Because the bottom has fallen out of the residential real estate market, real estate investors have now turned to commercial real estate investing. Commercial real estate investing has many different options for the savvy investor. Some of them are as follows:

1. Investing in a retail shopping center as part of a joint venture with several other investors. This enables you to take less of a risk and get some experience in investing in commercial real estate without it costing you a lot of money. Make sure you know plenty about your partners as well as the property that you will be purchasing;

2. New construction. If you have been a project manager or general contractor, you may be able to swing commercial real estate new construction as long as you are aware of the different codes. Commercial real estate new construction is much different than residential new construction. There are different building codes for commercial buildings that vary from different municipalities. You have to be familiar with the codes when building commercial property;

3. Rehabbing or refurbishing older buildings and preparing them for business use. Again, you need to have some knowledge of building codes and requirements;

4. Buying a storefront property or free standing store and leasing it to a business. You need to know about the location, make sure you have a solid lease with a reliable and stable renter and proceed to reap a profit on the rental income while paying off the property at the same time.

Those are just four examples of commercial real estate investing. No matter what you decide to do, remember the three most important aspects of real estate investment:

1. Location;
2. Location;
3. Location.

This is an old and well worn saying, but bears repeating because it is so integral to any type of real estate investment, commercial or residential. If you purchase a storefront in a blighted area it may be cheap, but unless you plan on working in the store all day and every day and worrying about getting robbed or murdered on a daily basis, stay away from blighted areas.

You want to make sure that there is a need for the commercial real estate you plan to develop or in which you wish to invest. Office buildings and complexes are usually always in demand as professionals and others are usually looking for cheap office space.

In older towns and cities, there are areas in which older homes are being turned into office buildings and stores. In "historic districts" in towns, there is an effort to refurbish older homes and increase the value of the property in the area. These are also an ideal option for those who are thinking of commercial real estate investing.

Use any knowledge you have regarding real estate when deciding on commercial real estate investing and make any skills you have work for you. By doing as much as you can with regard to construction, rehabbing or even property management, you can add income to your investment. Always remember to purchase property in a good location or up and coming location so that it will appreciate in value.