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Commercial real estate can lead to just about any lifestyle you can dream up, but if you're not careful how you play your cards, you can find yourself living through some expensive lessons. Fortunately, even in today's housing crunch, crossing the line from multiple homeowner to one who invests in commercial real estate isn't all that difficult, as long as you plan out a realistic strategy and game plan.

 Some people start out by buying a rental property, others rent out their own home, and move on from there. After acquiring a few homes this way, they branch out with a duplex or a small apartment. If this continues eventually the bank is going to put on the brakes by telling you that your portfolio is beyond their lending protocol for multiple residential properties.

If you've grown too big for your britches but want to continue expanding your mini-empire you'll have to learn the "how-to's" of commercial real estate. Possibly you acquired one commercial property and everything went off without a hitch. But the next one didn't. Suddenly you find you "hit the wall" - you're in property owners no man's land.

You begin to doubt everything including yourself. You wonder if the commercial property is really worth what it's being sold for? Will the property really generate the kind of income the seller claims? How can I afford a down payment? What do I charge for this property? And what about maintenance, delinquencies, evictions ... people who trashed the place and skipped town?

This is the stuff real estate investor night terrors are made of. --- And yeah, experience is often the aftermath of a bad case of Murphy's Law -- But fear not, ye of little faith! So what if you hit the wall? Experience is also the mother of invention. Wise investors are also inventors with genius He or she doesn't let doom and gloom sway their dreams; they do the homework and arm themselves with knowledge.

There are keys to understanding commercial real estate, now the differences between residential and commercial real estate. Danielle Babb points out that, commercial real estate is valued according to its usable square footage. Commercial property is less financially risky. Greater cash flow; commercial leases are longer, and banks usually want a higher down payment (30% or more) for commercial (www.entrepreneur.com/money/personalfinance/).

The bright side of commercial real estate is tenants generate a steady source of income. If you own a ten-unit apartment and lose one tenant that's only 1/10th of your income as opposed to the loss of a single-family house. But doing your homework is vital.

There are some key ingredients for commercial real estate investors. First and foremost, investors need to have their own financial ducks in a row. They need to invest in a property that fits them not the other way around. They need to set their sights on property type, size, location and the income they expect and what is actually possible. Asking what is the property worth to them and not simply what is it worth? Understand tax planning and asset protection - that is, learn that when they structure "a deal" how to make profits and keep them.

Don't be afraid to ask any one and everyone questions. Talk to the tenants as well as surrounding businesses. Ask: What are the vacancy rates? How's business been? Are they planning on renewing their leases? Have they ever been behind in rent? What about the former management? What the average median income of the area? And most importantly, what is the seller's motivation for selling? Ask to see their cash flow statements; legally you do have a right to know.

Ok, like the genie from Aladdin, these are some heads-up on your commercial real estate endeavor.  Now follow it up with some action items and implement what you learn ... get in motion .. You'll find that with a well thought out strategy and an intelligent game plan, the lifestyle you dream of can come true.