Commercial real estate

[Laurieann Frazier-Duarte]

Hey,

Is anyone out there still investing in commercial real estate? I keep hearing that it's not the best investment right now because of the downturn after COVID. I am a self-entrepreneur and know the importance of office space. Although I (and many others) transitioned to home office space, I believe there is a need for office space for many professions. I am interested in utilizing space again for group meetings, workshops, and for clients who may still desire private space.

My focus is on providing either turnkey-style space for those interested in temporary, infrequent use or long-term leasing for business folks who require conference room space (or perhaps event space). This aligns with my interest in passive income.

I realize I am not cut out for the entire REI process of consistently finding multiple properties for particular exit strategies. The process seems daunting and overwhelming, and I am not confident I will put the time in to talk to sources, analyze, and find properties for investing purposes. (In other words, I won't be creating a profession out of REI.) Any thoughts and feedback would be most helpful.

Laurieann 

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[Chris Mason]

You wrote commercial, but then talked about offices specifically. 

If you want some very broad strokes that are asset class specific, but not location specific.

Highest risk and return to lowest risk and return, offices is at the top. Extensively commented on, no need for me to add to it.

Warehouses is somewhere towards the bottom. If millenial homeowners can't even change their home's air filters, or snake a toilet, or change the oil in their car, that's guaranteed future business for HVAC companies, plumbers, mechanics, and those places all need a place to conduct business in.

The commercial mortgage pricing software I use has somewhere around 50 different asset classes in it. To say "CRE is X," but then only discuss offices, is overlooking a lot of stuff. Heck, even within offices, the small 1-tenant office buildings suitable for a dental practice or law practice, those are in a very different world. Apartment buildings, assisted living facilities, self storage, restaurants...

To be fair I'm not super up to date on the "uber of offices" concept that you are hinting at, except inasmuch as to say "um, didn't that idea kind of die off with COVID?"