Commercial vs. Residential

[Greg P.]

Has anyone done both with success? My question is that it seems that Residential takes a lot of work for small profits. And it looks like Commercial would take a lot of work but with a lot of profits? Anyone have success in both areas, and could tell me if it's better just to start out in Commercial?

[Robert Jenkins]

I've worked brokerage on both. Familiar with the investment aspect on both and plan to invest in both.

Commercial isn't necessarily more risk just more money. If you review leases correctly and buy the right asset it can be relatively riskless. IE. McDonalds in a suburban Los Angeles Neighborhood with 10+ years on the lease. Well concider it money in the bank because McD's is going nowhere. Of course though you'll pay a premium for the secuirty and not make as much.

The returns will be less of course with any "safe" investment, but the money is really in the mom and pop multi tenant strip centers (aka Riskaay). These tenants can walk and really not be held accountable because the cost of sueing usually ends up being more then what they would have paid and they usually can't afford any of it so they file for bankruptcy and u come out of pocket for lawyer fees. At the same time though they don't have high powere corporate lawyers writing their leases so u can work around things get prices up sell on higher cap rates with higher rents and still make more money!!!

Anyways i'm rambling. Buy some houses 1031 into some commercial building 1031 those into bigger centers 1031 those into trump towers when he's dead or bk again 1031 that into world domination (by then we should have real estate on the moon or mars)