01_174913 ffirs.qxp 11/21/07 4:29 PM Page iii Commercial Real Estate Investing FOR DUMmIES ‰ by Peter Conti and Peter Harris 01_174913 ffirs.qxp 11/21/07 4:29 PM Page ii 01_174913 ffirs.qxp 11/21/07 4:29 PM Page i Commercial Real Estate Investing FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_174913 ffirs.qxp 11/21/07 4:29 PM Page ii 01_174913 ffirs.qxp 11/21/07 4:29 PM Page iii Commercial Real Estate Investing FOR DUMmIES ‰ by Peter Conti and Peter Harris 01_174913 ffirs.qxp 11/21/07 4:29 PM Page iv Commercial Real Estate Investing For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright ©2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as per- mitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax 317-572-4355, or online at http:// www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks:Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REP- RESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CRE- ATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CON- TAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FUR- THER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2007941165 ISBN: 978-0-470-17491-3 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 01_174913 ffirs.qxp 11/21/07 4:29 PM Page v About the Authors Peter Contiand Peter Harrisare known as the World’s #1 Greatest Commercial Real Estate Mentors. They partnered years ago by combining their existing Mentoring practices. They have both started from modest beginnings, Peter Conti was an auto mechanic, and Peter Harris was an intro- verted engineer. The portfolio of properties they have purchased nationwide with their Commercial Mentoring Program students continues to grow at an accelerated rate. Peter Conti is the CEO of MentorFinancialGroup.com and lives on the Chesapeake Bay with his wife and kids in Annapolis, Maryland. Peter Harris has purchased and put together commercial and residential real estate deals across the country for years. He has taught, mentored, and instructed many of the most successful investors across the nation. Harris and Donald Trump are coauthors of Three Master Secrets of Real Estate Success.He also sits on the board of advisors on several private and national real estate investment and development companies. Many years ago, Peter Harris received the gift of a great mentor in his career and in his every day life, who guided and encouraged him to always get out of his comfort zone and play a bigger game. Mentoring one-on-one or to hun- dreds at a time around the nation is Peter’s way of giving back and imparting the message of hope and faith in the dynamic and rewarding world of real estate. Even though Peter’s first career was a physicist, holding several U.S. patents on outer space simulation, the school of hard knocks was where he got his real education in the business world. Besides his business life, Peter’s passions include hanging out with his son PJ, serving at his church, smiley faces, and riding his bike hundreds of miles at a time. Peter Harris lives in the heart of San Francisco with his son, PJ. You can e-mail the authors at [email protected], or you can call them at 800-952-9585. 01_174913 ffirs.qxp 11/21/07 4:29 PM Page vi A Free Gift from the Authors: Your Bonus Commercial Quick Start Training Package Here’s your chance to join the authors for over six hours of training that just wouldn’t fit in the book so that you can hit the ground running with your commercial real estate investing. You’ll get to listen in, watch, and respond as they guide you in putting together highly profitable commercial deals. Here’s what you get: (cid:1) Over 6 hours of audio and video commercial investing training sessions (cid:1) Special form “Addendum A,” which gives you up to 90 days to decide if you want a deal or not (cid:1) A Quick Start exclusive: The Money Raising Workshop (cid:1) Audio interviews with leading commercial real estate investing experts You’ll discover: (cid:1) The fastest way to get started investing in commercial real estate (cid:1) How to retire in five years or less (cid:1) Insider secrets to finding deals (cid:1) How to buy commercial real estate with no money (cid:1) Three steps to quickly fund even the biggest deal (cid:1) How to explode your net worth with land development You’ll also receive this special report: “The 3 Best Places to Buy Commercial Property Today” Get your Commercial Quick Start Training Package (a $299 value) by registering your copy of this book at www.commercialquickstart.com. Enter code CFD101. 01_174913 ffirs.qxp 11/21/07 4:29 PM Page vii Dedication Peter Conti:This book is dedicated to Peter Harris. You are an incredible blessing in my life. Peter Harris:I dedicate this book to God first and foremost. I thank Him for His faithfulness, His love and grace, and for all of the amazing people He blesses me with. I also thank my great mentor, a great man named Nick Tsujimoto. Thank you, Nick, for your wisdom and love, for our many “closed door” sessions, and for helping me set and achieve awesomely scary goals. Lastly, I want to thank my partner Peter Conti for being the man and friend that he is and always will be. And to everyone else: The best is yet to come!