{"id":111853,"date":"2019-06-19T12:00:35","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T18:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/?p=111853"},"modified":"2026-10-27T16:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T22:00:19","slug":"first-commercial-deal-investor-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/first-commercial-deal-investor-advice","title":{"rendered":"Why Is the First Commercial Deal the Hardest? Advice From Investors"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the second blog post of three meant to share answers about commercial investing from the BiggerPockets community. Click here to read the first, “Should You Invest in Commercial Properties? 10 Investors Weigh In.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In an attempt to spotlight the opportunities associated with commercial investing, I asked commercial investors on BiggerPockets three commonly asked questions about this type of investing.<\/p>\n

The questions are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. What made you decide to invest in commercial properties?<\/li>\n
  2. What was the hardest part about the first commercial deal you completed?<\/li>\n
  3. What should every first-time commercial investor know to be prepared to speak with a lender?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In this post, we tackle question No. 2.<\/p>\n

    What Was the Hardest Part About the First Commercial Deal You Completed?<\/h2>\n

    Here\u2019s what investors have to say!<\/p>\n

    “Getting others to see the vision.”<\/h3>\n

    \u201cGetting others to see the vision for the project and putting their hard-earned money behind it.\u201d \u2014 Karen Margrave<\/a>, Redding, CA, Realtor with 35 years of experience<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u201cOvercoming the belief that everyone should get started with a single-family house.<\/strong> My first investment purchase was a $1 million office building, and I knew I had to get it done in order to prove my business model.\u201d \u2014 Danny Randazzo<\/a>, Charleston, SC, Apartment Syndicator & Commercial Investor with 6 years of experience<\/em><\/p>\n

    “Getting commercial property financing.”<\/h3>\n

    \u201cGetting financing on a vacant, foreclosed, mixed-use building in what was then a bad neighborhood.\u201d \u2014 Jim Schneck<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

    \u201cSpent a long time looking for and finding the right lender.\u201d \u2014 Aravind M.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    “Overcoming a learning curve.”<\/h3>\n

    \u201cThe hardest part for me was learning how to be a landlord<\/strong> as I went. I had no experience with commercial real estate and was simultaneously trying to develop my dental practice. It took a lot of dedication and time to learn, network, and really put myself out there to find tenants, negotiate leases, and be ready to manage projects when something broke, build-outs needed to be done, or building improvements were needed.”\u00a0\u2014 Will Kenner<\/a>, Seattle, WA, Rental Property Investor with 10 years of experience<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u201cFinding a good deal<\/strong> on a property close to downtown was difficult. A vacant 4-office building came on the market and I decided to make it work.\u201d \u2014 Bob Langworthy<\/a>, Brunswick, ME, Accountant & Real Estate Investor with 10 years of experience<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u201cLearning all of the lingo.<\/strong> When you first start in commercial real estate, it can be like learning a new language. I started at a large REIT and had to write down every word and acronym I did not understand during a meeting to Google later<\/strong>.\u201d \u2014 Anonymous<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u201cLearning the zoning and ordinances and rules.<\/strong> I bought the land while zoned ag, even though it had a large structure on it. I got the necessary permits to demolish and burn the existing buildings on site. There were also 3 buildings that I dismantled and sold. When I was burning the debris, the neighbor got pissed. The state was worried I was burning asbestos but I had a professional remove it. I am sure glad he documented everything well. Building the new building was uneventful, except for pouring a nice truck dock and a bunch of concrete inside that had to get torn out. The truck dock is beautiful but has never been used. I guess to sum it up, being new was the hardest part about the first deal<\/strong>.\u201d \u2014 Anonymous<\/em><\/p>\n

    “Planning upgrades.”<\/h3>\n

    \u201cJust getting into all the units and building out that day 1 punch list. Prior to jumping into a 7-family house, I only house hacked. Trying to get my arms around deferred maintenance on 7 units was tough. I trimmed it down to only focus on the things where I had immediate returns from (heating system, insulation) and health\/safety (fire alarm system), then set it up so the tenants can request maintenance from the property manager on the things they wanted fixed. This seems to be working out well and prevented me from spending money fixing something that the tenants find no value in.\u201d \u2014 Jonathan Bombaci<\/a>, Lowell, MA, Real Estate Agent with 1 year of experience<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"strip<\/p>\n

    Takeaways & Resources<\/h2>\n

    Takeaway 1:<\/strong> Managing a commercial property can be difficult.<\/p>\n