capital gain and are therefore less concerned with annual rental returns, or do you need the cash flow generated by higher returns? In fact, to be successful at investing in commercial real estate you need to acquire the right mindset before you even begin to look at properties. You can rarely make money quickly in commercial real estate, rather the most successful investors are willing to hold onto their properties for the long term. The very nature of commercial real estate investment requires you to take an unemotional approach involving thoughtful analysis, research and extensive due diligence. You need to become a long range thinker, planner and implementer.

It is always a good idea to get expert advice, but remember real estate agents and property management companies are selling their services and will not necessarily tell you the whole truth. Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware) holds very true for commercial real estate investing. You need to do your research in order to avoid serious pitfalls.

Before purchasing a commercial property, check into the demographic information relating to the area within an easy distance (for example, a five mile radius). Knowing the average age, average household composition, average household income, and ethnicities can be very revealing. If the commercial property you are considering is retail, you will also need to consider the quantity of passing traffic and ease of parking.

An obvious consideration when evaluating commercial real estate as an investment is the vacancy rate as well as the absorption rate over the previous few years. You also need to consider the length of current leases still to run. This is important for two reasons. First, the current rents may be lower than the market value. Alternatively, they may be providing a good return and the longer the lease the better the value of the property because you will not have to fill vacancies.

The aim when purchasing commercial real estate is to get the best return on investment at the lowest possible risk. For example, there is far less risk in purchasing an office building with ten well paying tenants in it who still have a substantial period of their lease to run than it would be to buy one with leases about to expire or only one or two tenants.

Commercial properties are commonly much more expensive than other forms of real estate and significantly more complicated in terms of market considerations. You will need to sort through a lot of information designed to put the property in the best possible light so you will need to have excellent analytical skills to sort through relevant data from the false impressions. Commercial investment needs to be taken slowly. Take whatever time you need to evaluate the suitability of a property for your investment purposes.

Understanding Commercial Real Estate.

Real Estate is defined as a certain property that can possibly generate revenue for its owner. It generally includes office buildings, shopping malls, service stations, restaurants, apartment units, and raw land.

You must understand that only properties, which have a potential to produce income for its owner, is categorized as commercial real estate.

Therefore, it will not include real estate of habitable characteristics such as houses and apartment buildings.

So how is it leased to the potential clients? Usually, the owner of the property leases it through a licensed broker. Then the broker will make the necessary arrangements with regards in advertising that property.

In addition, the broker can make some agreement with the owner or seller of the property about its improvements such as renovating or clearing the perimeter of the ground where it is erected.

How to Get Started in Commercial Real Estate Business

If you want to start with this type of investment and yet, you do not have a concrete property to sell, maybe the first thing to do is to have some guidelines that you can start with. Here are the things that you should consider in building your commercial property:

* Determine what are the hot business are around. Decide if you will cater to the needs of individual or partnership that wants to rent spaces for their food or novelty shops.

* Choose the best location of your property. Go for the finest piece of land that you can utilize efficiently. You can consider erecting commercial property nearby high traffic areas can be easily accessed for full-service restaurants, hotels, and other shopping centers.

* In aid of choosing your property's location, you consult the planners of the local government where it will be built. They have a zoning system, which separates industrial, residential, and commercial properties. It will help you to obtain the necessary clearance and permits from them.

* You can opt to hire some financial advisors. They can help you to plan for the revenue aspects of your investment. Always keep in mind that the right investment is the best chance to earn more profits.

* In case that the property is funded under a mortgage, it will be wise on your part to repay it religiously. Do not let it be your liability; remember that your goal is to earn money, not to lose money.

* If the property is now ready for leased, always have the necessary arrangements with your real estate agents with regards in advertising your property.

* Check the rates, terms and conditions, and other related aspects concerning the lease of your commercial property. You must also serve the interest of your potential clients that will avail it.

Earning money through commercial real estate property requires enough planning. This is an investment; either you lose or gain money.

EquityWork has leveraged the power of the Internet to create an efficient information portal for buyers, agents and brokers. EquityWork's corporate vision strives to become the premier tool for commercial real estate brokers and agents in America. We developed the website specifically tailor for commercial real estate agents and brokers. We are here to empower commercial real estate brokers and agents.

