I remember passing by this beautiful old apartment building one day and noticed that there was an 'apartment building for sale' sign on the outside. I then drifted off into a day dream thinking how wonderful it would be to own and manage my own apartment building, especially such an impressive one as this and in such a reputable neighborhood. Well, that was many years ago now, but as my husband and I have become wealthier over the years, the distant dream of considering purchasing a commercial building for sale does not necessarily have to be a dream anymore. In fact, we're seriously considering buildings for sale in our neighborhood.
My dear husband is a mechanic and he has always worked for service shops. Recently he had an idea to try and start his own business, but first we had to find some buildings for sale so we could determine whether it would be financially lucrative for him to go into business for himself.
The criteria when shopping for specialty real estate such as this is that the space factor. He would need to accommodate all his tools and equipment but unfortunately, most of the buildings for sale in our city were simply too small or zoned incorrectly to be ideal for his business.
After driving around and actually looking for buildings for sale in our city, we decided to go to a realtor. It costs more money, but we figured she would be able to narrow our search down and give us good advice. She came up with a list of buildings for sale in the area that sit the criteria for the business my husband wanted to start, so last weekend we went out with her to check them out.
The realtor was helpful if a little pushy as so many of them are. We specifically told her our requirements but still she insisted in showing us building land for sale and even an office building for sale. This was all a little strange as we neither wanted to build a new commercial property nor have an office separated from the main workshop. Oh well, I guess so many of these agents are commission driven and hungry for money, so think they have nothing to lose by being a little aggressive in their methods. Hmm! Maybe using a realtor to find buildings for sale is not such a wise move after all!
I have to mention that none of the buildings for sale she showed us were in the price range we thought they would be. Most were very expensive, and more expensive than we had planned on. But still, we decided to take a look anyway. One of the first places we went to was a space nestled in between two other businesses: a pet grooming parlor and a Hallmark store. It was then that we realized that the realtor didn’t exactly understand the kind of business my husband was looking to start. Can you imagine a car repair shop next door to a place full of cats and dogs? Bathing a cat is bad enough, but can you imagine bathing a cat while some guy works with air tools next door? It’s like asking to have your entire outer layer of skin scratched off by a frantic feline!
After that, the realtor took us only to industrial parks where there were buildings for sale that would be suitable for a mechanical shop. Some of the spaces were nice, some were not, and by the end of the day we just decided to keep our eyes open and think about it for a while. Hopefully something will come along while we are not actively pursuing it. But I still get a little laugh when I imagine my husband working next door to a kitten factory.
The realtor has since called us about further building lots for sale and also a high street shop house, but I think my husband is going to have a talk with the woman's boss, as she's becoming a pain in the neck. That aside, we're pretty certain we shall find a couple of buildings for sale given time. In actual fact, we're currently looking at is a bungalow on a decent sized piece of land which has it's own workshop facility on the land. We just have to decide whether or not we want to live at the workplace.
Finding Buildings for Sale is no Easy Task!
