Oakland, CA · Member since 2017 · 14 posts · 2 votes
Do you have experience renting a live/work loft to a business?
I'm interested in hearing the pros and cons.
Did you work with an agent or use another source to find a tenant? Did you use an attorney to structure the lease? I assume the tenant would.
FYI - The location is in SoMa near South Park and there are lots of startups around. AngelHack used to rent downstairs around the same time the founder mouthed off about the homeless. About 1200sf.
Real Estate Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2015 · 14 posts · 9 votes
9y
I have never been involved in a live/work rental but many were built around my neighborhood several decades ago. There were issues with them at the time. Most, if my vague memories are accurate, were built on commercially zoned property and actually required to be rented to a business. I would do much more research, including checking your deed. Good luck
Rental Property Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
@Grace Simpson since it was (most likely) built post 1979 you're not subject to rent control. Yay! So you can also simply rent it out as a residence if you want. Are most of the other units in the bldg used as residential or office? I'd also try and assess the rent you're likely to get as res. Vs. biz. At any rate, you have a good problem :)
Oakland, CA · Member since 2017 · 14 posts · 2 votes
9y
@Amit M. Thanks for the reply. It is a first world problem. ;) Supposedly, rent is higher with a biz but I need to verify this somehow. At the moment, all 12 units are residential, most owner-occupied. The few tenants all break community rules, and I heard one stopped paying rent (~$4,500) months ago. There is no rent control, but with tenant rights as they are in SF, I was thinking a biz would be safer and keep the place in better condition. I have not had any problems personally, but hear of so many nightmare tenants...