Not so much

The building was flawed. It was actually two buildings connected, which was cool, but that just added to the price. He said he’d turned down an offer for $65,000 a couple years before. Now, if it had been in good shape, I could see that kind of money… One side of it had an old apartment above it. Great, right? Except that the ceiling was a mesh of plastic tarps, the floor was covered with debris and there had been nothing done to the place in 20 years to fix the roof damage that had taken place from a tornado. The lower floors likewise had evidence of the roof damage. Old tin ceilings, beginning to rot or fall down. Just for roof repairs it would take at least $10,000. The interior work… priceless. But I’d bet at least another $20,000 for that. Guy thought he could get over $65,000? Please. So we looked at the buildings he owned across the street. They made building #1 look like a luxury condo. More plastic sheeting and buckets to catch leaks, but worse than that, evidence of ceiling beams warping and buckling, floors that had completely given way or appearing to want to, and junk everywhere. To my mind, you buy a building, if you want to sell it someday, you put on a decent roof at the very least. Preserve your investment, even if it’s a small investment. But not this guy. So he’s not going to hear from me again. On to the next less ideal town, for hopefully a more ideal building! Incidentally, I had been hoping for a smaller town off the beaten track when I came up with this project anyway, so Greenwood was a stretch. It’s in the corridor between Lincoln and Omaha and as such, prices were going to be higher. I was hoping they’d still be realistic though. I’m sure I can get a better deal elsewhere, if any deals can be found at all.

See more progress on: Buy an old brick building and create a loft/studio space