Eragorn Northe

How to Buy Commercial Property Without Using Your Own Money

By Nick Gromicko and Rob London

There is practically an unlimited amount of money available to those who wish to borrow it. There is so much money, in fact, that you can literally buy commercial property worth millions of dollars without having to use any of your own money. It doesn't matter if you don't come from wealth, and many multi-millionaire commercial real estate investors make their money by not using their own!
Consider these three strategies:

• Subordination, also known as creative financing, occurs when the current property owner takes out a second mortgage on the property to cover funds that the purchaser is not capable of raising him or herself. If you are lucky enough to find a seller who is willing to subordinate a second mortgage to cover what you cannot pay, then the only money spent from your own pocket will be a down payment. When using this method, it is a good idea to have the owner subordinate only for a short period of time -- just until you can take the money generated from the commercial property and pay off the second mortgage, leaving the owner free of the property. At this point, payment for the property can be transacted because you will have generated cash through the commercial property. This situation may seem backward at first, but it works rather well if you find an owner who is very motivated to sell and he or she understands this method of investing. In the end, you will have purchased your money-generating property with none of your own money, and the previous owner will get paid for their property.
  
  Beware that the property must support the debt, as you do not want the owner getting into financial trouble with the second mortgage. Some owners are wary of this type of investing because purchasers may break agreements, and problems occur. Try to be an investor of integrity in order to maintain a reputation of acting in the ways in which you and the seller agreed.
  
  
• Use partners. If you are willing to do the work, there are experienced builders, investors and developers who will find the financing you need. The agreements can greatly differ, but your partner(s) will finance the deal and take a piece of the return that you create. Partners can offer invaluable experience and insight so that you can learn more about a specific type of property, and even the industry itself.
  

• If you cannot secure a loan to purchase a large property, try buying a piece of it. From there, you can borrow money against that piece in order to purchase the entire lot. This strategy works especially well with raw land, but it can be used in many different situations. Owners may not be aware that this option exists, so be sure to mention it to them, especially when purchasing many acres of land.

Before making your commercial real estate purchase, be sure to have the property inspected by a certified InterNACHI inspector. InterNACHI inspectors abide by a Code of Ethics and the International Standards of Practice for Inspecting Commercial Properties. Your options for securing outside financing may be overwhelming, but getting a professional commercial property inspection done right doesn't have to be.

Make sure your commercial property inspector uses the International Standards of Practice for Inspecting Commercial Properties.
For the best inspector in your neighborhood, visit www.InspectorSEEK.com

There are very few high-efficiency hot water heaters available. Changing your furnace may lead to having to think about your hot water heater.

Existing hot water heaters are often located vertically below the kitchen and bathrooms, where the water is used. If you are changing from an electric to a conventional gas hot water tank, and the new gas appliance has to be installed across the basement to be near the chimney, you will be waiting longer for the hot water at the tap.

Consider a gas hot water tank that has side-wall venting and does not require a chimney. This way, it can stay close to the plumbing appliances that use it.

Another hot water tank issue can occur when you switch from a conventional gas furnace and hot water tank to a new, high-efficiency side-wall vented furnace. Now the hot water tank has to heat up that big chimney all by itself, and you probably will have to pay for chimney relining.

It is often better, when choosing a chimneyless furnace, to switch your hot water tank to side-wall venting at the same time and seal the old chimney closed. However, side-wall vented hot water heaters are more expensive than conventional hot water heaters and can be noisier.

Instantaneous hot water heaters, which do not use a storage tank, are becoming more common. They may be more economical to operate.

There is a wide range of furnace efficiencies, although only high-efficiency gas furnaces are sold in Canada as of 2010. The range of efficiency will vary by fuel.

Electric furnaces work on electric resistance. The full 100 per cent of the energy consumed goes towards the heating of the house. The inefficiencies with electric heating happen before the electricity reaches your house. If the electricity is created by burning fuels, there are inefficiencies in that process plus losses as the electricity moves through the lines.

Oil furnaces have become far more efficient since the height of their popularity in the mid-twentieth century. Efficiencies have risen from roughly 60 per cent to well over 80 per cent as a result of advanced technologies - first to flame retention head burners and then to high static pressure burners. The more efficient oil furnaces require a better chimney than their conventional counterparts, so you will probably need to upgrade the chimney with a stainless steel liner inside the old clay tile. Make sure this is included in the quote.

Failure to have a properly sized chimney will result in excessive chimney condensation and eventual destruction in the case of masonry chimneys. There are high-efficiency, condensing oil furnaces as well. Earlier versions had reliability problems. The new generation, launched in 2003, may have resolved these difficulties.

New gas furnaces in Canada are high-efficiency (89 - 96 per cent) condensing furnaces. The high-efficiency furnaces use a plastic vent and are most often vented out the side wall. Propane furnaces are usually modified natural gas equipment.

There are usually two major reasons why you are choosing another forced-air furnace. The first is that your furnace does not function. It has just broken down, irrevocably, or it has been "red-tagged" or condemned by gas inspectors.

If it is winter, and your house is getting colder quickly, you may not have the luxury of making a reasoned choice on what to buy next. The other situation is that your furnace is getting old, or your fuel bills are becoming too excessive to tolerate.

In this case, you have the time to shop around and get the best furnace and fuel for your situation.

This About Your House is written to address both situations. If you have a dead furnace and a chilly house, you will probably take some shortcuts in your selection process.

Furnace Sizing

You probably do not need a furnace with the output of your current furnace. Most furnaces in Canadian houses can provide far more heat than the house requires. A properly sized furnace will be running almost continuously during the coldest day of the winter.

Having a furnace of a correct size will result in efficient operation during the whole heating season. A grossly oversized furnace will run only for a short period, never coming up to peak efficiency. Note, however, that sizing may not be a big issue with high-efficiency, condensing gas furnaces. Due to the design of condensing appliances, they are efficient even when oversized.

So, how do you size your furnace? You can have the contractor use a home heat loss calculation that is available from Canadian Standards Association (CAN/CSA F280) or a sizing procedure from the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI). Having a proper sizing will cost you $150 - $300 from a qualified contractor.