Hi guys,

I'm assuming many of you on here are familiar with Robert Kiyosaki and his Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of books; particularly the book of the same title and also Cashflow Quadrant. The general summary of the books is to overcome the fear and anxiety associated with money and work our way toward being successful business owners and investors. After hearing about a local Real Estate Investor group in my area and attending a few meetings I've been studying diligently on Real Estate investing and this has been my main focus for a few months. Recently however, I had an epiphany of sorts. Why not purchase (finance) a property that is either dual zoned- residential/commercial or zoned residential in an area where it is possible to rezone as commercial or dual use later down the road? I've seen these types of business arrangements executed before whereby lawyers, therapists, barbers, CPA's, etc establish their businesses in "historical" districts (for lack of a better descriptive) and in some cases live in the same building or in the mother-in-law building out back. I'm curious to know if anyone has experience in doing something similar or if not, if you could weigh in on the hurdles and obstacles one might have to overcome when setting out on a venture like this. 

In his books Kiyosaki says the wealthy seek loopholes and actively participate in tax avoidance. While I'm not sure if I'm thinking more like one of the wealthy people Robert refers to or more along the lines of his younger self forging counterfeit lead coins in his fathers driveway. So, with that as context, here's what I've been thinking: 

I'd like to know the viability of acquiring one of these dual use properties (usually two-story or with a mother-in-law) with a residential primary residence loan either conventional, FHA, 203K, HomeStyle etc. (Since commercial financing can difficult to secure) I'd use the first floor or main house for the business and live either upstairs or in the mother-in-law suite. Since this would be my primary residence I'd use the remainder of the 203K or HomeStyle loan to build out the business area of the property. After that is completed and I'm ready for business I would then ask for the property to be rezoned as commercial or dual-use. I'd be opening a business with moderate traffic and regular scheduled appointments (think barbershop, salon, etc)

In my opinion the lender doesn't need to know about any future business plans or exactly what the renovation funds will be used for other than the fact that i will be renovating the property with that money and it is going to be my primary residence. Reason being is that they made the determination that based on my credit and down payment I'm capable of making my mortgage payments. The business venture would be something I do on my own time and if i fail or succeed, they still get their money. As soon as you inquire about business/commercial lending it's like they smell blood in the water, they want higher downpayments, rates go up, length of loans goes down, and the process is way more of a hassle. I'm looking to sidestep all that red-tape and get down to business. . . .So, any thoughts here from the BP community?