Real Estate Investment,
Descriptions and Required Skills

Real Estate Investment Descriptions: Real estate investments can be categorized according to the use to which the property is put. It could be residential Flip over Flipping or commercial properties. The five primary commercial property types are: office, industrial, retail, land brokerage and multi-family. Other types include: hotels & motels, hospitals, nursing homes, recreational facilities, restaurants, movie theaters, nonprofit & municipal services, parking lots, storage houses, etc. Different types of properties require different types of analysis and information before making an investment decision. Expenses and taxes also vary by property type. Understanding the characteristics of each commercial real estate type is essential.

Investors Flip Over Flipping:

Home flippers are continuing to view the current real estate market as a buying and selling opportunity. Click Investors_Flipping_Over.asp to get more information about rules and restriction on flipping the investment properties.

Office:

Office properties are occupied by professional or business offices. The term ‘’office'' can refer to whole Buildings, floors, parts of floors, or office parks. The location of the property affects market value and rent. Properties that are in downtown or in the Central Business District CBD) are valued differently than suburban properties. The office space measurement standards are very important and differ from market to market. Measuring Office Space: Useable vs. Rentable Square Footage should be understood and noted.

Expertise and knowledge that are required to provide data for decision making for office owners and investors are: location, knowledge of local market conditions and trends, tracking rents, rent concessions, operating expense pass through, changes in technology, speed to market, demographic data and economic performance, negotiating skills and other factors.

Industrial:

Industrial properties house production, manufacturing, high-tech, distribution, or warehouse operations. These properties may also include some office space or storage space. By broad physical and functional characteristics, including space falls into the following categories, in which each having its own characteristics and requirement. For example; sometimes Bulk properties are measured in cubic feet because height can be critical to some industrial tenants:
Bulk Office/warehouse
Office/service Freestanding
Multi-tenant
Large manufacturing
Research and development
Industrial park 

Retails:

Retail properties are used exclusively to market and sell goods and services to a vast variety of consumers. The configuration of these properties is designed to meet a particular consumer’s buying preferences. Retail properties fall into general categories such as regional malls, neighborhood  shopping centers, commercial strip properties, and single-building properties. In a more specific way, Retail properties fall into one of the following properties, each having its own characteristics and requirement. For example; while 20 miles distance and 30 minutes driving time is acceptable to drive to an outlet center, but 5 miles or 10 minutes drive to a neighborhood center might be too much and unacceptable.

Expertise and knowledge that are required to provide data for decision making for retail owners and investors are: location, speed to market, demographic data and economic performance.
Shopping Center
Neighborhood center
Community center
Regional center
Super-regional center
Power center
Fashion/Specialty center
Theme/festival center
Outlet center
Free-standing store
Commercial strip properties

Lands:

Expertise and knowledge that are required to provide data for decision making for Land owners and investors are: provide solutions based on constantly evolving factors such as zoning and regulatory issues, demographic and traffic patterns, and overall political and economic trends.

Multi-Family:

Duplexes and fourplexes are two-to four-unit buildings that may be owner occupied. They are usually an individual’s first investment outside of a single-family residence. Individual investors or partnerships often own apartment buildings with 4 to 60 units. Apartment properties with more than 60 units normally are owned by experienced investors. Larger apartment properties are referred to as multi-family properties in commercial real estate.

Expertise and knowledge that are required to provide data for decision making for multi-family owners and investors are: market knowledge, research, financing and analysis of market trends in vacancy, rent escalations, comparable cap rates and buyer trends.

Required Skills in Real Estate Investment Properties:
There are a lot of details to be handled when selling, leasing or purchasing a commercial property. It requires strong analytical skills and expertise to maximize value for our clients. In summary it requires:

* experience,  
* broad knowledge of the market dynamics trends,
* access to large real estate databases and legal forms,
* access to the latest technologies & tools,
* use state-of-the-art geospatial technology for analyses.
* art of market and financial analysis,
* art of Decision Making (e.g., Conduct lease vs. purchase market analysis),
* knowing the neighborhood and pricing it right,
* negotiation skills,
* marketing,
* professional networking,
* handling volumes of paperwork,
* allocate a lot of time consuming tasks and many more tasks. ";

User Decision Analysis:
Make sound leasing decisions about virtually any aspect of commercial real estate:
•       Identify space users and investors
•       Compare financing options
•       Evaluate leasing alternatives
•       Negotiate terms and complete transactions

Investment Analysis:
Analyze the critical aspects of the acquisition and ownership of commercial investment property:
•       Assess the client's needs to determine investment strategy
•       Analyze various properties to select the optimal investment
•       Examine various disposition strategies

Identify and evaluate the key variables of market and location analysis
•       Estimate supply and forecast demand for property
•       Select a site, based on location and site analysis
•       Analyze retail, office, residential, and industrial uses for a site
•       Calculate property value
•       Measure investment performance
•       Finance real estate investments
•       Compare before- and after-tax yields

Miscellanous Information 

Click here to see the FHA rules, regulations and restrictions on Home Flippers.

Commercial Web Links

Bahman's Team Commercial
National Association of Industrial and Office Properties
Cities_Links.asp
Commercial Real Estate Women
The Real Estate Council
Real Estate Financial Executives Association
North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors
Texas Land Title Association
Texas Department of Insurance
Globe Street Real Estate News
Urban Land Institute
International Council of Shopping Centers