tell me about buying an abandoned warehouse (or stony/brick building) as a home

[otc]

There is a blog out there written by a family who have converted an old warehouse style building (I think it was an old mechanic's garage) to a home.

It was pretty cool and detailed most of the process they went through in converting it to a home but I can't seem to find it even with a bunch of googling.

 

[TRINI]

Originally Posted by not_a_virus.exe

no clue. where and how do i start researching this?

Ask a real estate agent about hard lofts.

 

[ruben]

Everyone I know who owns warehouses used for commercial use gripes about how expensive they are to keep up, they need a new roof every 6 months.

I can't imagine what it would cost.

 

[not_a_virus.exe]

Originally Posted by TRINI

Ask a real estate agent about hard lofts.
i forgot to clarify that i'm not interested in hard lofts because i don't want to share walls with neighbors. i play loud music and don't want to collect noise complaints lol.

 

[ljrcustom]

So you want to buy a whole building? Would you use all the floors or what would you do with the rest of it?

-LR

 

[Rye GB]

Originally Posted by otc

There is a blog out there written by a family who have converted an old warehouse style building (I think it was an old mechanic's garage) to a home.

It was pretty cool and detailed most of the process they went through in converting it to a home but I can't seem to find it even with a bunch of googling.

Was that the one in Detroit, it was something ridiculous like 40,000sqft?

 

[CityConnection]

I have thought about this too but haven't been able to find any reasonably priced real estate. I have been searching for info on this too but I fall short every time.

 

[otc]

Originally Posted by Rye GB

Was that the one in Detroit, it was something ridiculous like 40,000sqft?

Nah, this was in ohio or something and actually quite reasonably sized. It was probably originally a 2-lift shop so the building was not very large (they have lofted bedrooms...partially because there wouldn't be space otherwise)

 

[yerfdog]

Originally Posted by not_a_virus.exe

no clue. where and how do i start researching this?
You could try asking a commercial real estate company. Neighborhoods where you might find the type of space you're looking for might be that area around the railroad tracks getting down towards Barrio Logan, and then that narrow strip that hasn't yet gentrified that goes along the railroad tracks from the north side of little italy to the sports arena area the problem with san diego is much of the development is too new to have the type of atmosphere you are looking for. You could find at least one building like this in almost any town east of the Mississippi that had any level of industry 50-100 years ago. it's a lot tougher in areas where the commercial buildings are new, I mean you could find acres and acres of commercial buildings in the far north end of San Diego, around say Convoy St or Mira Mesa Blvd, but it just wouldn't have the right ambience that I think you've described