Small Commercial Garage for Vehicle and Item Storage

[We're Metals]

Have any BITOG members acquired a small commerical garage with a roll up door for extra storage/ vehicle parking?
have a small car collection which is slowly growing and im running out of space at home for vehicle storage. Also due to a change of life circumstances, we will be cleaning out a family members house in the coming months and I will need to store a large amount of their items with the goal of selling off or throwing away a good deal of stuff over time.

Anyhow, compared to the $200+ / Month per vehicle storage cost I am seeing in my area, I am also seeing small commerical warehouses somewhere in the $1,200- $1,400 area which may end up being a good option.

Has anybody done this before? Any pittfals? Insurance? I dont have my own LLC or LP to register the building to, is this typicall required?
The locations Im looking at are about 1,000 square feet (workable size), allow for the use I am intending.

Maybe this is a fools errand but I thought I would pick the bright minds of the community. Ive reached out to a few brokers in the meantime just to inquire.

Thank you,

 

[wings&wheels]

Funny, looking at the same right now as we prepare to downsize.... Not much to ad right now, but will chime in as we progress.

 

[nate379]

Commercial often means you're paying that plus property taxes, or a portion, as well as upkeep and maintenance.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Insurance?

Definitely tell your insurance about the new storage location. Be clear with your intentions, you don't want them to think you are running a limo service or something that would trigger flags.

You might also need some type of renters insurance on the property. For a commercial space / warehouse, this might be a niche product.

dont have my own LLC or LP to register the building to, is this typicall required?

I think this is only required if you are going to start a business and make some type of income you don't want going to your SSN, but I have no clue. You can get an LLC online for like $50.


Maybe some BITOGs here have some extra garage space if you are willing to let go of some vehicles?

 

[zzyzzx]

Also due to a change of life circumstances, we will be cleaning out a family members house in the coming months and I will need to store a large amount of their items with the goal of selling off or throwing away a good deal of stuff over time.

Maybe this is a fools errand but I thought I would pick the bright minds of the community. Ive reached out to a few brokers in the meantime just to inquire.

Is the value of the sellable items enough to offset the cost of the storage?

 

[We're Metals]

Is the value of the sellable items enough to offset the cost of the storage?

The value of goods stored would easily offset the cost of purchasing a similar building, let alone renting. I'm open to this too (especially in this declining market) but know little of the commercial space.

A lot of it has to do with security and access too. Plus I could likely rent some space out to people as well.

 

[Nmr1981]

The locations Im looking at are about 1,000

I’m thinking you meant 10k square feet or are you collecting rare Smart for Twos ? My wife’s uncle used to rent a place in Kentucky to store his boat in the winter on lake Cumberland, it was very reasonable from what I remember but it was Kentucky and only big enough for 1 boat…

 

[We're Metals]

I’m thinking you meant 10k square feet or are you collecting rare Smart for Twos ? My wife’s uncle used to rent a place in Kentucky to store his boat in the winter on lake Cumberland, it was very reasonable from what I remember but it was Kentucky and only big enough for 1 boat…

1,000 Square Feet

 

[Nmr1981]

Ah i was thrown by me thinking of a 1000 square foot house being smallish, I would be thrilled to have 1000 sq ft garage. Just didn’t think of the square footage of a normal 2 car. Sorry carry on I had momentary lapse.

 

[M1Accord]

1,000 Square Feet

That is a shed size that you can have something like that built for $10k on your lot if you don’t need concrete or finish floor.

 

[We're Metals]

That is a shed size that you can have something like that built for $10k on your lot if you don’t need concrete or finish floor.

Thank you for your response. There are a ton of assumptions in your reply. Did you read my initial post?

Does anybody here have any actual experience with this? Ive had several very helpful PM's steering me in a good direction about this which I appreciate.

 

[eljefino]

A potential pitfall is environmental liability... if someone before you or after you dumps gasoline in the groundwater you too can be held liable for cleanup. And there's a whole industry devoted to pointing fingers and avoiding blame.