Over the years I have purchased several bits of real estate for my own use.  All of them have been residential which I lived in and in most cases I then sold when I moved on to a bigger home in a new location.  In a few cases I have decided to retain the homes and lease them out as commercial property.  This has allowed me to continue to pay for them,  maintain them and produce an additional bit of income at the same time.  I could not have done this without a commercial property management company to oversee them for me as I am not living near them.