Commercial space to house hack

[Carolina Mejia]

Hello everyone- I found an building 3200sqft in a sleepy town in GA. I was thinking and realized with the space I can build out basically a quadriplex. It would take moving around the walls, adding 4 showers to the 4 bathrooms and adding a kitchen (already has multiple sinks -( it may have been a daycare). the rents are high, i could rent out for $1200 each + bills since they wouldnt be separate and my cash flow would be aprox $2000 a month once i move on to my next home. My question is when doing this, what kind of steps do i need to take in due diligence to make sure its going to be able to get done (permits and Ect?) i know you can apply for permits- but how can I know ahead of time? Any advise would be great. Zillow dosent show the actual address so i don't know what it is zoned. That's the first thing ill look into when i reach out. Any ideas?

[Jevon Shaw]

Some areas also require sufficient parking so you may also want to ask the city/seller about that.

[Carolina Mejia]

Quote from @Jevon Shaw:

Some areas also require sufficient parking so you may also want to ask the city/seller about that.

 Thank you for your reply, it does in fact have parking because it was a commercial space. 

[Tanner Pile]

@Carolina Mejia I would make sure the zoning allows for it to be turned into a residential small mlti-family property since it's a commercial property currently. 

[Lawrence Potts]

You'd have to speak with the city/county/municipality about usage. Zoning can differ from house to house. I tried buying an old abandoned skating rink in a residential area to convert to office spaces to "work hack" and the zoning only permitted for residential up to 4 units. Parking is a consideration as well as density, set backs, etc., but if it's in a commercially zoned space and cannot justify residential use, it'll be an act of congress and a miracle to try to change the zoning on that. I think it's a great idea conceptually, but may be hard to pass. I think you could still turn it into a quadplex commercially and rent out to businesses? Safer triple net leases and potentially easier refinancing since it'll go off of NOI rather than comps? Hope that helps! Let us know what you decide to do with it.

[Carolina Mejia]

Quote from @Lawrence Potts:

You'd have to speak with the city/county/municipality about usage. Zoning can differ from house to house. I tried buying an old abandoned skating rink in a residential area to convert to office spaces to "work hack" and the zoning only permitted for residential up to 4 units. Parking is a consideration as well as density, set backs, etc., but if it's in a commercially zoned space and cannot justify residential use, it'll be an act of congress and a miracle to try to change the zoning on that. I think it's a great idea conceptually, but may be hard to pass. I think you could still turn it into a quadplex commercially and rent out to businesses? Safer triple net leases and potentially easier refinancing since it'll go off of NOI rather than comps? Hope that helps! Let us know what you decide to do with it.

 Thank you for the insight Lawrence. I did email the development board of the city and they did tell me I would need to rezone. I've got the information on how to do it and am actually going to see the property this weekend and see if I should pull the trigger. I will definitely update as I go. 

[Carolina Mejia]

Quote from @Tanner Pile:

@Carolina Mejia I would make sure the zoning allows for it to be turned into a residential small mlti-family property since it's a commercial property currently. 

 Thank you Tanner, I emailed the city and they did confirm that is the first step! I'll be seeing it this weekend to see if I take the plunge.

[Tanner Pile]

Quote from @Carolina Mejia:

Quote from @Tanner Pile:

@Carolina Mejia I would make sure the zoning allows for it to be turned into a residential small mlti-family property since it's a commercial property currently. 

 Thank you Tanner, I emailed the city and they did confirm that is the first step! I'll be seeing it this weekend to see if I take the plunge.

 Awesoe, let us know if you decide to go for it!

[Conner Olsen]

Quote from @Carolina Mejia:

Hello everyone- I found an building 3200sqft in a sleepy town in GA. I was thinking and realized with the space I can build out basically a quadriplex. It would take moving around the walls, adding 4 showers to the 4 bathrooms and adding a kitchen (already has multiple sinks -( it may have been a daycare). the rents are high, i could rent out for $1200 each + bills since they wouldnt be separate and my cash flow would be aprox $2000 a month once i move on to my next home. My question is when doing this, what kind of steps do i need to take in due diligence to make sure its going to be able to get done (permits and Ect?) i know you can apply for permits- but how can I know ahead of time? Any advise would be great. Zillow dosent show the actual address so i don't know what it is zoned. That's the first thing ill look into when i reach out. Any ideas?

Is it worth adding all those bathrooms? I've heard adding bathrooms can be 20k-40k so that would be 80k-160k for 4. You'd also be smart to separate out your water meters and electrical which would be difficult. I think you'd get stuck with a lot of expenses as the owner that you can't pass to the tenants.

[Carolina Mejia]

Just an update, I wasn't able to secure financing for the property. Went ahead and pursued another place however I am going to keep trying because this is a cash cow!