I discovered Bigger Pockets after listening to a few episodes of the podcast. Really great stuff so far! I live in San Francisco, CA and work as an engineer in the tech industry. I don't have too much experience with real estate (besides purchasing my primary residence) so I've really been enjoying the content here so far :) My goal in the near-term future is to buy & hold at least one commercial property somewhere in Northern California (probably not San Francisco due to insanely high costs).
Welcome to BP, and congratulations on making the decision to invest in your future via real estate.
I have written a few blog posts that may help you get started here on BP, and with your investing. Please click on the links, give them a read, and share your thoughts in the comments.
First is a post that I feel will help not get overwhelmed with the amount of info that is here on BP:
What type of commercial property were you looking at? residential 5+ units or like a strip mall? Also why commercial? If it is not residential it may be harder to find tenants and location will matter a lot more than it otherwise would, which can be a pitfall for an out of area investor.
I've been focusing my search mainly on things such as warehouses and retail. The appeal to me is that they seem to require less management than multifamily and have longer-term leases. I am not opposed to residential, but since I'd be investing 1-2 hrs away from my primary residence, I'd probably have to use a property management company.
You can do either but in most cases warehouses and retail require more of a specialization and knowing the area very well. Most retail is for small businesses many of which go out of business in a few years, and warehouses can certainly have extended vacancies
Welcome to BP, and congratulations on making the decision to invest in your future via real estate.
I have written a few blog posts that may help you get started here on BP, and with your investing. Please click on the links, give them a read, and share your thoughts in the comments.
First is a post that I feel will help not get overwhelmed with the amount of info that is here on BP: