Raleigh, NC · Member since 2015 · 25 posts · 2 votes
I am interested in owning various types of commercial & multifamily real estate but I need income to support these goals. What small business has synergies with investing / owning commercial & multifamily real estate?
I am interested in owning various types of commercial & multifamily real estate but I need income to support these goals. What small business has synergies with investing / owning commercial & multifamily real estate?
I own a Real Estate Brokerage, Construction company, Property Management company, Title company & an Insurance company. All of these work great as they coincide with investing & need physical offices which are of course housed in my commercial buildings.
We have owned a renovation company for years (licensed GC) and will be reinstating our real estate brokerage license. Compliments what we are doing with flips very well.
"I am interested in owning various types of commercial & multifamily real estate but I need income to support these goals."
Sounds like you need more income and more savings. Based on your post you don't actually own these properties just yet. These are things you want. If that is the case you are going about it all wrong. You currently have nothing to spawn off from multifamily investing. What you want to do is increase your focus so you can make more money off of what your expertise is now. How are you going to make more money off of commercial if you are not in the industry now and have the skill set?
For me I am a realtor, I represent clients and I am an investor. My main source of income is representing clients then my 2nd source is spawning off from that through RE investments. See how that works. I would be going about it all wrong if I said I am a realtor and I want to make more money studying to be a programmer part time and do freelance work so I can save and invest. I would be better off just spending more time and energy being a realtor and making more sales. I am already an expert at that. Why deviate from my expertise.
Focus on one thing, master it, dominate it and see your income rise.
A couple things that could work well nearMF are storage units and Laundry facilities. Depending on your specific tenant type, a nearby gym may also be a great opportunity.
@Tom Keller This is an interesting question that is definitely going to be different for everyone! Having physical offices is definitely an advantage, but honestly it is probably personal preference and what works best for you as an individual. I liked Kris's idea of a nearby gym and also laundry units - those would be advantageous for sure.
I think looking through your expenses is a way to evaluate great ancillary business ideas. As an example, we have started a sewer and drain cleaning company because of the amount we were spending on it. If you have a large enough pool of captive customers it makes these sorts of businesses great additional opportunities.
Another example we have been toying with is a carpet cleaning business.
The list is really endless, you could start a property management firm (though , I don't recommend this), a lawn care business, etc.