Property investment is not necessarily a hobby or a part-time occupation. It has a tendency to become a way of life. The financial forces involved in a commercial property transactions are enormous, and they bring with them the expectation of similar investiture of time and energy. Proper commercial investment requires undivided focus, scrupulous attention to financial detail, and prompt action on all important issues.

Therefore, the first requirement of property investment must be to have a sustained and sincere commitment. Although there is no such thing as the perfect time to begin, the prospective investor must be very sure of their path and very willing to commit large amounts of time and money. Although commercial property investment has the potential to be one of the most remunerative occupations in modern American society, the road to profit is rarely easy. It is possible to lose an investment if one approaches it without due care and diligence. It is also possible to simply be too busy to have the time to learn the fine art of property investment.  If that is the case, it is better to wait until one’s schedule becomes clearer.

Every conceivable step should be taken to shore up one’s personal finances and prepare for the journey ahead. Any prospective investor should know that emergencies will arise and that those crises can often be solved more quickly and more effectively through the expenditure of appropriate amounts of money.

Perhaps the most basic action to prepare for property investment, though somehow it is often the most overlooked, would be to work with a lawyer to create a limited liability corporation. If the investor does not observe this basic tenet of economic self-preservation, then it will be possible for them to lose more than the investment. People who invest in property without the protection of an LLC run the risk losing everything. No responsible investor should even consider this. Those who have not should be treated with caution, as it raises the question of what other important steps they have forgotten.