I kind of want this property

[Fermion]

I came across a commercial building on a couple of acres right on a hwy we drive to go hiking and snowmobiling. Literally just a few hundred yards from the trails we ride all the time in the winter.

It looks like a nice solid building. Nice paved parking lot. Super cheap. They are asking $90,000 and it looks like it was last sold in 2007 for $140,000. Even in this area, building a 1600 sq ft building with power water, septic for $90,000 alone would be hard, ignoring the cost of the acreage itself.

I see no value in the current business, I just kind of want the building for storage and the parking lot. I would probably just tinker around with my motorcycles and sleds there.

Crazy right? I can't justify it to my wife so will probably not happen, but I still kind of want it. Heck, in that area you might be able to offer $70k for it. Practically free. Any idea how I could sell it to her as a decent investment?

Here is the listing:

https://www.johnlscott.com/search/listing/3546836

 

[W2R]

[…]I see no value in the current business, I just kind of want the building for storage and the parking lot. I would probably just tinker around with my motorcycles and sleds there.

Crazy right? I can't justify it to my wife so will probably not happen, but I still kind of want it. Heck, in that area you might be able to offer $70k for it. Practically free. Any idea how I could sell it to her as a decent investment?

No, no ideas here. Based on your post, I don't even think YOU believe it is a decent investment.

 

[kite_rider]

Buy it! Life is short and what else are you going to do with the money? Then let me know where it is so I can bring my sleds and moto's too! (EDIT: I checked the listing and I go up past that area all the time to ski Rossland/Kootany Pass / and Whitewater - yea, buy it!)

 

[Spock]

She-Shed

 

[Aerides]

Instead of selling it to DW on the idea of an investment, I think you need to paint a picture of what you'd use it for that will appeal to her. If you're looking at it as storage and tinkering, ...eh.
Could this be a vacation cabin when you go hiking?

Also what kind of insurance and taxes would you incur maintaining it (might knock out the "practically free" aspect.)

 

[gstillson]

Does it come with all that equipment pictured

You could turn it into a grow (only half joking)

 

[cbo111]

Turn it in to a weed smoke store

 

[Spanky]

Sell it as a place for fun, hobby, relaxation, meditation, entertainment as opposed to a place for storage.

 

[DFDubb]

Tell her you're going to do a ton of physical therapy.

It is crazy how cheap that is, but I'm not in the least familiar with the area.

 

[canuck5]

If it's convenient for you, for snowmobiling .... I bet it would be for a lot of others. Storage racks to put them 2 high? Maybe enough room to store an additional 6-8? Make a little money making enterprise?

 

[canuck5]

https://youtu.be/7X5ljirnU7Y

Hey Honey, I found a way we can get some more storage in our garage and maybe make a few dollars too!

 

[gstillson]

Actually, with over 2 acres of what looks like flat ground there, you could gravel and fence off an acre or so and create storage for quite a few sled trailers. With the area having a ton of trails (I just checked on the WA snowmobile map and see there are literally hundreds of miles of trails within a mile or three of that area), you could advertise for people to keep their sleds up there so they didn't have to haul them from other parts of the state.

I wonder if you can live on commercial property? Is that legal?

 

[6miths]

Looks like a pretty solid building. Steel roof is always good to see. And two acres. Agree with checking out carrying costs, insurance, taxes, utilities and what not. If you can get it below asking might actually be a legit investment depending on what else is going on in the area. A pied-a-terre of sorts while sledding.

 

[joeea]

I can't justify it to my wife so will probably not happen

Sounds like your wife doesn't think it's practically free.
She seems wise.

 

[tominboise]

Is it commercial office space or concrete floored shop space? If it was a shop type space with enough room for a two post lift and a little machine and welding shop, I'd buy at $90k all day long.

 

[Ronstar]

I’d love to have something like that, and for 90k. Buy it!

 

[gstillson]

It looks like in this thread there is a clear division. The women tend to side with the wife and it being a bad idea while the men seem to be able to visualize all of the junk they could collect and store there.

 

[MRG]

I wonder if you can live on commercial property? Is that legal?

Good question. I know if I spent 90k on a building I'd have to live there.

 

[street]

^ I would check to see if you can live there. Regardless that is a great looking building and I can't see how you could go wrong in buying. If I was in your situation I would buy it. Please keep us posted on your decision.

 

[HI Bill]

Figure out a way to make the investment break even. Rent out some of the shop space or storage, or parking lot, or whatever would make enough to pay for the place without undue effort and risk! At that price, you could always turn around and sell it in a few years if you don't really use it!

 

[dunkelblau]

Nice looking building but the part about "Building originally was a gas station ..." would concern me.

 

[braumeister]

Nice looking building but the part about "Building originally was a gas station ..." would concern me.

Agreed. Are there underground storage tanks? That would be an EPA cleanup nightmare I think.

I'm also intrigued by the "Chick desk."

 

[Cobra9777]

Nice looking building but the part about "Building originally was a gas station ..." would concern me.

+1

That's a huge red flag. With old gas stations, it's almost a certainty that there is some level of ground contamination on the site and possibly groundwater contamination of surrounding areas. Environmental remediation of these old sites can be very costly and take many years. In other cases, it might be very minor.

If it was me, first thing I'd do is ask to see documentation that the underground storage tanks were removed, decontamination work was performed, and that groundwater and soil tests are clean. If the seller doesn't have these documents, I'd run away. Listing says the seller converted the gas station to the current building. Even if they do have these documents, I'd still request an independent environmental inspection. Buying a former gas station requires a lot of due diligence... unless you just want to assume responsibility for whatever might be leaking into your neighbors wells and that big river across the street.

 

[lucky penny]

It looks charming - I kinda want to buy it too! Nice piece of real estate & sounds like a steal.

Think about what you'd do with it other than just as a place to store things. If you can really picture spending time there & enjoying it & if it still appeals to you after looking into the details as others suggest, I'd say do it.

No reason to think it wouldn't hold its value if & when you decide to sell it.

 

[JDARNELL]

If you could ensure no issues with the old gas tanks I think you could do well with the place or a man cave for 90K. Unfortunately for my 10 goals this year #3 is "No Real Estate Purchases in 2019." I have had to stop myself twice and were not even 50 days into the calendar year.