You are cordially invited to join the EquityWork.com Broker/Agent Choice Program. You can sign up via http://www.equitywork.com/broker_register.php The Broker/Agent Choice Program is free for commercial real estate brokers and agents to use and to list your commercial real estate listings. There is absolutely no obligation or membership commitment. It is absolutely free. The Broker Choice Program is a great way for you to generate more qualified leads to your listings. Try it today: Sign up at http://www.equitywork.com/broker_register.php

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-Do I Have an Entrepreneurial Mindset?

Successful professionals in commercial real estate tend to have an entrepreneurial spirit. The have a motivated drive or desire to succeed. Having an entrepreneurial mindset could mean that you possess the following qualities:

-hardworking
-innovative
-goal oriented
-passionate
-organized
-creative
-a leader
-a risk taker

Some people describe having an entrepreneurial mindset as having a "fire in the belly." In short, you have burning desire for success in commercial real estate and you have the creative and innovative spirit to translate that fire into concrete action.

-Do I Have a Passion to Help Others Succeed?

If you want to be successful in commercial real estate, particularly as a commercial real estate mortgage broker, property broker, agent or lender, you must have a passion to help other people succeed. In the end, your success in any one of these specialties within the realm of commercial real estate depends on your own ability to assist other people achieve their own goals. Do you thrive on seeing others succeed and knowing that you were able to contribute to that endeavor?

-Do I Have an Internal Personal Belief System That Supports My Success?

Finally, when it comes to achieving success in commercial real estate, it is absolutely fundamental that you develop and maintain a personal belief system that permits you to fully understand that you are capable of achieving any goal. Although some people may conclude that it is a trite saying - you have to BELIEVE in yourself. If you do not believe in yourself, how can you expect your clients to trust and believe the advice that you give them? By believing in yourself, you will have the ability to develop an appropriate plan of action that will ensure that your important dreams become realities. By setting goals and by believing that through your own best efforts you can achieve those goals, you will enjoy significant and lasting success in the commercial real estate profession.

If your answer was "yes" to each of the questions above, you are well on your way to finding a great career in commercial real estate. The industry is not made for everyone, but for those who can appreciate what it takes to succeed, they are in for one exciting ride! Best of luck to you!

Carl and Karen Moose are two very busy and successful commercial real estate professionals with an active young family — "three under three," as they say — and an impressive list of colleagues, clients, and investors who have nothing but praise for the deals they put together for their business, Investment Realty Services, Inc., which expertly manages investor's real estate assets by providing brokerage, investment services and property management services for equity partners.

Karen is president of Investment Realty Services, and Carl works as Managing Director, officially speaking. As they explain, this means that Carl focuses his efforts on finding great commercial properties, analyzing them, and putting deals together for his company and investors, while Karen trains her energy on managing the properties they own, raising capital, and forging and maintaining strong relationships with colleagues, clients, and investors.

Carl was born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, in the early sixties, and has 5 brothers and sisters that round out the “Moose Heard”. Carl’s Mother was a Chicago-Breed Socialite, and his father was an associate professor of economics. Carl studied at the University of New York, where he got a bachelor's degree in geology. "Final exams were very demanding of your analytical skills," Carl explained. "The Professor would put a blue book and a rock down in front of you and say 'explain what this was in the past, what it is today, and what it's going to be in a million years, literally.' That sort of long-term analysis is something I do in my work today." Early business experiences taught him maxims he operates on to this day. "When I was in equipment sales years ago, someone told me 'Don't sell equipment…..Solve people's problems, and they will come back to you again and again.' And I believe in that today. I see the Commercial Real Estate profession as the best place for me to balance problem solving and interpersonal skills."

Karen grew up in Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia, the child of an entrepreneurial family. "My father was a strong role model for me, and the primary reason I have always “been in business", said Karen.”My dad was involved in manufacturing, and had a plastics company, and he was always encouraging me to look at a variety of businesses. He was a true visionary, with a real creative inventive streak, and liked to invest in a wide variety of things as well." Karen earned a degree in psychology from Trinity International in Deerfield, and took her father's advice to interview people whose business success inspired her.

