{"id":19897,"date":"2025-04-14T08:54:23","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T08:54:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/?p=19897"},"modified":"2025-11-19T10:29:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T10:29:35","slug":"why-is-u-s-commercial-real-estate-such-a-low-risk-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/why-is-u-s-commercial-real-estate-such-a-low-risk-investment\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Is U.S. Commercial Real Estate Such a Low-Risk Investment?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In many European countries, signing a purchase agreement for a property must be accompanied by a 10% cash deposit. If you back out for any reason, you lose that money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What?!!! Yes \u2014 that\u2019s how it works in several markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While not every country operates this way, the U.S. commercial real estate process is refreshingly different:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You sign a purchase agreement<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You place a much smaller Earnest Money (EM) deposit, typically around 1%<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This deposit is held in escrow by a neutral title company, not paid to the seller<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You\u2019re usually granted a 30-day Feasibility Period (longer for vacant land), during which you can walk away<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you terminate the deal during this period, you typically receive most or all of your deposit back<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some states (like Texas) allow the seller to keep a small portion, often just 1% of the EM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This structure significantly reduces risk for the buyer, allowing you to fully evaluate the property before committing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>W<\/strong><strong>ho You Can Hire During the Feasibility Period:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Building Inspector<\/strong> \u2013 Checks code compliance and identifies major issues<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>HVAC Inspector<\/strong> \u2013 Tests heating\/cooling systems and recommends repairs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Roof Inspector<\/strong> \u2013 Assesses the condition and identifies leaks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>General Contractor<\/strong> \u2013 Estimates renovation or build-out costs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Drone Photographer<\/strong> \u2013 Great for large sites or remote plots<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Civil Engineer \/ Architect<\/strong> \u2013 Ideal for land purchases to advise on zoning, design, drainage, fire safety, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These inspections cost money, but compared to your total investment, it\u2019s a small price to pay for confidence and clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you decide not to proceed, you can cancel before the Feasibility Period ends, recover your Earnest Money, and only be out the inspection costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Why U.S. CRE Makes Sense<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This process makes investing in <a title=\"U.S. commercial real estate\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/unlock-u-s-commercial-real-estate-opportunities-with-tailored-financing-for-non-u-s-residents\/\">U.S. commercial real estate<\/a> a comfortable, low-risk decision for experienced investors. You get time to assess the deal thoroughly, and you&#8217;re not locked in financially until much later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because of these protections, you can also move fast on a good deal. If something promising hits the market, &#8220;paper&#8221; it fast sign the contract, secure your place, and then use the next 30 days to decide if it truly fits your strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In contrast, in markets where 10% down is immediately non-refundable, such flexibility is unthinkable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is exactly why I love investing in U.S. commercial property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s talk about your next deal \u2014 contact me today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Lance Langenhoven<br><\/strong>Head of Commercial Lending<br><a href=\"mailto:lance.langenhoven@americamortgages.com\">lance.langenhoven@americamortgages.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Q1: Why is U.S. commercial real estate considered low risk?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A: <\/strong>Because buyers typically pay only ~1% deposit, get a feasibility period to inspect the property, and have strong legal protections limiting upfront risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Q2: What is an \u201cearnest money\u201d deposit, and how much is it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A: <\/strong>It\u2019s a small initial deposit (often ~1%) held in escrow when you sign a contract, much lower than in many other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Q3: What is a \u201cfeasibility period\u201d and why does it matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A: <\/strong>A typical ~30-day window during which you can carry out inspections and cancel without losing your deposit, giving you time to assess and limit risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Q4: How does this process compare to commercial real estate markets abroad?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A: <\/strong>In many foreign markets, you might put down ~10% deposit upfront and cannot walk away, whereas in the U.S., you get more flexibility and less initial exposure.<strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Q5: What practical steps should an investor take when buying U.S. commercial property?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A: <\/strong>Use the feasibility period wisely: hire building\/roof\/HVAC inspectors, contractors, and engineers to assess costs and condition, before committing fully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n  \"mainEntity\": [{\n    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n    \"name\": \"Why is U.S. commercial real estate considered low risk?\",\n    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n      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\"Why Is U.S. Commercial Real Estate Such a Low-Risk Investment?\",\n  \"description\": \"Explore why U.S. commercial real estate offers low-risk investment: flexible contracts, due diligence periods, and minimal upfront costs.\",\n  \"image\": \"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-1200x581.jpg.webp\",  \n  \"author\": {\n    \"@type\": \"Person\",\n    \"name\": \"Lance Langenhoven\"\n  },  \n  \"publisher\": {\n    \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n    \"name\": \"America Mortgages\",\n    \"logo\": {\n      \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n      \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-admin\/images\/gmg-logo.svg\"\n    }\n  },\n  \"datePublished\": \"2025-04-14T08:00:00+00:00\"\n}\n<\/script>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In many European countries, signing a purchase agreement for a property must be accompanied by a 10% cash deposit. If you back out for any reason, you lose that money. What?!!! Yes \u2014 that\u2019s how it works in several markets. While not every country operates this way, the U.S. commercial real estate process is refreshingly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":19898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"templates\/template-single-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"qubely_global_settings":"","qubely_interactions":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[19,14,31,13],"tags":[],"am_country":[],"am_audience":[],"am_format":[],"class_list":["post-19897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commercial","category-foreign-nationals","category-think-pieces","category-u-s-expats"],"acf":[],"qubely_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-scaled.jpg",2560,1240,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-1200x750.jpg",1200,750,true],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-540x320.jpg",540,320,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-300x145.jpg",300,145,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-768x372.jpg",580,281,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-1024x496.jpg",580,281,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-1536x744.jpg",1536,744,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-2048x992.jpg",2048,992,true],"qubely_landscape":["https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-1200x750.jpg",1200,750,true],"qubely_portrait":["https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-540x320.jpg",540,320,true],"qubely_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-140x100.jpg",140,100,true],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-1200x581.jpg",1200,581,true],"twentytwenty-fullscreen":["https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Image-resize-commercial-02-1980x959.jpg",1980,959,true]},"qubely_author":{"display_name":"Lance Langenhoven","author_link":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/author\/lance-langenhoven\/"},"qubely_comment":0,"qubely_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/commercial\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Commercial<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/foreign-nationals\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Foreign Nationals<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/think-pieces\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Think Pieces<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/u-s-expats\/\" rel=\"category tag\">U.S. Expats<\/a>","qubely_excerpt":"In many European countries, signing a purchase agreement for a property must be accompanied by a 10% cash deposit. If you back out for any reason, you lose that money. What?!!! Yes \u2014 that\u2019s how it works in several markets. While not every country operates this way, the U.S. commercial real estate process is refreshingly&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19897"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22765,"href":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19897\/revisions\/22765"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19897"},{"taxonomy":"am_country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/am_country?post=19897"},{"taxonomy":"am_audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/am_audience?post=19897"},{"taxonomy":"am_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americamortgages.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/am_format?post=19897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}