Want to try your hand at investing in non-residential properties, but wondering where you can turn to get commercial real estate financing for your new business venture? While finding this type of financing isn’t always easy for the beginning investor, once you know the steps to take, getting financing for your commercial investments becomes a lot easier.

Before you get your hopes up too high, though, you should be aware that the majority of those plans to get make a million overnight by grabbing up commercial real estate for no money down are nothing but scams dreamt up by people trying to sell you something. Getting some serious financing to help you in your plans is absolutely possible, but your chances of becoming a commercial real estate investor for free are slim to none.

In this field, the next best thing to a free lunch is owner financing. This is where the seller keeps up a second mortgage so you won’t have to invest any of your own money. As you might have guessed, though, getting this type of financing is extremely rare. We’re talking unicorns and hen’s teeth, here. Even in cases where you can get a deal like this, the seller is ultimately getting a better deal and making a profit off you.

So what’s the most realistic option? If you need financing for commercial real estate purchase, your best bet is to go through a mortgage lender. The average commercial bank just won’t take the risk of lending money to commercial real estate investors, but mortgage lenders are a little more used to high risk loans. In particular, look for a lender that specifically mentions its willingness to work with unconventional borrowers or those with bad credit. This will help you find those lenders that are open to taking on a little risk.

Don’t be fooled into thinking you can easily get a loan to cover all your expenses, though. For one thing, most commercial real estate financing loans won’t cover more than 75% of the property’s appraised value. The rest of the money you’ll have to come up with yourself. You’ll also need to put a fair amount of effort into proving that the property has enough debt-repayment potential.

If you don’t think a commercial mortgage lender is for you, you can always look for a private mortgage lender. These individuals, often called angel investors, offer financing for property with a good chance of high returns despite a high risk. Unfortunately, they’re not too easy to find.  First talk to a commercial mortgage lender about your chances of obtaining financing and while you’re there, ask if they can connect with any private mortgage lenders.

Obtaining commercial real estate financing isn’t so easy to get if you just jump in and expect someone to throw your dreams a “no money down” life preserver. If, however, you’re skilled at choosing investment properties with low risks, but the potential for high returns, you shouldn’t have much trouble getting financing through a mortgage lender.

Through the 3Net Lease Course University Partners offers, credit quality is it’s own section.  As it is perhaps one of the most critical areas an investor must focus on.  After your tenant moves into your building or you buy the building your tenant owns – you have a vested interest in your tenants business.

From an investor’s perspective, a triple-net-leased property’s price should reflect the tenant’s ability to meet the terms of the lease. The capitalization rate indicates this variable risk factor, because it directly represents the relationship of the stipulated net income to the price a knowledgeable investor is willing to pay. The higher the risk that a tenant may not be solvent over the long term, the higher the cap rate should be.

A tremendous amount of information is available to assist in evaluating the current and future financial strength of a tenant. If it is a public company, the credit rating is fairly easy to determine through a number of sources, including sites available on the Internet such as http://www.companysleuth.com/, http://www.zacks.com/, and http://www.freeedgar.com/.

The trend toward mergers and divestments adds another dimension to credit reviews. Even though the resulting entity usually is stronger than the original company, the risk of the unknown can be perceived as a negative factor.

If the business is complex or privately held, contact a fee-based tenant underwriting service for added assistance.

Clearly the residential real estate market is in a recession.  Now, some of the commercial real estate market is entering a recession.  I’m not claravoiant so I don’t know what the future will look like, but I am fairly certain people will continue to work on their car, g, Tet the prescriptions filled at pharmacies, and occasionally eat out.

I have just listed the characteristics of major tenants for triple net leases.  It should also be pointed out that although several retail property companies are having more vacancy than last year, several are continuing to expand.

Jamie Woodwell, the senior director of commercial/multifamily research at the Mortgage Bankers Association said, “The global credit crunch meant a net decline in the balance of mortgages held in commercial mortgage-backed securities, collateralized debt obligations and other asset-backed securities, but banks, thrifts, life insurance companies, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and nearly every other investor group increased their holdings of commercial and multifamily mortgages during the quarter.”

The bottom line is this:  DO NOT WAIT on the perfect environment to invest.  If you do – YOU WILL NEVER INVEST, AND YOU WILL GET LEFT BEHIND.

If you’ve been looking for triple net lease sample forms online, you’ve probably discovered they’re not too easy to find. Look up the phrase “triple net lease sample forms” in any of the major search engines and you’re presented with a bunch of poorly designed sites run by people who are more interested in selling you something than in helping you out by supplying free sample forms.

That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find these forms online, though. When you need to find sample lease forms on the Internet, the best place to start your search is with the Web sites of real estate agents that deal with commercial property. Often these sites will offer collection of lease form intended to help out current clients and attract new clients to the sites.

These really are ideal places to get your forms because the free forms provided by real estate agencies are almost always written by lawyers who specialize in lease forms. Of course, you’d hope this would be the case with any sample form out there, but all too often it’s not.

Just as important as the fact that they were professionally written is the fact that the forms real estate agents use are almost guaranteed to be completely up-to-date. The problem even with sites for real estate investors is that the forms they offer may have been collected months or even years ago and are no longer current. That means they could leave some gapping legal loop-holes or even lead you into creating a lease form that’s legally invalid, leaving you open to all kinds of financial losses and major headaches. Considering what’s at stake, you’re better of taking the time to find correctly worded, up-to-date forms than just quickly downloading any sample you find.

While real estate agency sites are the best places to find sample forms, they’re by no means the only places. Other good places to get them are sites for commercial real estate investors. The sites you choose to get your forms from should provide professional level content that’s regularly up-dated. If the articles on the site are this high quality, usually you can be sure the sample lease forms they offer are at least good enough to give you an accurate idea of what needs to go into a triple net lease document. Keep in mind that some of the best sites for real estate investors are paid membership sites. If there’s a site you’ve been thinking about joining anyway, drop the administration an email asking if their site offers lease forms to members. If they do, there’s a good reason to finally sign up.

These are the two best places to find samples of triple net lease forms, but there are also certain places you don’t want to get your forms from. Those are the junk sites that just have a little filler content and a bunch of ads for various investment programs. Sites like these are highly unlikely to provide good sample forms.

If you need quality triple net lease sample forms, stick to real estate agents and investor sites with high quality content and, with a little hunting, you’ll find some forms you can use.

Obviously, there are more opportunities at the international level regarding commercial real estate investing than there are simply in your own country.  However, I think it is important to still fully understand the local commercial real estate market you are investing in and know the applicable

Here is an excerpt from an interview I found on NREI’s web-site:
Expert Q&A James A. Fetgatter, CEO of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE)

This month, the Global Real Estate Monitor connected with James Fetgatter, CEO of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE), to discuss foreign investment activity in the U.S. commercial real estate sector.

GREM: For AFIRE members, what are their thoughts on the current economic downturn the U.S. is experiencing?

FETGATTER: Foreign investors are for the most part taking a “wait and see” attitude about the U.S. economic downturn. Whether the U.S. is in a recession has been a question for some time now and foreign investors sometimes have less of a “feel” for the economy than those who reside in the U.S. In fact, it is often difficult for investors living in other countries to distinguish between the troubles in the residential markets with the state of the commercial market. This is especially true for upper management and Boards who may be reading major media reports.

Although foreign investors may be slightly cautious about the U.S. economy, they still consider the U.S. to be the most stable and secure real estate market in the world. The resilience of the U.S. economy is well known and can be relied upon to protect asset values for the long-term investor.

I made the bold impressions.  I find it interesting that international real estate investors are investing in the United States.  Hopefully, the foreign investors that buy our book will utilize our triple net lease strategies.

Common Conversation regarding having rental property: Why don’t you get into the rental business?
I don’t want to deal with tenants!  Some don’t pay, then if something breaks you have to fix it, and of-course it would probably happen at the most in-opportune time, like when I’m on vacation

Triple Net Leases are so good, that the slang term for them for real estate professionals is a “Hell or High Water Lease”  Meaning coming hell or high water, the tenant is going to continue to pay for everything, and you are just going to sit back and collect your check every month!

Sometimes this slang-term also refers to a type of triple net lease which requires the tenant to rebuild after a casualty, regardless of the adequacy of insurance proceeds, and to pay rent after partial or full condemnation. These leases are not terminable by the tenant, nor are rent abatements permissible. The concept is to make the rent absolutely net under all circumstances, equivalent to the obligations of a bond: hence the “hell-or-high water” moniker.