"I called up authors and real estate professionals and asked to take them out to lunch," she explained. She picked their brains, "and that got me really excited about getting into real estate, and the prospect of investing. I did a lot of self-education, and by the time I was 27 years old, I had my own, rather large,  first real estate development project. I raised the capital for it, and talked to banks, and got it funded, and so very early on I was involved in development projects, as well as  rehab projects on single family homes, and I absolutely loved it. I've also always had a knack for building on good things to make them better, and I really like improving things."

Carl was in the CRE Banking business before getting into commercial real estate full-time, independently. He worked for LaSalle Bank and Washington Mutual, at both as a V.P. of CRE Lending, and prior to that was with a merger and acquisition consulting firm. Before that he owned his own sales & service company in the scientific/medical equipment field. "I got into commercial real estate while working for a Consulting Firm," he said. "Working side by side with Investment Bankers analyzing M & A financing feasibility studies, I was exposed to a ton of high-caliber deal-

making. That’s when I got the bug to go out on my own. I had my broker's license already, primarily to represent myself on my own deals.  I never thought I'd be a professional commercial broker or investor, necessarily, but that's what I'm doing now, and I really enjoy my work."

Karen was finishing up her developments in the western suburbs when   a mutual friend introduced the two, who soon fell in love, got married, and started a family. Collectively the two decided that rather than continuing to work for other firms, they'd combine their strengths and work together, for themselves, so they could spend time with their kids, and so IRSI was born.
COMBINED FORCES
Karen and Carl are supported in their commercial real estate efforts by a small but very strong team. Sue Billman is an analyst on the East Coast who looks for strong project possibilities. Rob Braga is a broker with a lot of experience and who Carl appreciates for his independent thinking. Shannon Maloney worked for a big developer in Chicago & Las Vegas before joining the IRSI team, and Margie Alverez holds it all together by helping Karen deftly manage the countless administrative duties.

Karen's day-to day schedule involves running the management company, which primarily manages the couples own real estate assets and interests. "That involves every detail of property management — making sure our tenants, or customers, have a safe and well-maintained building to reside in, managing the maintenance crews, and tracking every dollar involved in the finances of those properties. I know where every nickel goes, and what it's for." And Carl spends a lot of time doing "on the ground" research, seeking out good deals and unique property opportunities.

How do Carl and Karen find new clients, investors, and deals? Word of mouth serves them well. They have a strong network of professionals due to the diversity of their combined business backgrounds, and maintain a broad range of relationships.

To track down really ripe, un-listed deals, Carl also uses “Guerilla” tactics such as  talking  to local vendors in geographic areas they're interested in — everyone from waste disposal sales/account managers to neighborhood hardware store owners to active  brokers and agents in the hood. This arms them with “on-the-street” information about properties, which puts them in an even better position to pull off a smart deal.

As Carl explained, "We have a knack for finding deals that aren't listed, and our investors love it, mainly because they're not competing with other buyer’s who may be willing to pay a higher price for the same property, if for example, that same property were a  listed property

We also have strong ties with great Brokers and Agents that we refer business to regularly…..This is key. These  brokers and agents cooperate and collaborate with us by bringing their buyers, and their seller’s deals to us to look at and evaluate, and vise-versa. As we all know, this business is all about referrals, particularly here in Chicago.

We also have outlets for a seller’s 1031 funds after a transaction, or any interested investors in general, by providing Membership Interest opportunities in LLC’s we form  to acquire properties for our own portfolio. The beauty is the investor can be completely hands-off, if they choose….We cover all the bases from finding the deal, to analyzing the deal, to financing the deal, and managing the property post-closing.

INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION, CONTROL

Lon Evans, a real estate investment partner on several deals with IRSI, has nothing but praise for Carl's ability to uncover a gem of a deal that seems to be off everyone else's radar entirely. "I've worked with Carl on a lot of different projects in Oak Forest, and on the south side of Chicago. Carl can usually smell a deal and then has the tenacity to get it to the right people and get the deal closed, whether with investors or lenders, he always lands a good deal on the closing table," Evans said. "He has his ear to the ground, and has street smarts, and the nose for finding deals that aren't necessarily very high-profile. He's also not afraid to roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty. He's very straightforward and up-front, and I think people appreciate that. There's no bull. He gives you straight-up numbers that hold up, and he has a knack for explaining things to people in a simple and clear way. He seems to know what source to go to go get something done. He knows people's niches and knows who to go to for particular things. He's got a lot of overall knowledge, and he's sharp, and he knows what he wants, and he gets it."

