Commercial real estate is an extremely rewarding investment in Raleigh. It offers a number of benefits to investors including tax deductions, value improvements, and positive effects of passive income on cash flow. A considerable drawback that exists in addition to these advantages is you need a sizable chunk of money to invest. It is not possible to invest a little sum, like with stocks and bonds. To get good deals, you’ll probably need to spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars.

Many property investors believe that a deal will succeed or fail based on the amount of money involved. A lack of resources may prevent a serious buyer from placing a bid on a property. Real estate can, however, be purchased without the buyer having to pay any cash. A good deal might make it simple to collect the necessary money. An investor can buy real estate without a down payment in a variety of ways. Some of them are discussed below. Sure, these methods may not be the easiest or most convenient, but they can be an excellent way to start building your portfolio or your capital without any initial money.

  • Borrow the Money

Borrowing the down payment is most likely the simplest approach to buy commercial real estate with no money down. Either utilize a line of credit or a property equity loan, which still has the tax advantages of a regular mortgage, to locate a lender giving a cheap interest rate.

  • Bring The Opportunity To Investors

Don’t have any money but know someone who does? Engage them in your dealings!

Investors want to see a return on their capital, and in order to do that, they need opportunities. Investors might be willing to invest money with you if you can put some sweat equity into the project by locating the deal and putting the plans together. Giving the investors the majority of the equity if you don’t want to pay any out-of-pocket costs may be advantageous for you since it involves you in the deal and allows you to begin developing your reputation. From here you can start building your own capital and experience.

  • Negotiate For The Down Payment

The size of the down payment and who pays it, along with everything else in a real estate deal, are virtually always negotiable. The buyer has the option of having the seller cover the down payment or giving them credit for it at closing. A buyer might alternatively want to pay the down payment over time, either in regular payments over time or in a lump sum at the conclusion of the year.

Many lenders won’t appreciate it if you, the buyer, aren’t paying for that equity component out of pocket.  However, some lenders could be open to working with you in this situation, particularly if you already have a good rapport with them.

  • Subject-To Contract

“Subject-To” contract is another way to buy real estate without down payment in Raleigh. Some sellers also offer this but in very rare cases. During the Great Recession, when property owners merely wanted relief from the costs of owning and maintaining their sites, subject-to acquisitions became very popular.

If your seller is in a tight spot and needs to quit quickly, you might be able to buy their property subject to the existing mortgage, which essentially means that you’re assuming their note and taking on the liability and costs that come with it. For that, you’ll need to track down sellers who are in a terrible situation and just want to walk away from the house.

To make sure that the loan is assumable, check with the lender and review the loan documents. If it isn’t, that could put both you and the seller in a difficult situation. It’s a great way to help a seller in need while making a quick profit if you buy properties subject to.

  • Rent With A Purchase Option

Leasing the commercial property first before buying it can actually work out well for both you and the seller. By leasing, you can reduce your overall risk exposure while getting a chance to see if the building and location are a good fit for you. Additionally, the seller will collect rent each month, which won’t bother most landlords.

Here’s how you might approach a situation where you rent to own:

  1. Firstly, simply negotiate and decide your monthly rent and any improvements if needed.
  2. Secondly, when you want to buy the commercial property then pre-negotiate with the landlord how much of the rent will go toward the purchase and what that purchase price will be and get a quote.
  3. Finally, you’ll decide when you can exercise that purchase option, usually within the next three to seven years.

You’ve only leased the space if, at the end of that period, you decide not to buy the property. The seller will typically credit you the rent payments at closing, which you could use to reduce your down payment, if you decide to proceed and buy the property.

  • Seller Financing

Seller financing is exactly what it sounds like: the seller will finance your purchase of the property rather than a bank. They will essentially hold the mortgage and the note on the property while you make loan payments to them.

For buyers with bad credit, seller financing is a good alternative because sellers frequently won’t run the thorough background and credit checks that traditional lenders will. Now keep in mind that even though you might not necessarily have to pay a down payment, you’ll probably need to agree to a higher purchase price or pay above-market interest rates in order to convince the seller to accept a 0% down payment. However, it might be worthwhile if seller financing aids in your purchase of the property.

When presenting this offer to a seller, make careful to emphasize that they will have the first position mortgage on the property, giving them the option to foreclose on you and seize the property if necessary. Even if it’s an ideal situation, it could assist you to reassure the seller about the procedure. Projects using seller financing sometimes have a 5–7 year balloon, which implies the debt will become due and must be repaid in full. You’ll just refinance the home at this time to pay them off. If you’ve built enough equity, you might refinance the home sometime before that balloon to get a better deal from a traditional lender.

  • Get Your Real Estate License

The greatest option for you to start buying commercial real estate with no money down in Raleigh is to have a real estate license. There are undoubtedly benefits and drawbacks to holding a real estate license, but one of the benefits is your ability to bargain for a commission when buying a building.

Obtaining a real estate license may not seem like it will assist you to buy commercial real estate with no money down at first, but it is a fantastic alternative for new investors. This is how it goes after getting your license:

  1. Firstly, look for commercial deals. After searching for a profitable and suitable property, inform your network that you are actively seeking investors to bring into deals as you search or build a pre-established list of possible investors whenever you locate a property.
  2. Secondly, Negotiate your commission on the property acquisition when a deal has been located and investors have been confirmed. You are able to lawfully get a commission from the seller while purchasing the asset because you are a licensed real estate agent (if you weren’t serving as the buyer’s agent yourself, the seller would pay a commission to another agency) & if you roll your commission revenues straight into the sale, a 3% commission on the transaction might result in a 15% ownership share for you in the deal if the lender needs a 20% down payment.
  3. Finally, without spending any money out of your own pocket, you make money. Using this method, you may build up enough wealth for yourself to purchase a piece of commercial real estate.
  • Swap Personal Property

Here is another way to buy real estate without down payment but a little weird one from others. 

For a no-money-down deal, whatever you own may be handy as a cash alternative. For instance, if the seller intends to retire, your unused motor home would likely be worth considerably more than a down payment in cash. Furniture, appliances, automobiles, boats, campers, and other items are all acceptable alternatives to a down payment in cash.

Conclusions:

There are many ways that can help you in buying real estate with no down payments in Raleigh. Some of these can help you accumulate the initial funds necessary for real estate investment, while others can help you get expertise in the field since, while not impossible, obtaining a decent bargain is rather tough without both money and experience.

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