Choosing the right investment vehicle can prove to be quite the challenge. Everyone has their own opinions about what type of investments are best and which will be the most lucrative, the easiest to manage, the least risky, etc. And, with all that handy insight and advice, how could you possibly narrow it down? Well, that starts by taking the time to explore the options yourself, learn what each offers and then decide what combination of investment vehicle and strategy works best for you.

In this blog we’ll take a brief look at commercial real estate, including what makes it a good investment and why so many people choose it.

Return On Investment (ROI)

One of the biggest benefits of commercial real estate investing is that it garners a much higher ROI, on average, than other investments, even when compared to residential real estate. When the deals are bigger, so are the returns. Just like how people are always going to need housing, people will always going to need a space for their business. Covid may have tweaked some of the rules, but it didn’t rewrite them.

Diversification

Another big reason people choose to invest in CRE is because it …

True or false: Hard money lenders look only at the property they are underwriting, and do NOT look at the investor?

In short, the answer to that question is “false.” For all lenders, even conventional lenders, the most important factor in any loan is the underlying asset to be mortgaged. This is especially true for hard money lenders. On a stabilized asset, with a good debt coverage ratio, a hard money lender will rarely, if ever, ask for any personal financials. The property secures the loan, and the lender typically lends to an entity, rather than an individual or group.

This structure, however, does not mean that the Lender ignores whether or not a borrower can repay the loan and make timely monthly payments. For example, a loan on vacant land would likely be a scenario where some sort of personal financial data may be requested as the property itself would not be producing any income to cover the monthly debt service.

Terms and Due Diligence

The terms of the typical hard money loan are simple: The amount given to a borrower is based on the value of the property being used as collateral. Generally, terms are NOT based on …