Carl believes that using the broad range of information he has about properties to control them is important to his success. "One thing I firmly believe in is that 'the time to buy real estate is now.' I'm lucky to have a lot of strong guidance from older, successful individuals in real estate, and they've always emphasized timeliness in executing on deals. Another thing I've recognized is the old saying 'location, location, location is the key to real estate’ is incomplete. Location is key no doubt about it, but I think more importantly, it's 'control, control, control.' You can have the best location in the world, but if you can't control it, it won't do you any good. The key is to control a property, however that may occur. And there are many different ways to control a property, even without owning it. You can put options on a property, you can put it under a conventional purchase contract, you may hold warrants or a collateral interest, a second mortgage, a managing/controlling LLC interest, assignments, etc….– there are lots of ways to control a property without having title to it."

Quality communication is important to Karen & Carl's strategies in maintaining strong ties in social & professional networks. "I like to keep in contact with people enough to meet their expectations and needs, and when you have something valuable to offer them," he said. "When I reach out and connect, there has to be substance there, and value to the communication, otherwise I am wasting time, theirs & mine. If I had any advice for people getting into the commercial side of the business, it would be to develop patience, and a realistic expectation of how long it takes for a deal to mature. Often times it's months before deals come down the pipeline with enough traction to make it to closing, hence patience is important."
BUILDING AND MAINTAINING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS

Karen explained that managing relationships is a long-term prospect, just like investing. "You don't just meet people and fall into investment relationships with them, or at least we don’t," she explained. "We focus on Multi-Million Dollar Projects and up, which means developing long-term relationships with sophisticated people, which takes a lot of time and personal investment on our part, earning trust and helping educate investors about properties, and about the process. Our investment partners want to put their money into something that will help grow their legacy long-term, and yet isn't something they need to attend to from day to day, so we have to demonstrate to them they we can take care of the day to day details while keeping an eye on the long-term outcome of their investment."
Sandy Crowe, a current investment partner on several deals with Investment Realty Services (IRSI), attests to the fact that the people behind IRSI make even a real estate newcomer very comfortable with the investment process. "We bought a 13-unit apartment building together, among other things," Crowe said. "Carl and Karen are really good at communication. They're really good about making the investment opportunity make sense to someone who maybe doesn't know that much about the business. The great thing is that they review with me, once a month, the financial information, and information about the performance of the building. It's rare, as an investor, to find someone who will do that with you every single month. Carl is also very creative in the way that he structures a deal, to make it a financial win."

Hawk Durham is a real estate consultant and agent with @Properties in Chicago, and has worked with Carl on several projects, including some not-for-profit ventures. "Carl really helped facilitate work I was doing with clients by bringing in deals that were a perfect match and weren't even on the market," said Durham. "Carl is a master networker, and one of the most fabulous things about him as a person is that he's constantly learning. He's always open and willing to look at a new way of approaching a challenge or problem. The star in his crown is that he's always looking to exceed what he's done previously. He's always trying to better himself and his practices. When he approaches his work, he's the consummate professional. I know a lot of his clients personally, and I know he really puts his clients and their best interests first, and that's his long-term strategy for success. That's what has helped to elevate him to the position he's in now."

A BRIGHT ATTITUDE, A BRIGHT FUTURE

Patrick Tuohy, a former WAMU co-worker and mentor, said it's clear to him that Carl and Karen will continue to find success in their current and future endeavors. "The one thing about Carl that absolutely stands out is that he has a real 'can do' attitude," Tuohy, the top producer at WAMU, emphasized. "He sets a goal and accomplishes it. That's probably one if his best attributes. He also follows through on what he says he's going to do. I run a half a billion dollar book of CRE Lending business, and I'm acutely aware of the difference between what people say and what people do. Carl is a man of his word, and I trust him, and I love him dearly. When you've been in the business for over 25 years, like I have, you become very skeptical of what people say they're going to do, that's just the nature of the business. But Carl always follows through, sees things to the end, doesn't give up, has a positive attitude, and he's just an all-around great guy."

