Buying Commercial property, whether it's an apartment, retail building, industrial, hotel, or shopping center, requires 20% down payment or more. The amount of down payment is different in different state. For instance, in CA market, you need to put down 50% or more if you were to expect cash flow.

If you don't have a lot of money, there are different ways you can buy. For instance:

1) Create a group of investors, offer to pay them interest for their money

2) Form a group and invest together on a project.

3) Ask seller to carry back some of the loan that way you put a small down payment.

4) Cash out equity from other property

When you find a potential property, make sure you crunch the numbers. Take into consideration that payments for property tax, insurance, utility and unforseen fees such as increased water bill, leaking roof, sprinkler system no longer works, will be a lot different than what your seller is paying. Make sure you verify every knitty gritty details shown on the operating statement. Seek advice of a broker who knows the area well such as cap rate, gross rent multiplier, the cost of an apartment unit, cost per square feet of a retail building.

The reason for this is sometimes the displayed CAP rate on property's flyer is overstated or understated. You do not want to use this number. You want to use the current market CAP in your calculation. Don't forget to get pre-approved with a lender to find out how much you can afford to buy.