San Antonio Real Estate Law Blog

If you're in the market to become a commercial real estate investor -- or if you're a real estate investor who plans to increase your commercial holdings -- it's important to understand the kinds of investments that are available to you. In fact, there are many different categories of commercial real estate.

Although you might be able to subdivide the commercial real estate categories that follow or add a new category to the list, what follows will be adequate for most commercial real estate investors:

The San Antonio International Airport is set to benefit from a $25 million redevelopment plan. A real estate firm from Colorado will carry out the project which will update the Hawker Beechcraft Services' aircraft maintenance area of the airport. The facility, which has been closed since 2012, is located off John Cape Road.

According to the San Antonio Aviation Director, the project will benefit the entire San Antonio area in addition to the airport itself by bringing a boost to the local economy.

If you're in a difficult financial situation and struggling to pay your home mortgage payments on time, it's important to stop and assess your situation rationally -- and as soon as possible. If you wait until it's too late, you could become so desperate for a solution that you fall for any number of foreclosure prevention scams.

Right about now, you might be thinking, "But I'm smart and I would never get scammed." Don't be so sure. Desperate times call for desperate measures. When faced with the possibility of your family being kicked out of their home, you could be susceptible to not analyzing all the details of a proposed foreclosure prevention "solution," and completely miss the fact that it's a fraud carefully designed to take your money.

Before purchasing a home, every San Antonio home buyer should contract a home inspector to perform a thorough review of their real estate purchase. However, home inspections do not come cheap, so prospective buyers might want to do a cursory review of the home themselves. In some cases, home buyers can rule out a prospective purchase without the need for a professional inspection.

Here are nine things to inspect while carrying out a do-it-yourself inspection:

• Look for signs of leaks in the attic and make sure the insulation is adequate.
• Evidence of leaks: Check all the ceilings and walls for signs of water damage and leaks.
• Is the basement damp or does it smell bad? Shine a flashlight in ground level crawlspaces or leave that task to the pros.
• Check all the electrical fixtures, switches and outlets. Make sure all the outlets are grounded.
• Look at the faucets, showers, bathtubs, drains and toilets. Make sure everything drains quickly, there aren't any leaks and there is adequate water pressure throughout the home.
• Let the heating and air conditioning run for some time. Make sure that they heat and cool effectively.
• Look at the ceilings and bases of the walls in every room in addition to the exterior. Are there cracks, unevenness, water leaks, trees growing into the foundation or other visible problems?
• Makes sure the ground has sufficient drainage away from the home. Do you see anything that looks soggy or appears like it could flood?
• Find out when the roof was last replaced. Make sure it doesn't look damaged, there are no missing tiles and everything looks in good repair.
• Do the walls need repainting or repairs? Do the gutters appear to be in good repair? Do you notice any falling wires or loose paneling? Does the home have any asbestos in it that will need special treatment when repaired?