COACHING THEMSELVES, COACHING OTHERS

Karen and Carl give a lot of credit to the people who offer them support in managing their businesses and busy young family. "We have domestic help, and supportive friends and family that help with the kids, and we time-block, and we believe in coaches — we have a personal life coaches, a business coach, and a coach who helps us with real estate deals," Carl said. "We, with the help of others, have also developed the “CRE Tutor” Mentoring Program where we help others by passing on strategies and information to those individuals and 3rd party company staff members interested in Commercial Real Estate”. (For info go to www.succeedincreblog.com).

Carl acknowledged benefiting tremendously from several important mentor figures in his life. "I have had several mentors who, in the past, would often say to me 'When are you going out on your own?'

I joke about one of my Mentors named Saul. You know that book 'Tuesdays With Morrie?', well I had 'Saturdays With Saul.' He helped me solve problems, and grow as a serious real estate professional and investor. I could, and still do rely on Saul to always gives me really good, honest advice and feedback."
SATISFACTION: ACHIEVEMENT AND BALANCE
Where does the best feeling of accomplishment come from all of Karen and Carl's hard work? "I get a lot of satisfaction knowing that our staff feels good about the work they do, and from knowing that our investors are happy with what we do for them," Karen said. "And looking at our kids, and knowing that Carl and I run a thriving business and have three happy kids as well is just a wonderful thing."

They are both adamant that spending time with the children — Morgan Elizabeth, Brianna Marie, and Otto Mathius — is of paramount importance. As Carl said, "I could make $10 million a year for the next 20 years, but it wouldn’t mean anything to me if, in 20 years, my kids feel like they didn't have enough time with Mom and Dad."

Carl particularly enjoys the energy of  “sealing the deal” at closing, after a long, hard-fought effort, which is often the case in a commercial real estate transaction. "I get excited about closings — I go to all of them, and my clients' as well," he said. "We do about 10 or 12 commercial deals a year, and I get satisfaction knowing that if things come up, even at closings, I have the ability to manage it, and take care of it. I had a closing just over a year ago, and there were 14 people in the closers office, and it took a lot of patience and effort to keep that thing from unraveling. It took focus, persistence, and organized effort to keep that project together right down to the “brass tacks”, and I got a lot of satisfaction from seeing that through to completion."
EXCITING NEW CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE

Carl and Karen are very proud of the educational model they have put together for commercial real estate training (called “CRE Tutor”) which is made up of several different specialized “13-week” coaching programs, and proprietary software with an interactive online platform, all of which is designed for people who are just gearing up in commercial real estate, or are experienced and looking to pump up their CRE game. "It wasn't my goal to become an educator, per se, but I enjoy teaching and helping others grow," according to Carl. The “CRE Tutor” program offers the traditional “academic” information, knowledge, and tools that you can get in other books or seminars. Beyond academics, what makes the “CRE Tutor” programs unique are three things: 1) We form and encourage “community” and networking with other participants to leverage learning and resources; 2) We look at “Real Deals” during the course(s) as opposed to “hypothetical” or “antiquated” examples of deals; 3) The courses are stretched over a reasonable period of time, typically “13-weeeks”, to sufficiently engage learning through “Spaced Repetition”.

Sue Billman, a current employee of IRSI who works as a real estate analyst, has gained a lot of momentum in her career from her participation in the “CRE Tutor” program. "I've learned a lot from the program. I haven't done a lot of independent work in terms of buying on my own yet, but I feel like I could now," Billman said. "You can go on a lot of websites and get information, but to use a program like this where you have someone there to walk you through the process, is so valuable. That availability that Carl offers made the program more than worth it to me. After you've found a good opportunity, to have someone walk you though the next steps — to secure funding, and knowing how to present a deal to an investor, and so on, it's really been very beneficial to my development."

Karen and Carl are also excited about the prospect of expanding IRSI's horizons into the area of Lease Buyback opportunities. He explained that "It's going to be a new, exciting experience for us, and also an opportunity to tap into our resources with our mentors in an effort to reach a new level of expertise." And since their business style doesn't lend itself so much to traditional training and managing of people, Karen and Carl aren't looking at establishing a huge office. IRSI growth will come through joining alliances with like-minded professionals to go after bigger and bigger deals. "Our goal is to expand to a staff of roughly 10 people in the next year, or so. IRSI currently operates out of an office at 161 N. Clark, and has plans to open an office in the south loop.
We act primarily as “Investor / Buyer’s Agents” and represent those who are looking for a long-term strategic partner to represent their interests. Clients also include passive financial investors such as doctors, lawyers, and business owners.”

