For the average small real estate investor, outright ownership of an office building or an apartment complex is not feasible. It requires a lot of initial capital (30% down payment typically), real estate know-how, and hands-on personal involvement. It is not passive, and it’s not cheap! Plus, it involves a significant amount of risk. It’s much harder to recover from a mistake when you buy a commercial property than, say, 10 single-family homes.
Luckily, you can invest through crowdfunding companies or REITS and take advantage of this potentially lucrative market for far less money and time. And if you’re interested in commercial real estate, but don’t have the capital to invest, you could consider a service like Hometap. Hometap invests in the equity of your home in exchange for a portion of the proceeds when you sell.