Before you buy investment property, take a walk through the building to check out its physical condition. Talk with the existing tenants in order to learn how stable they are. That will help you make a judgment about whether those tenants will stay put, paying the rent regularly.
Once you project the operating income a property likely will produce, you should bid anywhere from five to 10 times that amount as a purchase price. You’ll likely pay a higher multiple for a warehouse, where your responsibilities will be slight, and a lower multiple for a strip mall where tenant turnover will be higher, requiring a constant rent-up effort. Even with a “low maintenance” property, though, don’t underestimate the amount of time and energy you’ll have to expend in order to make a successful investment in commercial real estate.