This is a brief summary of what the maintenance clause will look like in a triple net lease contract:

Z Company has signed a new 15 Year NN Lease with a projected Rent Commencement Date of 7/1/2007. The Lease includes 4, 5-Year options to extend with 10% rent increases in each. Z Company pays real estate taxes directly, is required to maintain general liability insurance additionally Z Company is required to reimburse Landlord for insurance policy premiums related to fire and property damage. Landlord shall be responsible for all HVAC repairs and replacements during the first year of the Lease; thereafter Z Company shall be responsible for all repairs and replacements up to $500 per occurrence and no more than $1,000 annually. Because the parking lot is concrete, Z Company is responsible for the repair and maintenance.

The maintenance on the HVAC is required because usually, you are acquiring a new building and their might be some problems with the initial installation.  The good thing is that whoever installed the HVAC will usually do the repairs for free.  Additionally, the HVAC unit will probably be under-warranty so this is not a significant risk at all!

When considering lease options as a landlord or tenant, the full terms of the lease should always be read before committing. In the case of a triple net lease, make sure that all the terms are clear and agreed upon by both parties. Consulting a lawyer who specializes in real estate is an excellent idea.

So go get’em, come hell or high water, I think Triple Net Leases are a good deal for any serious real estate investor, that wants to break into the inter-sanctum of commercial real estate.

I’m sure by now you know that I am a huge fan of Triple Net Leases for commercial Real Estate investing.  You can actually use a triple net lease for any type of real estate investing.  Everyone out there has heard horror stories from people who have been harassed by their tenants.  I’m really no different.  I actually had one tenant complain to me about the way the bathroom window was opening.

Now however I’m prepared.  A Triple Net Lease completely eliminates the stress of dealing with all of the maintenance issues.  Additionally, if leased to the right clients, you don’t have to worry about getting paid either.  Triple Net Leases are so favorable for the real estate investor they have sometimes been called a “hell or high water lease.”  Meaning, come hell or high water, the tenant is responsible.

Of course, getting involved in a triple net lease involves a lot of resources.  This is why my business partner and I wrote this book.  We saw how great these leases were, yet people were not pursuing them because of the sophistication required.

In summary, we continue to believe in the triple net lease way of real estate investing.

I found this on NREI’s web-site.  It just goes to show you that triple net lease properties are continuing to sell.

Glazier Foods Co. has sold its 286,000 sq. ft. headquarters and distribution center in Houston to an investment group that plans a $14 million expansion to the property. As part of the deal, the food service distributor has leased the entire space back from the new owner. The purchase price was undisclosed.

Construction has already begun to add 160,000 sq. ft. to the distribution center over the next year, which will bring the property’s overall size to 446,000 sq. ft. and increase the size of Glazier Food’s freezer and dry storage areas. GE Capital provided financing for the acquisition and funding for the $14 million expansion.

Buyers are finding significant opportunities in Triple Net Leases.  Here is what some leading experts in the field had to say:

Well-capitalized buyers are finding that it’s a great time to pick up triple-net lease properties from solid operators. “Once you’ve got those leases, you’ve got a long-term income stream that is really valuable,” Julian E. Whitehurst, president and COO of Orlando-based National Retail Properties Inc. (NYSE: NNN) says.

Ethan Nessen, a managing partner at CRIC Capital said: “The one trend that I see in the marketplace is that there is no trend at all.”  “What I mean by that is that every deal, every category of product becomes so specific in terms of the credit, location, marketplace and perception.”

The net lease sector is doing slightly better than the broader commercial real estate investment market as a whole because, on the longer-term type leases, the credit crisis causes a flight to quality and flight to safety,” says Randy Blankstein, president of Boulder Net Lease Funds in Northbrook, Ill.

It’s interesting to me that undoubtedly we are in a residential real estate recession, but commercial real estate continues to do great.  Why?

People still go to Auto Zone to work on their car – I just changed out my battery there and the mechanic that helped me said: “our business is booming”.  I continue to see from their real estate department that the company is continuing to expand and execute triple net leases, or sale leasebacks, whatever you prefer.

People still eat out at Mcdonalds – I was a purveyor yesterday morning for breakfast, and can now attest to why they continue to win in blind coffee contest.

Most entrepreneurial activity happens when downturns occur.  Importantly, small businesses add the most jobs to our economy, not the big corporations.

Bottom Line – not only am I bullish on commercial real estate, I am bullish on America.