Just What Is Commercial Real Estate?

From the outset, we need to agree on exactly what constitutes commercial real estate. We may all agree that a four-bedroom, three-bathroom residence is residential real estate, and that a block of four shops is commercial real estate, but whatabout a block of 10 units in an apartment complex that both the bank and broker classify as commercial real estate? The fact is, for reasons that seem to me to be entirely arbitrary, where there are four or more units in a residential complex, the building is often classified as commercial for mortgage and insurance purposes and for transaction commissions. What about industrial properties, such as an assembly plant, paint shop, or warehouse; or hospitality properties such as hotels, motels, or amusement parks? Are they in yet other categories? Commercial Real Estate Investing And what about specialist properties such as a quarry, a hospital, an airport, or a rocket launchpad? Let me therefore make it perfectly clear what I mean by residential and commercial real estate. I know that simplifying things is not very popular these days, but for the purposes of this book, I want to make the following definitions: Residential real estate is real estate where people live (in residences!). Commercial real estate is real estate where commerce is conducted. Based on this simple and sensible concept, it becomes easy to categorize any piece of real estate. Houses, individual apartments, apartment complexes, condominiums, duplexes, and triplexes are clearly all residential real estate. Conversely, shops, offices, assembly plants, paint shops, warehouses, hotels, motels, amusement parks, quarries, hospitals, airports, and rocket launchpads are all commercial real estate. In case you want to argue that hotels, motels, and student accommodation should, by my definition, all be classified as residential real estate,as people quite clearly live there, then note

Pages: [1] 2

Updates: