367: How to Buy a Hotel: Breaking Down Tony’s FIRST Commercial Real Estate Deal

Commercial real estate investing might seem intimidating, but in many cases, this kind of rental property is even easier to buy than a single-family home. After two failed attempts, our own Tony Robinson unlocked the blueprint for buying commercial properties as a beginner!

Welcome back to the Real Estate Rookie podcast! Recently, Tony took down his very first commercial deal—a thirteen-unit property he plans to transform into a hotel with self-check-in convenience. But this huge triumph didn’t come without a few costly mistakes. Before landing his “golden goose,” Tony missed out on two properties and lost thousands of dollars in the process. By his third attempt, however, he had cracked the code!

If you want to scale your real estate portfolio and become a full-time investor, buying a commercial property might be your best bet. In this episode, Tony dives into the numbers and projections for his new hotel, as well as the biggest takeaways from his experience. He also shares how to find a market for a niche property, how to raise private capital for a large deal, and why it’s easier to approach an owner about seller financing on a commercial deal!

In This Episode We Cover:

How to buy commercial real estate as a novice investor

Finding the right market for your niche property

How to raise capital to take down even bigger real estate deals 

The five factors that determine if you can compete in a market

Why you NEED to develop your network before buying commercial real estate

When to hire your first employee for your real estate business

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

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Why Self-Storage Beats Rental Properties

Commercial Real Estate Fundamentals for Successful Investors

Scaling from Single Family to Commercial Real Estate

Find Your Next Commercial Property:

Crexi

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Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-367

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