Real Estate Information
Home Find a topic Links Guest Book
Welcome

Investing In Commercial Property


Investing in commercial property is well beyond the financial means of most people. Few can afford the large sums of money involved in buying commercial real estate. For most of us our investment in real estate is limited to where we live - our home.

But unfortunately our home doesn't generate any income or cash flow. In fact it probably costs us money in maintenance, rates and upkeep.

Sure the financial incentive to invest in your own home is to offset the cost of renting or the capital gains you get when you sell your house if it's value has gone up.

Most financial advisors will tell you the best investment strategy is to pay off your home mortgage as quickly as possible to reduce your debt.

But what about after that if you want to invest in property? You have a choice - invest in another residential property or a commercial property.

Residential properties can often provide a good cash flow from rent, but there are associated hassles with getting good tenants, poor tenants trashing your property and the ongoing cost of maintenance. If you like playing the role of the landlord and being involved in all those activities great! But what if you want a hassle free commercial property professionally managed.

An increasingly popular investment amongst smaller investors and retirees is through syndicated property trusts. This is known as direct property investment where smaller investors buy small parcels of a larger property through a prospectus. These projects are managed and marketed by licensed property dealers.

The prospectus is lodged with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission and the property and syndicate is professionally managed.

As of December 1999 there were 77 Property Syndicates operating in Australia with more than $1.45 billion invested. Nearly 60 per cent of these investments use borrowed money, known as "gearing".

The benefits for investors buying into property syndicates is they can purchase relatively small parcels, for example as little as $10,000 and gain exposure to the commercial property market.

There is also the added benefit of the commercial property market often being in negative correlation with the share market so investors can spread their risk across their portfolio.

Another benefit provided is the regular income provided by syndicated property trusts, high yields and relatively low risk.

A typical breakdown of a property syndicate is the property management company buys a commercial building ranging from between $10 to $30 million and then they market this to around 300 individual investors who each have an equity subscription of between $40,000 and $50,000 each.

Simon Toovey is the Managing Director of Glenmont Properties a Perth-based property syndicate.

He says their main objective is to invest in properties that have quality tenants, long-term leases, strong returns and good potential for capital growth.

"The benefits of investing in a property syndicate are that it can enhance your lifestyle by providing a regular income, you can set and forget it," he said.

Toovey gives the example of a typical investor profile of someone looking for secure, regular income rather than capital growth.

'The most important aspects are location, lease, tenant and management. It's no good having a lease when the tenant holding that lease is a $2 company. Ideally the tenant is either a government department or a major, "blue chip" corporation," he said.

"Ultimately, it's all about income. The right property investment should provide you with more income, income that will enhance your lifestyle, either now or in the future."

Property syndicates may not be for all investors but they do provide an option for diversifying your investment portfolio.

Ten Tips for First Time Property Syndicate Investors

1. Set your objectives and work out a budget for how much you want to invest.

2. Understand the risk/reward tradeoff. The higher the return the higher the risk. Aim for syndicates with a return of between 8 and 10 per cent.

3. Understand the risks of property syndicates. These are a potentially unfavorable market when selling, rising interest rates, member liabilities and future potential tax changes.

4. Remember this is a long-term investment, usually around 7 years. It is "illiquid"; meaning you can't take your money out of the investment during this time.

5. Identify investment syndicates with quality property in a good location with potential for capital growth. Ask for a copy of any independent investment and ratings reports.

6. Analyze the lease arrangement. Ask how much rent or income will the property produce, what the income growth is and how long will this continue?

Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries.

You can subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com. Thomas can be contacted directly at +6189388 6888 and is available to speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom's blog at http://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com.


MORE RESOURCES:

SEC fines California hedge fund manager $100000 in real estate ...
Los Angeles Times, CA - 21 minutes ago
Mark JP Boucher of Portola Valley helped raise the money by falsely claiming the investments were secured by real estate when one company never owned ...
Hedge fund manager settles fraud suit San Francisco Chronicle
all 6 news articles


Hochfelder Accused of Larceny In New York Real-Estate Deals
Wall Street Journal - 3 hours ago
By PETER GRANT NEW YORK -- Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau announced that he has arrested and indicted highflying real-estate investor Adam ...
NYC real estate mogul charged in $17M fraud scheme Newsday
Real estate titan nabbed in 17M scam New York Daily News
Arrest Furthers a Real Estate Star's Fall New York Sun
NY1 - 1010 Wins
all 8 news articles


Sunrise Real Estate Group, Inc. Decides to Restate Previous ...
MarketWatch - 7 hours ago
The common stock of Sunrise Real Estate Group, Inc. is quoted and traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the trading symbol "SRRE". ...
Sunrise Real Estate Restates Prior Financial Statements - Quick facts RTT News
China Education Alliance Appoints The Ruth Group MarketWatch
all 19 news articles


Real estate investment firms combine
Bizjournals.com, NC - 9 hours ago
Miami-based NAI Miami Commercial Real Estate Services Worldwide is absorbing the real estate investment sales group of a Los Angeles-based real estate ...


Five X Securities goes after real estate investments
Bizjournals.com, NC - 12 hours ago
A former executive at NFP Securities has created a new local real estate securities firm, Five X Securities. Daniel Young, chief executive officer of ...


Investors Real Estate Trust Announces Increase in Regular ...
FOXBusiness - 7 hours ago
Investors Real Estate Trust's Board of Trustees also declared today a distribution of 51.56 cents per share on the Company's Series A Cumulative Redeemable ...
Holloway Lodging Real Estate Investment Trust Announces Changes to ... Canada NewsWire (press release)
all 9 news articles


Premier Walking Horse Facility to Sell at Real Estate Auction in ...
MarketWatch - 11 hours ago
... King Auction Company, the nation's leading real estate auction marketing firm specializing in luxury properties, will manage the sale of the property. ...


Emerging Real Estate Showcases Prime Berlin Investment Properties ...
FOXBusiness - 10 hours ago
After months of careful research, Emerging Real Estate identified two outstanding developments, one in Prenzlauer Berg - the most fashionable district in ...


Hamish Linklater Lists His Nest in Eagle Rock
Mosnar Communications Inc Blog, GA - 10 hours ago
For better and worse, Your Mama is obsessed with both real estate and celebrities. This blog is intended to bring the fruits of our labor to all the ...


Real Estate: Opportunities in the US real estate market
Jerusalem Post, Israel - 58 minutes ago
By JOHN BENZAQUEN There has been much talk about the effect of the subprime mortgage crisis in the US on its real estate market. ...

Real-Estate - Google News

Home | Guest Book |Site Map | Recommended Resources | Search

Powered By: TJTMEDIA

© 2006
Google