Since I have more cars than space to work on them, I was kicking around the idea of renting a commercial garage/warehouse. Something small, maybe ~600sf. Just big enough to work on a car or two. I have found some properties on CL in the local area. Anybody have any experience/advise for doing something like this?
Sounds expensive. Make sure you are insured.
What about something like this?
I would split the cost between 2 or 3 friends who are in the same situation.
try a local airport for empty rental hangars or if cars are against policy speak w/ the aircraft guys to rent a corner of their shop. They prolly wouldn't mind a little help w/ their rent but you better be above board and don't bring junk.
fasted58 wrote: try a local airport for empty rental hangars or if cars are against policy speak w/ the aircraft guys to rent a corner of their shop.
And you could use the strip for testing purposes!
In reply to stanger_missle:
That is a good deal. Check on what the landlord's insurance requirements are.
PHeller wrote:fasted58 wrote: try a local airport for empty rental hangars or if cars are against policy speak w/ the aircraft guys to rent a corner of their shop.And you could use the strip for testing purposes!
inactive runway to be a good tenant... but when nobody's lookin' 
year or 2 worth of rent and you could probally build a place to do it on your own..
On this site 
fasted58 wrote: They prolly wouldn't mind a little help w/ their rent but you better be above board and don't bring junk.
Good luck, make sure the landlord is on board with what you are going to be up to as I had the rug yanked out from under me once.
Paul B
Remember 600sf sounds big but it's only 20 x 30 which is a decent sized 2-car garage. If you're splitting it with 2-3 friends don't plan on all of you having projects in there at once, and plan to be tripping over each other's messes a lot. Even just 2 cars in there would make it difficult to work on either one of them without it being a little clumsy.
I'm a commercial landlord so could offer some advice on the leasing end of things if needed. If the landlord is on the up and up there's not a lot of "gotchas" to a commercial lease, just make sure to understand everything you're on the hook for. There's the base rent, possibly utilities, and possibly maintenance fees beyond the rent. Ask on the utilities, if they're billed to you, you want them submetered and not just a percentage split. A percentage split would screw someone like you that's barely in the space while the rest of the guys are in their spaces 10 hours a day, every day. You would be subsidizing their utility usage. The maintenance fees might be called "operating expenses" or "common area maintenance," if they apply make sure you find out how much they are and whether they're subject to a cap in increases prior to signing a long term lease! On a 600sf space it might not be a big deal and they may not even expect you to pay any CAM or increases. Feel free to ask if you have any specific questions.
The 2-bay shop seems like a great fit for a project or two but they don't actually give the rate. They say "starting at $225" but that's probably the 200sf unit.
I rent a 5000 sq ft workshop with three other guys. It is $250 a month per person.
Wow, great information in here!
There is a lot I didn't think about... Insurance, utilities metering, etc...
I will discuss this with my business partners (in crime ) and see if they still want to do this...
I will definitely ask more questions as I think of them...
In reply to dculberson:
Not to threadjack, but what's an effective way to approach a commercial landlord or broker if I needed torent commercial space for only 7-10 days? I have a community based event that we host twice a year and have considered renting commercial, but most people don't want to be bothered for such a short period. We evenings carry our own ins, but we can't seem to get serious bites.
That is a tough one for most landlords, at least for office space like I have. We are usually open to doing that sort of thing for existing tenants but if it's someone I don't know it makes me nervous about damage to the space, liability in case of injury, etc. The best thing you could do is to have insurance lined up and cover that with any potential landlords ahead of time. That would go a long way to relieve their worries. Also if it doesn't involve live music and lots of teens / early 20's with little to no adult supervision you should say so. If it DOES, then they'll assume you're trying to throw a rave and be scared E36 M3less.
You could probably get away with a little more if you rented warehouse space but obviously that's not going to be very finished.
Another option instead of office space would be to contact banquet facilities and party houses. The main downside to them is that they usually have favored caterers and bar staff and you can't always provide your own. And the cost of that adds up fast for a large event.
Also look in smaller towns close to you.i rent 1200' sqft garages with small office for $400-$425 a month same place in Tulsa 20min from me is $1200 a month.
In reply to dculberson:
We're basically hosting a community based consignment sale, and have several groups in the area that we donate to. Its a way to help the community help itself. We have typical business hours, somewhat-sane volunteers and lots of pregant ladies and grandparents as shoppers. We always carry insurance and right now we're renting space in one of the buildings in the local fairgrounds. It has plenty of parking and a decent amount of space. The biggest downfall is that we're somewhat at the mercy of the elements. If its cold outside, its colder inside. And vice versa in the summer. I'll take your suggestions and try from another angle. Thanks for the info.
grinch77 wrote: Also look in smaller towns close to you.i rent 1200' sqft garages with small office for $400-$425 a month same place in Tulsa 20min from me is $1200 a month.
This is the route I took. All the commercial/warehouse space where I live was more than I wanted to spend. Also, most of the landlords were not too interested in renting to a private individusl who just wanted to play with cars.
Found a place on Craigslist that was 12 miles from my house. 2400 square feet, divided into two "bays". One side has an 18-foot sliding door, with room to store acouple cars, while working on another.
The other side has an overhead door, with plenty of space to work on the two Miatas. This side also has stairs to the upstairs storage, and three small rooms off to one side.
One is already plunbed for a bathroom, another will be my "office", while the third will contain a small fridge and microwave.
Not bad for $400 a month.
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