Research the commercial market

Before deciding to seek a commercial real estate mortgage, scout the city or town and get a sense of the market conditions. Are there many "for rent" or "for sale" signs for multi-family units such as offices or apartments? Is the commercial property in a part of town that receives enough traffic flow or is it difficult to locate? Talk to professionals in the area to find out where you can find the best deals before obtaining a commercial real estate mortgage.

Prepare to put money down

Just as you would put money down on the purchase your dream house, you will need to come up with money for a commercial mortgage. Most lenders want between 15 and 20 percent down. Next, you are ready to see if you can pre-qualify for a property. A loan officer will put together a loan package before giving you a letter of interest. Then, the lender will review the file and create a loan document.

Gathering documents for mortgage

You can begin getting together the documents you need in order to move along the commercial mortgage process. Put together your employment history for the past two years as well as with salary, employment dates, pay stubs and the contact information of your employers. You should also figure out your net worth and list all other assets.
Make sure you have all of your tax records organized. Bring along your social security card, the last three statements from savings and checking accounts, stocks and certificate of deposits. You should make a copy of your 401K or IRA plans, the title of your automobiles or loan information. Finally, write down the names, addresses and account numbers for all credit cards, loans and mortgages so those facts and figures will be handy for your loan officer.

These highly specialized professionals are often grouped together in teams by commercial real estate investors. A savvy investor surrounds him or herself with competent professionals to make sure that every deal that is made yields the highest most profitable results, with little to no problematic factors.

If you look at the residential investor, however, he or she usually does not have a huge team surrounding him or her and can usually invest in a few homes at a time with ease.

Why is it that the residential investor does not need a full time team to look watch over and consult every deal prior to purchase? Beyond the obvious reason that residential real estate does not involve nearly the millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions and even billions of dollar price tags and profits that commercial real estate is known for, there is another very important attribute of commercial real estate that separates it from residential real estate.

This attribute is characterized by a term known as "buyer beware."

We all know that with most residential real estate, the buyer must be disclosed of every aspect of the property- good or bad. For example, if the roof was leaking in a home, but it was summer so the purchaser may not necessarily find out until rainy season, then the owner or agent must disclose this fact to the purchaser. It is illegal for the owner or agent to withhold any information from the purchaser. This law greatly decreases the risk on the purchaser's behalf and if a problem arises that was not fully disclosed at the time of purchase, then the purchaser could receive his or her deposit back and the owner and agent could suffer penalties.

In residential real estate, the buyer does not need to beware (in this sense) because every detail must be disclosed so he or she has the absolute facts on a property before deciding to part with a down payment or take out a mortgage to purchase the property.

The opposite is true in the commercial real estate industry. The owner or agent does not need to disclose any information about the property to the purchaser. In fact, if the new owner discovers that the land he or she purchased is toxic, and the previous owner or agent said nothing, it is the new owner's responsibility to have the land cleaned. The new owner must pay all legal and cleaning bills that come along with toxic property.

This may seem rather unfair. Why should the residential real estate industry have full disclosures while the commercial real estate industry does not? In commercial real estate, you have a certain amount of time prior to purchase to perform due diligence, or a complete analysis of the property. This may include building inspections, soil tests, infrastructure analysis, financial analysis etc. The buyer is completely responsible for retrieving the facts on a property.

It is considered an open and free market so, "buyer beware." There is a lack of need to protect the buyer or seller by the law. Therefore, it is increasingly important to have commercial real estate professionals looking out for the commercial real estate investor at every turn.

Because the law does not protect the buyer, the buyer must protect his or herself. Legal counsel should be brought in to oversee every single deal. This includes conditional statements on a contract and performing the most in-depth due diligence one can possibly do. Commercial real estate is not something you can look at for a few weeks and then decide you want to purchase like a home. It can take 45, 60, 90 days and more to perform due diligence, depending on the purpose of the property and how complicated the property is.

Let's look at an example. Purchaser A wants to purchase a property from Seller B. The property is raw land and is currently zoned R-1, or residential lots one lot per acre. According to the agent, there is a good possibility that the city needs additional commercial land to balance out the additional homes and apartments that were recently built near the subject property. For this reason, the city may be interested in rezoning the land from R-1 to commercial.

