Investing In Commercial Property

Compared to residential property investments, commercial property offers some key advantages:

Long-term secure cashflow -- Commercial lets normally have long lease contracts, with periods of 10 years and more not being uncommon. In addition to this, commercial property tenants are less likely to default on payments and even if the tenant goes into liquidation, the liquidator may continue paying the rent in order to stop the lease being forfeited.

Maintenance -- Commercial tenants are generally liable for the maintenance and upkeep of the property, contrasting with residential leasing, where the onus tends to be on the landlord.

Income yield -- Commercial property tends to deliver a relatively high income yield throughout the rental period. In comparison residential property investors rely on the capital value of the house increasing to generate a good return. This is fine during periods of rising property prices, but less beneficial during property slumps.

Commercial property investments have also performed well in terms of growth and stability, compared to equities and gilts over recent years.

Few personal investors will have sufficient funds to invest directly in a commercial property, however there are opportunities for indirect investment.

For the small investor, only looking to invest a couple of thousand pounds, the choices are limited to a small number of unit trusts and life funds that invest in property or buying shares in property companies, such as British Land and Slough Estates (though these are often more linked to the equities market, rather than property market performance).

Larger investors have a greater range of options available, with a number of products offering a chance to invest in geared property investments through a limited partnership structure. Often these products will require a minimum investment in the region of £25,000 to £50,000, which is invested in a single property.

A few investors will be able to buy a complete property directly, however the cost of the property is likely to be 10 or 20 times the size of a residential buy-to-let, making direct investment prohibitive to most.

In line with all investments, commercial property investment comes with its own risks:

Poor liquidity -- Compared to equities and bonds, property has poor liquidity, both in the time spent finding a buyer and making the transaction. This can be further emphasised in poor market conditions when the ability to find a buyer offering the right price will become very difficult.

Poor diversification -- The more diverse an investment portfolio, the less susceptible it will be to tough market conditions. Investing in a single property can be a risky challenge.

Market performance -- The property market is prone to cycles, as yields grow and decline depending on the level of supply and demand for commercial property. Current rental rates could decline in the future.

Sector performance -- A decline in the sector that your property services could affect your investment. For example a period of poor sales performance and market withdrawal in the retail sector could lead to the demand for small store, supermarket, department store and warehouse property to decline sharply.

Location -- the location of the property is very important and will be a major factor in determining the value of property and rental income. Easy access to transport networks is an obvious plus factor for most tenants, but consideration should also be given to future developments in the area. For example, the development of a new supermarket, might depreciate the value of small shops.

Type of building -- The requirements of tenants can change over time, with implications on the type of building they need. For example the move to open plan office space, could make older buildings with their rigid enclosed spaces redundant. Many companies also look for facilities like air conditioning and the ability to connect computer terminals through under floor wiring.

Tenant quality -- Properties whose tenants are reliable, present a low credit risk and hold a long-term lease will hold a premium value.

Market factors -- Try to identify which sectors and sub-sectors of the market will perform well in the future. The same can be said for geographic regions, which might receive future government or multi-national investment.

Don Suter is Managing Editor of the UK Property Portal (http://www.ukpropertyportal.co.uk), an online directory and magazine for UK property sales, rental, surveyors, mortgages, conveyancing, property insurance, removals, news, investment and development

After 30 years of marriage, Sharon and Michael Newman decided it was finally time to move from the Catskills to New York City.

The house, designed by the architect Eric Fisher, looms over the street like a big industrial arm.

A town house in Dallas, a midcentury modern in Rhode Island and a Tudor in Denver.

Meet the real estate brokerâ€™s interns: an ambitious group willing to do anything, earn nothing and wake up early on a Sunday to fluff the couch cushions at open houses.

For a century, Roosevelt Island housed a grim penitentiary. It was demolished in the 1930s.

More borrowers are opting for fixed-rate loans with terms other than the standard 30 or 15 years, especially when it comes to refinancings.

Two more glass skyscrapers are added to a group of towers on the waterfront of Long Island City.

Insurance coverage for a co-op unit; when a tenant is â€˜blacklistedâ€™; a co-op is smaller than estimated.

The market for $500,000-to-$600,000 houses in Westchester has become especially active.

A shaky real estate market means more sellers are providing buyer concessions, from gift cards to help with paying property taxes.

Houses of worship are adaptable to residential and other uses as congregations dwindle.

Nearly two million Americans could benefit from mortgage relief from the nationâ€™s biggest banks, as part of a broad government settlement to be announced on Thursday.

A cold war-era satellite relay station is for sale in California after a Silicon Valley mogul gave up on plans to turn it into a weekend home.

How can I make my front porch more appealing to buyers?

Court hearings meant to protect New York homeowners from foreclosure are hopelessly slowed by endless paperwork and requests for additional information.

The Bay Area and Silicon Valley expect the windfall from the Facebook stock offering to make their in-demand region even hotter.

A Ditmas Park co-op, Upper East Side co-op and an Upper West Side condo.

A 10-year-old house with six bedrooms in Montvale, N.J., and a renovated four-bedroom in Bronxville, N.Y.

Prices in some parts of the country are still off by as much as 25 percent from their 2007 peak.

Trinity Church is the largest landlord in Hudson Square and is part of the effort to rezone the area to residential from manufacturing.

Rising oil prices and a boom in shale exploration are leading companies to add office space in the Houston area, most notably Exxon Mobil.

Ms. de FranÃ§a is the president and chief executive of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, which focuses on new residential developments.

In Manhattan, parking lots and garages are making way for all sorts of development, especially luxury condominiums.

Gray Burton lives in a 250-square-foot space he furnished with antiques heâ€™s been collecting for years.

A photogenic Westchester suburb with high-profile residents is also known for its art museum and a performing arts center.

Wealthy investors are wiring millions of dollars to New York to snatch up a piece of 157 West 57th Street - what will be New York City's tallest residential building, with 90 floors overlooking Central Park.

An apartment at the Trump International Hotel and Tower, opposite Central Park, was bought anonymously through a limited liability company.

Homes in Dallas, Rhode Island and Denver.

A Ditmas Park co-op, Upper East Side co-op and an Upper West Side condo.

A 10-year-old house with six bedrooms in Montvale, N.J., and a renovated four-bedroom in Bronxville, N.Y.

Compare the cost of renting and buying equivalent homes.

For recently divorced men, a new breed of decorators offers help navigating a strange new world.

Plants that light up the winter garden can be found at Broken Arrow Nursery in Connecticut, which has long been a favorite of gardening geeks.

A sister in need drew the painter Beverly McIver back home to North Carolina, unaware that a new beginning was in store for both of them.

A jewelry designer finds striking new objects for storage.

Timothy Sakamoto and Jochen Repolust are part of the small but growing niche making mobile apps focused on specific works of architecture.

To promote an auction of 20th- and 21st-century design, the interior designer Stephen Sills has created a preview exhibition in an apartment at the Apthorp.

Fishs Eddy now sells plates acquired from the archives of the now-defunct Syracuse China Corporation, many more than 100 years old.

The designer Russell Greenberg creates custom baby rattles with ends shaped like profiles of mom and dad.