Purchaser A can see the profit potential of this rezone and wants to purchase the property. Purchaser A lets the owner know that he wants to purchase the currently zoned R-1 property. Purchaser A is acting in good faith that the property will be rezoned to commercial. But just in case, Purchaser A includes a conditional clause that states that if the property cannot be rezoned to commercial, then the contract is null and void. Purchaser A will no longer have a liability toward the property and owner.

This was an intelligent move Purchaser A made because in this case, the property could not be rezoned to commercial. Instead of sitting there with a much less valuable R-1 zoned property, Purchaser A was left with no property at all, but no financial or legal problems either. And that is far better than a worthless property and a legal battle to contend with.

Every commercial real estate deal is extremely different. Buyer and seller personalities, the quality of due diligence, the integrity of the buyer and purchaser, the financial needs, and skills of professionals such as the escrow company and commercial real estate owners all play a huge role in how each deal results. The best and most sound advice I can give you is never take what you hear for face value. Verify every fact and have your commercial real estate professionals available at every turn. The information they can conjure can save you a lot of money and legal headaches by simply getting the facts verified and inserting conditional clauses in the contract.

If you are new to the commercial real estate industry, realize the rules are a little different and a lot more is at risk than in the residential real estate industry. Keep the "buyer beware" mentality alive at all times and allow professionals to do their jobs. That is what they are there for. Surround yourself with the best and you will quickly become the best.

Now that you have had a chance to look at "buyer beware" and how it plays a specific role in both the commercial and residential real estate industries, you can greatly appreciate the additional risk in doing commercial real estate deals as well as the importance of solid commercial real estate professionals working in your best interest. Without them, there would be far more problematic deals- and that is exactly what you want to avoid.

Florida has many beaches get away ideas. And there are heaps of recreation to take advantage with such boating, skiing, dock to yacht, and the like. Having all this makes tourists to be attracted to take advantage its privileges.

Commercial real estate in Florida for shopping malls is considering an alteration for the adapting the needs of the present day shopper. Florida commercial real estate re-sales are rising. Those you are raring to buy real estate come from minority groups such as Latin Americans and Asians.

A new concept in Florida real estate is the Open-air commercial real estate, which is taking charge lately. Enclosed malls are gradually surrendering their control to open air centers. Since open air centers has a lot more features and space to offer than traditional walled mall.

Adaptation and redevelopment are actually the key ways to increase in commercial real estate business in Florida. Since people are usually looking for convenience and ambience, and Florida have these factors to offer.

Now, if you are searching for commercial real estate property in Florida, it is better for you to distinguish what kind of business you wanted to be into, and your preferred location. There is varying of array of commercial properties that you can consider, from office space to retail establishments.

Whatever commercial property you are looking and interested to, there are lot of categories of real estate properties to consider so limit down your search. Retail properties, is one category to consider, which covers shopping centers and malls, franchise locations, chain store sites, showrooms, retail sites and shops.

Office buildings, business parks, commercial rental properties, residential developments and net leased properties are investment properties. Industrial parks, resort properties, waterfront property and land tracts fall under land brokerages category. And there are also high-tech property areas which particularly for research and development parks, medical laboratories, and call centers.

Hotel and resort properties category covers hotels, convention centers, stadiums, motels and theme park sites. Distribution and industrial properties category covers warehouses, factory sites, airports, distribution facilities and mills.

Amidst of high prices, Florida is usually an attractive and popular place to start business. Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas Counties in Tampa Bay; Fort Myers and Cape Coral area in Southwest Florida; Martin, Miami-Dade, Broward, St.Lucie and Palm Beach Counties in South Florida; Sarasota and Manatee Counties in Sarasota; Duval, Clay, Putnam and Nassau Counties in Jacksonville/Northeast Florida; Orange, Seminole, Lake, Polk, Osceola and West Volusia Counties in Orlando / Central Florida and Leon, Franklin, Jefferson %26 Wakulla Counties in the Tallahassee area are all the place to you can look up to choose which interest you the most.

Whatever places in Florida you can choose from to make an investment, you will definitely not regret it. Since Florida has the best commercial real estate to offer, all you have to do is choose which property you are interested to invest with. Florida is certainly known to be a good location for business.